Upstate, Downstate
Another big week for New York Clubland — upstate included!
Leonard and I spend a lot of time in New York. He lives there and I’m there often—well, at any rate, the State of New York, if not necessarily New York, NY.
In this week’s issue, Leonard ventured from Manhattan all the way upstate to Binghamton, New York. There, he introduces our readers to Bernard Marchuska, president of the storied Binghamton Club. Until we meet Bernie, like many Downstaters and (in my case, Connecticut residents!) had given little thought to anywhere north of a weekend in the Catskills or an idyllic Hudson Valley town.
Meanwhile, I became a fixture at Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall — only for the glass courts that were arranged for the Tournament of Champions. It’s the second time that Clubland USA has covered the tournament.
As we face the aftermath of a snowstorm, I truly hope that your Club has heat to bare through a storm that has come to seem so foreign in the Northeast in recent years.
Alla prossima! —IJ
Upstate Clubland with Binghamton Club’s Bernard Marchuska
Even the friendliest club president has secrets
Bernard Marchuska is a dear friend to Clubland USA –– not only as a frequent reader (and emailer), but also as a sounding board for whether these two club cats might be going too far.
Thankfully, he’s never said yes to that question. If anything, he’s always said and done the opposite: encouraged us to do even more to spread the good news of club life. And yet even the friendliest club presidents have secrets.
As president of the Binghamton Club in Binghamton, New York, Bernie’s love for his home Club shines through every conversation that we’ve ever had. These have ranged from how bowling — rather than squash — is the sport of choice at his Club, why young(er) people should give Clubland a chance and, moreover, how does someone probably survive an upstate New York winter.
The current temperature in Binghamton at press time is 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s our privilege to bring a recent transcribed conversation with Bernie as our first Q&A of the new year.
What’s the first thing that someone would notice upon entering the Binghamton Club?
Our sense of community. We have a 101-year-old clubhouse that’s undergone some renovations in over the years, including a formal private dining room that was built somewhere around the late 1960s or early 1970s, and an elevator. We have a fitness facility complete with locker rooms that was built around the 2000s and we had a squash court. Nonetheless, our members know that we’ve got something special here and are eager to share with their friends and family along with reciprocal partners that visit.
What happened to the squash court?
It was removed due to not being regulation size. We do, however, have a six-lane bowling alley and offer competitive men’s, women’s and mixed bowling leagues that run from Spring to Fall. —LR
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Squash, Sweat and Sort of Front Row Seats
At the 2026 Tournament of Champions, Clubland USA was front row (sorta)
As Clubland USA’s chief (and only) squash correspondent, there’s nowhere that I’d rather be than on the back wall seats of the Tournament of Champions. Most of the time, I was confined to the stands, but in between games, pacing around, the socialising always took front stage, both with players and spectators alike.
One of this publication’s first articles was our coverage of this esteemed tournament which is perhaps the greatest of the squash tournaments to ever be held in the United States. The Tournament of Champions brings the top 32 players on both the men’s and the women’s professional squash tours to a specially constructed glass court ensconced within Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall in New York City.
This year, I went back for more.
On Friday night, I had the pleasure of being seated alongside a convoy of squash fanatics from the Union League Club of New York.
Juan Camilo Vargas, #27, played Mohammed ElShorbagy, #10, in what was a display of terrific squash. Vargas pushed past his usual game and fought ElShorbagy until the very last, losing 11-9, 11-7, and 11-8—three terribly close games. Although this was Vargas’ first time on the glass court at ToC, playing against three-time ToC winner Elshorbagy, he’s likely to reprise his spot the next year and push through once again.
What was startling about Mohammed ElShorbagy’s game was how carefully and artfully he blocked Vargas, especially at crucial times. At the 9-9 point in the first game, Mohammed, who loomed over Vargas, hip checked Vargas in a manner that would not be susceptible to the cameras positioned behind him. It seems like blocking has been more or less accepted as part of the game in a way that would, in the pre-Asal years, get more ire from spectators.
Earlier that week, in the Round of 32, Timmy Brownell, #26, the highest ranked American male player on the tour, delivered a major upset, beating Mohammed ElShorbagy’s brother, Marwan, who is world #7. Brownell beat Marwan ElShorbagy in a gruelling match that lasted through four games, losing the first 9-11, and then proceeding to win 11-1, 13-11, 13-11, in a 61 minute battle of endurance and skill.—IJ
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Thank you for reading. Our next issue will be in your inbox on Tuesday, February 3, at 3PM Eastern.