24 Jan 2009 at 21:11 | Published by: Hans | Views: 10220 | News search

Interview with Sandra Bengtson (SB), Uppsala BGK,

This interview was done the 22nd of January 2009. Interviewer is Hans Bergström (HB).

HB: First of all congratulations to a great season 2008 and to the award Female Player of the Year 2008 at minigolfnews.com. Is this you best season ever?

SB: Thanks! It was a bit surprising. This is by far the best season I have ever had as a player. I have had great seasons before but 2008 tops them all.

HB: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself to those who don’t know you. Who is Sandra Bengtson?

SB: I am working as Security Officer at Securitas in the Airport Arlanda in Stockholm. I live since 9 years in Uppsala. My origin is though from region Skåne in the south of Sweden. I am a stubborn girl that will do the best of everything I do. That includes eeverything from my profession to Minigolf.

Short trivia:
Profession: Airport security officer
Year of birth: 1980
Start of Minigolf career: 1993
Make of club: Nifo
Favourite ball: D 084
Favourite surface: EB (Eternit)
Technical tip: Don't use your wrists that much!

HB: Do you agree in the fact that our voters have voted you to be the best female player in the world last year?

SB: Hmmm, there are lots of really good players out there. But I have done lots of really good performances last year.

HB: Which are you most pleased with. Your game at the EC in Tampere with the team silver or the European Cup gold with Uppsala where you where best lady of all players?

SB: Tough choice, it was really fun to be back in the national team and to do great results in Tampere. It was a great feeling to be fighting in the absolute top of the elite players. To win the European Cup with my club team is big both for us and for me and I have to say that this was the competition I enjoyed the most last year. It was a really tough fight where we came out as winners. This means that we in Uppsala now have won the European Cup on all surfaces.

HB: You have been away from top international Minigolf for some years and now you are back again, better than ever. What is the story behind this?

SB: I made a pause in my play due to my job situation. I was working part time at a nursery home for old people and didn’t have a stable income. Then I got this job at Arlanda last year and was able to spend more time on my Minigolf. But also I have found an inner peace with myself as a player and that gives confidence.

HB: There has been much discussion on the Internet about the new KO modus played in the individual finals at international championships. What is your opinion about the KO-modus?

SB: It was the first try for me this year in Tampere so I must consider myself a bit like a rookie. I think it was a useful experience for me, fun way to play. For media coverage it should be more interesting, it’s more action. But I also like the old modus a lot.

HB: Who do you think would have won in Tampere if the old modus would have been played instead?

SB: It’s hard to say, it was a pretty tight in the top after the first 8 laps. Perhaps Me  ! Thi-hi. No its hard to predict since it was not played like this. And you never know what happened in the end, everything can happen.

HB: What is your ambition for the 2009 season? Will you try to play in Odense?

SB: Yes, Odense is in my season planning. I know that felt is not my strongest side, but I think I have a good chans. I will practice and compete with the ambition to get into the team.

HB: There is also a poll about the best male player in 2008. Who do you think should have this reward?

SB: Of course I hope for my team mate Lars Brown, who also has developed a lot the last years. He played really well in Tampere and also in the European Cup where he only beat me with one stroke.

HB: In Sweden there is much focus on MOS-courses and especially artificial grass courses. The first competitions have been played with various impressions amongst competition players. What is your opinion about artificial grass as a competition arena?

SB: Unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to try myself, so I guess I should wait to give an answer. But I can imagine that it is a nice variant to the sport. Will be fun to try sometimes.

HB: The world championships 2011 will be held in Stockholm. Will we be able to see you participate there?

SB: I really hope so! At least I will not stop my game before that in any case. But it’s a matter of getting into the team. If I won’t get into the team I would probably be there and cheer for the team at least.

HB: It has been some debate lately on our site about the referees in international competitions. Do you have any comments about the referees at the competition you have played this year?

SB: Yes, a lot of debate there has been! And I can agree that some referees seem not to be looking at all at the behavior of their home countries player. Maybe they want them to win. And of course you should be impartial as a referee so I can understand the debate to some extent. In my opinion the referee shall be fair and all players shall be under the same watching eye and the rules hall be applied the same. When I played the European Cup in Hilzingen this year a referee approached me and wanted to have a look in the protocol. At first I thought I had been given a warning but it turned out that he was just curious about the current results between me and the German girl I played with. I don’t think that is anything a referee shall do. If he wants to see the result there is always the scoreboard. But there are referees out there that are really good also. We really need to encourage them since they are quite few and often are working against the wind.

HB: Now to the final and most important question. How do you spell your family name? One or two “s”?

SB: Ha ha, the eternal question…It’s actually spelled with one S. The family has always spelled with one s, but the authorities mixed this up for my grandfather a long time ago and suddenly there was two ”S” in some official papers. So in important paper I need to write Bengtsson with two ”s” but in all other cases I write with 1. I have even thought about officially change my name to Bengtson with one s. It looks much nicer I think.

HB: Again a big congratulation to the award and good luck in the future.

SB: Thanks yourself.

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