Carin Clonda
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Carin Lydia Clonda |
| Born |
1 March 1961 Manly, New South Wales, Australia |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Squash |
| Updated on 10 December 2015. | |
Carin Lydia Clonda (born 1 March 1961) is a former Australian squash player and sports administrator.
Clonda was born in the Sydney suburb of Manly, to an Estonian mother and Romanian father.
She was introduced to squash at the age of 13, and began to play competitively, winning the Australian Under-16 title after playing for two years. In 1978 she won the New South Wales and Australian Junior Women's Championships in the Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17 age groups. In the same year, she was diagnosed with chronic asthma, and took eighteen months off to undergo respiratory treatment, but resumed playing after gaining weight due to the treatment.
In 1979, she became the de facto under-19 world champion when she won the British Junior Women's Open, there being no higher championship in that age range.
From 2005 to 2009, Clonda was the CEO and director of NSW Squash, the organisation which develops, organises and promotes the sport of squash in New South Wales. She also managed the organisation's squash facilities at the Thornleigh Squash Centre.
She has served as a squash administrator and manager for several major sporting events including the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
In 2010, Clonda founded the Australian Squash Group, a non-profit consultancy group, with fellow squash champion David Palmer.
In 2012, Clonda was involved in a court dispute with NSW Squash which alleged she had altered an approved lease agreement to hire facilities at the group's headquarters in Thornleigh. Justice Michael Pembroke of the Supreme Court of New South Wales ruled that Clonda had acted with "guile and deception". As a result of the court judgement, the Governor-General cancelled her award of the Medal of the Order of Australia.
In addition to chronic asthma, Clonda experienced numerous health issues during her sporting career, but continued to compete regardless. In 1989, she underwent surgery to remove a tumour from her leg, and then spinal fusion surgery which held a risk of permanent paralysis.
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