Former world squash champion David Palmer has described the decision to deny Island pro Nick Kyme a wild card in the upcoming Bermuda Open as "terrible" and pledged to fight it all the way.

Palmer, a Bermuda resident and current world number three, has added his voice to those who have cried foul following the move taken by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

The Bermuda Squash Racquets Association had put Kyme's name forward for a spot in the first round proper of the $55,000 event to be held in March.

But Bermuda's director of squash Ross Triffitt and the rest of the association were dismayed to learn from PSA executive director Gawain Briars that Kyme had been denied the opportunity to mix it with some of the best players in the sport. They were told the decision had been taken on the grounds that his ranking of 114 was not high enough to merit displacing a loftier pro, the PSA recommending that Kyme be given one of the spots allocated to locals in the qualifiers.

"It was a very close decision but they (PSA board) did decide that ultimately Nicholas probably wasn't of a sufficient enough standard to merit a direct entry into the main draw of a $50,000 event at this stage, although they were very conscious of the possible benefits to the promoter. But this would have cost another top player his own opportunity in the main draw," Briars said at the time.

The BRSA has since appealed the decision and is waiting to hear whether or not it has been successful.

Meanwhile, Palmer, himself scheduled to play in the tournament, said the news had come as a shock.

"This is the first that I have heard about Nick not getting the wild card," the player told The Royal Gazette from Australia yesterday. "I think it is a terrible decision, I feel sorry for Nick and Ross and the rest of the organising committee."

Palmer said the topic of the wild card was high on the agenda when the Open was first mooted.

"I had a lot of discussions with Gawain Briars from PSA about the possibility of the tournament coming on to the calendar and on every occasion I made it very clear that the wild card was a very important issue," he said.

"Unfortunately, the way the board works, Gawain does not get to vote, he can only advise and the board gets the final decision."

Palmer, though, said he was not prepared to let the matter lie.

"I will be happy to help Nick and Ross to overturn the decision as I think this is very important for a successful tournament," he said.

When contacted yesterday, a spokeswoman for Briars acknowledged the appeal had been received.

"He has asked me to advise you that the matter is now with the PSA Board. As and when there is a decision you will be informed," she said.

The BRSA have their fingers crossed for an amicable solution and hope the fact a precedent has already been set may help their case.

According to published reports, in November, 2002, Saud M Al Sulaiti of Qatar - at the time ranked world 167 was allowed a wild card spot to play in the Qatar Classic - a $140,000 tournament compared to Bermuda's $55,000.

Al Sulaiti was not the number one player in Qatar and had only competed in tournaments in Qatar. He has only won two of 12 matches in his career, both against the same player, Khalid Al Kashouti, who is also from Qatar and Kashouti has never won a match in a PSA competition.

Secondly, in December, 2003, Daniel Forslund of Sweden - ranked world 135 - was given a wild card entry into the Castella Swedish Open.

While Forslund was ranked as high as 39 in the world in July, 1999, he has not competed in any tournaments on the PSA tour, with the exception of the Castella Swedish Open 2002 and 2003, since November of that year. He lost 3-0 in the first round during both those two tournaments.

Kyme, on the other hand, has been improving in every tournament he competes in and recently took part in the World Team Championships in Vienna, Austria, going four games with Olli Tuominen of Finland who holds a ranking of 19.