With the squash season fully underway, Squash BC invites you to take notice of the players in your community who are involved and giving back to the sport.
We offer several awards to recognize exceptional members of the squash community and encourage you to nominate someone who you think should be recognized for their efforts or achievements.
BC Junior Open 2018
The BC Junior Open, held by the gracious volunteers at the Evergreen Squash Club from Oct 26 to 28 held many intense contests among the province's best juniors.
Tournament Director and Evergreen Head Pro, Thomas Brinkman, reported:
"
We at Evergreen were very pleased with the number of participants of the tournament with more than 130 entries. Both Evergreen and Hollyburn were buzzing with excitement throughout the weekend with lots of the top talent from western Canada.
Sunday had many great matches and was highlighted by both the Boys U19 final (won by Emilio Carrillo) and Girls U19 final (won by Yu Quan Ng) going to 5 games.
The Safiya Mawani Memorial Sportsmanship Award was awarded to Roman Bicknell. This is awarded annually to the Evergreen junior squash player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, determination and a positive attitude."
Many thanks to the volume of volunteers who kept matches going smoothly through reffing, court control and food replenishment.
Sign up now for Junior P
athway Events!
Squash BC has partnered with member club coaches and pros to develop, implement and support a vibrant Junior Pathways Development Program that encourages kids to take up the sport, helps them develop their skills and progressively introduces them to competition.
With financial support from the
2020 Fund
, the program is a cornerstone to engaging, growing and maintaining a strong base of junior athletes.
Recent successful events include:
With 9 participants (1 girl and 8 boys), event organizer and coach Ian Sefton reported:
"We had a splendid time at the courts.
The juniors first played king/queen of the court where people were shifted around from court to court to play everyone in the first hour.
We then had a pizza break complete with gatorade and halloween candy! Once lunch was finished the juniors were d
ivided up into 3 levels with 3 kids in each level based upon their skill level demonstrated in the king/queen of the court session. They each played 2 matches with best of 5 scoring PAR 11.
Every child got a chance to practice refereeing for the first time and they all did a fantastic job!
After the matches started to wind down, we played some squash tag games and lives to finish off the afternoon. There was even more candy that was given out as prizing!
Looking forward to the next one!"
A Developing Junior Pathway Event was wildly successful...
at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club
on Nov 4 where 19 kids (4 girls and 15 boys) participated in timed games for an hour which determined round-robin groupings.
After a short snack, the kids then played in round-robin format with best of 3 matches.
There were a lot of sweaty, tired, smiling faces as the kids enjoyed lots of squash.
Positive attitudes were on full display as everyone jumped right into keeping score on their courts.
Don't miss out on the fun! Join in on upcoming junior pathway events:
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The 2020 Fund was established in 2000 by Squash BC to help protect the future of squash in British Columbia. As funding from government and other sources becomes less predictable, it is important to find alternative ways to ensure a sound financial future for the sport of squash. The income accumulated through the 2020 Fund is used to promote the growth of the game through the development of junior squash. By establishing a vibrant and well-financed junior program, Squash BC will take a major step toward a successful future for the sport in this province.
To donate to the 2020 Fund, click here
.
Fabulous Fun at Kamloops No-Frills tournament
With 38 players, ranging from novice to advanced (D to A), and ranging in age from early teens to university students and upwards, the tournament saw excellent matches, at all levels.
Many thanks to all who played and supported the event. The KSA and No Limits are looking forward to their next big event which will be the women's squash weekend on Feb 1-3!
Women's Squash Week Winner tells her squash story
Women's Squash Week 2018 seems so long ago, but for many who participated, it is the start of re-engaging with our game and re-connecting with other women. Women's Week racquet winner, Donna Barker, shared her squash experience at the Arbutus Club:
"A couple of years ago I started squash lessons but like most busy people who have hectic schedules with their families, work and other hobbies, squash was one of the things that fell off my list.
I credit the Women's Squash Week Event and Ian Woodhead for motivating me to return to squash.
This event for every skill level definitely inspired myself and other women to reconnect and we all had a wonderful time.
Since that evening Ian has reserved courts for the Ladies on Thursday evenings and many of us plan to play now on a regular basis. (now since the event brought us together)
I like that Squash can be played at any age and is easy to learn but what I love most about it is keeping the "fun" as the main component."
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Women's Squash Week is an annual event held to promote social play to inspire women to reconnect on the court and off. Through Women's Squash Week our aim is to help clubs increase membership, improve member engagement, increase lessons and participation in leagues, tournaments and other events and overall sustain squash at your club and in BC.
Thanks goes to Black Knight for providing squash racquets for Women's Week participant draws.
Many thanks to our Community Partners:
