Pacific Northwest Junior Championships

2017 Jesters Pacific Northwest Junior Championships

Dear Jesters

This year’s event drew a record 233 entries and included many of Canada’s leading players. I’m pleased to report that our BC contingent fared very well. Grace Thomas (Victoria) and Andrea Toth (Richmond) met in the Girl’s Under 19 final with the win going to Thomas in a tight four game match. In the Boys Under 19 semi-final, Ryan Picken (Shawnigan) eliminated top seed Akasham Rajagopaul (Niagra Falls) but was unable to overcome 2^nd seed Brett Schille (Calgary) in the final. Additional B.C highlights are listed below.

Over the years, Jester’s sponsorship has helped us to maintain a reasonable entry fee for this event. Additional Jester’s funding in 2017 allowed us to enhance player meals, upgrade the tournament souvenir and to add a third place award in all fifteen divisions.

A volunteer crew of over fifty provided vital services including court control, meal services and registration. In addition, we had 17 local players referee all the Under 19 and Under 17 quarter finals and beyond, plus all the first matches each day. In total there were 476 matches played at three venues on 13 courts. We gratefully acknowledge and thank St. Michael’s University School and Stuart Dixon at the Victoria Squash Club for the use of their facilities. We also thank Lynne Grass of Shawnigan Lake School who provided an inter venue shuttle on Friday. And finally, a special thanks to John Roche who I believe has assisted at every PNW hosted at Cedar Hill since 1993 – amazing!

The Pacific Northwest Junior tournament was inaugurated in 1969 and has now run continuously for 48 years. In that first year, I was among the participants. I believe it was here where I was introduced to and then thrashed by John Hungerford. Tragic as that was, my occasional glimpses of the front wall cemented a lasting affection for the game and this event in particular. It was my pleasure to run the tournament numerous times from 1970 through to 1982. After a four year stint at Edmonton’s Royal Glenora Club, I returned to Victoria in 1986 and this was the beginning of an unbroken thirty year association with the PNW. How time flies!

In 2018, the PNW will be hosted under new leadership. I am confident that Ben Uliana and his team will continue to enhance the event’s reputation as one of Canada’s most popular Junior tournaments.

To all B.C. Jesters: thank you for your enduring support of Junior Squash in the province
With thanks,
Philip Green

Other notable BC results in Open divisions include:

Boys Under 17
John Dempsey 2^nd
Emilio Carrillo 3^rd
Sayeed Mavani 4^th

Girls Under 17
Sarah Cao 1^st

Boys Under 15
Christian Yuen 3^rd

Girls Under 15
Julia Horsey 1^st

Boys Under 13
Joseph Toth 1^st

Girls Under 13
Grace Huang 1^st
Maria Min 2^nd
Ava Bicknell 4^th

Boys Under 11
Ryan Vest 2^ndGalen Armstrong 3^rd

Six ‘B’ divisions were also offered

Boys Under 17/19 B
1. Lucas Galloway
2. Mark Felea-Motet
3. Amir Djearam

Girls Under 17B
1. Annika Lakhani
2. Angel Hu
3. Carolina Mees

Boys Under 15B
1. Ian Heck
2. Cole Parmar
3. Oliver Kerr

Girls Under 13/15B
1. Bernice Xiao
2. Juliana Angel
3. Ava Galloway

Boys Under 13B
1. Razaan Lalji
2. Tyler Driscoll
3. Ryan Khakzad

Boys Under 11B
1. Nathan Campo
2. Anderson Brown
3. Jonathan Gower

> > Click here to view the draws.

Dear Jesters,

This year’s Jesters Pacific Northwest Junior Championships (PNW) drew 220 entries, up slightly from 2014. Included in this number was a record 51 players from Alberta and, for the first time in many years, a group of ten players arrived from Portland, Oregon.

Two years ago, a decision was made to eliminate the Novice divisions and instead, run two separate local events for these players in November and December. We had 148 players registered in ‘Main’ events while the ‘B’ draws attracted another 72 players.

Saturday was our busiest day with 13 courts in full swing at Cedar Hill, Victoria Squash Club and St Michael’s University School. A grand total of 432 matches were run over the weekend. We are very fortunate to have a core of volunteers who are committed to ensuring the success of the PNW every year. This years’ remarkable crew numbered 38 and they did everything from court control, registration, food services, transportation and officiating. Ben Uliana applied his technical skills to setting up live streaming on two courts and the quality of the feed was the best ever.

The George Morfitt Sportsmanship Award was presented by John Roche on behalf of the B.C. Jesters. This year’s recipient was Matthew Henderson of Victoria

As always, we are grateful for the support of the British Columbia Jesters. Over the past few years, the Jesters’ name has become synonymous with the promotion of junior Squash. My first opportunity to chair the PNW came in 1970 at the age of seventeen. The freshly opened Racquet Club of Victoria had three courts and I believe we had about 45 players that weekend. At the time, it seemed like a lot! While that facility is soon to be demolished, the tournament it once hosted there continues to flourish with your help.

On behalf of all this years’ players, parents and coaches – thank you! Your contribution to this event and to junior Squash in the province is very much appreciated.

Regards
Phillip Green

To see RESULTS follow the link and click on the ‘View’ icon for each event: http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/divisions/listAllDivs.asp?TID=13602&sortBy=defaultOrder