What a fantastic conclusion to our Club Championships! We witnessed some truly exciting matches across all divisions, showcasing the incredible talent and passion within our club. While we know everyone has their own experience on the court, the energy and sportsmanship displayed throughout the tournament were outstanding. It’s moments like these that remind us how much we grow, both individually in our game and together as a vibrant squash community. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this year’s championships so memorable!
Let’s give a huge round of applause to our finalists and champions:
Women’s B Singles: Winner – Joanie Harper, Runner-up – Maria Beltran
Women’s A Singles: Winner – Vanessa Steinwall, Runner-up – Lisa Pratt
Men’s D Singles: Winner – Sudhish Nair, Runner-up – Daniel Warren
Men’s C Singles: Winner – Andres F Rozco, Runner-up – Shane Morgenstern
Following the thrilling matches, we celebrated our 40th Anniversary with a banquet. John Kerr was awarded the Chris Doona award. Chris Doona was one of the four founding members of the Pickering Squash Club. Chris was taken from us far too soon and as a memorial to his service to the club we created the Chris Doona Memorial Award in 1993.
The Chris Doona Memorial Award is given out each year to the person who most represents the spirit of the Pickering Squash Club. The recipient has contributed their time and efforts unselfishly over many years to help make the Club what it is today.
John has been on the executive committee that helps run the club for several years, manages the membership applications and payments, and can often be seen helping out at the bar at tournaments. John is known for his kindness, quiet dignity and sense of humour and has a mean kill on the doubles courts!
It was a special evening commemorating four decades of squash camaraderie and community spirit within our club. Thank you to everyone who came out to mark this milestone with us!
None of this would have been possible without the incredible dedication of our volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to organize both the championships and the anniversary banquet. Your hard work and commitment are truly appreciated!
Just a reminder that the regular season for our Doubles House League wraps up this week, with playoffs just around the corner. Stay tuned for another post outlining our plans for singles play throughout the remainder of the spring and summer.
Thank you all for being such a fantastic part of our squash club!
Day 5 of our Club Championship tournament did not disappoint and it actually had me questioning the squash rules. So, after all these years of playing squash, I always thought that it was a rule that you have to have one foot fully in the box when you serve. Arslan, however, chose to interpret this rule in last night’s match as more of a suggestion. To be fair, this kept me wondering why we all just don’t start serving from the T? Later in the evening, Gurjit came in well prepared with the oldest trick in the book… the classic “I need to tie my shoelace” stalling tactic. I have used this one many times so I have to give him credit for solid commitment to catching his breath. Maybe we all need to start wearing velcro squash shoes? As we are nearing the end of our tournament, matches are tight, rallies are longer and everyone is fighting for the finish line…some more than others. I don’t want to start rumours but I think I saw Jesse sprinting the fastest 20 yard dash in the history of the club while Trevor slowly cruised behind him in the parking lot, windows down, yelling “you better be ready for tomorrow”
So, who will win each division of our club championships? We will find out today!
The matches over on the doubles side yesterday were awesome! The Vadera duo were absolutely on fire…Raj was hitting nicks like they were handing them out for free! Their opponents, Mike and Eric, didn’t know whether to chase the ball or just clap! Meanwhile, Sameer was covering the court like a cheetah on steroids, flying around with so much speed and intensity you’d think the ball owed him money. And then there was Darryl, who gave us the comedy highlight of the night by taking a mighty swing off the easiest serve of the match and totally whiffing the ball! He then proceeded to stare down his racquet like there was something wrong with it…sorry Darryl, it wasn’t the racquet’s fault! Great effort by everyone last night!
I’ve made some changes to the times due to conflicting doubles and singles matches so be sure to check your times again!
We are back over on the singles courts tonight finishing up around 7. There are only two 6:00 doubles matches this evening so we can all get our beauty rest so we can party it up at the banquet tomorrow night.
Our tournament is in full swing and we had some great matches over on the singles court yesterday. Kavita came in hot with her killer drop shots and Scott showed no mercy. Over on the doubles court, our women’s doubles OSDL team lost a very close semi-final playoff game 2-1. Great effort from everyone!
Please note, there are mulitple events going on at the complex on Sat. including a hockey tournament and a swim meet. If you play on Sat., give yourself extra time to find parking because the complex will be super busy.
We are back over on the doubles courts tonight…who’s going win between Kitt/Alison and Nav/Juan?
We’re excited to celebrate our 40th anniversary banquet party this coming Saturday night. Below are some key details:
The banquet is located at the Frenchman’s Bay Yacht Club, 635 Breezy Dr. Pickering.
Doors will open at 6:30pm and dinner will be served at 7:15pm.
The bar will accept Debit and Credit cards only, no cash will be accepted.
Parking may be limited. If possible, try to carpool and be sure to plan ahead to get home responsibly. There is extra parking on the street if the lot is full.
The attire is business casual, be sure to wear your dancing shoes because we will have a great DJ and will be dancing the night away.
The banquet is currently sold out but if there is anyone that has had a change of plan and can no longer attend, please message me privately and I can likely sell your ticket on your behalf to those on the waitlist.
I’m looking forward to celebrating with you all another successful season at the squash club!
Yesterday the doubles competition started and there were some great matches. Unfortuately Darryl had to go straight home to bed after his match becasuse he was so dizzy from all of Mike’s winning reverse boasts. Later on in the evening, Ian saw so may balls that his partner Adam was able to go take a shower while the rally was still going on and be back for his next shot! Despite the chaos, the night was a success! Over on the singles courts, we had a fun junior tournament where young and upcoming Bennett Sandilands took the title of junior champ!
Tonight we are back over on the singles courts starting at 5pm. Be sure to check the consolation draws if you lost your first (or second) match. I will be sending out some banquet information later on today for those who will be attending the banquet on Sat. evening. Stay tuned and don’t forget to check your draw daily.
We got off to a great start on the singles side yesterday! Somehow JP squeaked out a win and Eli gave Andres a run for his money! For those of you who lost yesterday, be sure to check the consolation draw in your division. If you are new to Clublocker, be sure to click on the drop-down menu under division to see the consolation and plate draws. This will allow you to see your times for your next match. Doubles matches start tonight and I look forward to watching some more fun competition this evening (best 3 out of 5 games to 15pts).
The singles Club Championship tournament starts tonight, and the doubles start tomorrow! Please be on time and remember to check the draw link daily to confirm your time. I look forward to seeing everyone on the courts!
