Canadian Team Championships

WINDSOR SQUASH & FITNESS CLUB TO HOST 2018 CANADIAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS OFFERING UNPRECEDENTED PRIZE MONEY

Squash Canada is thrilled to announce that the Windsor Squash & Fitness Club (WSFC) will host the 2018 Canadian Men’s and Women’s Team Squash Championships, and in an unprecedented move in Canadian squash, will offer significant prize money.  From February 16-18, 2018, the WSFC will welcome Canada’s top players as they represent their home Province/Territory in hopes of capturing the separate men and women teams’ national titles.

“We are extremely honoured to have been awarded the 2018 Canadian Team Championships,” said WSFC Head Professional Graeme Williams, upon the awarding of the Championships.  “As a club, it will allow our members to enjoy top level squash and hopefully inspire new people to play.  For the players, we hope to put on an event they enjoy, one that will bring out the best in them. We are thrilled to be offering the most prize money in the events history.  All of which would not be possible without the incredible investment our sponsors and supporters have put into the development and growth of squash.”
Thanks to championship sponsors and enthusiastic squash supporters, the championships will be a history-making event, awarding total prize money of $21,000.  The 6 gold medal finishers will each receive $2,000, $1,000 will go to each finalist and each bronze medalist will receive $500.
Over the past twelve months Squash Canada has taken many steps to increase the prestige of its eight national championships held annually.  Securing host clubs, like the WSFC, who not only bring first-class facilities but a passion and commitment to executing top-level events has helped achieve this.
“We could not be more excited to work with such a high-quality host to present a bigger and better squash event for these Championships,” said Squash Canada’s Executive Director, Dan Wolfenden.  “I commend Tournament Director, Graeme Williams and the WSFC community for having a bold vision for the event.  Securing sponsor and donor support to be able to offer a purse of $21,000 is a significant step in growing the event and ensuring that top Canadian players will be there to perform at the highest level. Equally important, it shows athletes that clubs across the country are filled with people who have the leadership and ambition to further the growth of the sport of squash.”
National Team Athlete Representative, Samantha Cornett, appreciates what this means for competing athletes. “This is going to be a great event.  Securing this amount of prize money will definitely draw the top players. With that, comes the opportunity to provide valuable head-to-head matches for the national squad members, as well as some of the top junior players,” she said.  “What are great opportunity this will be for Canadian squash to be in the spotlight in a growing squash market.  And I personally can’t wait for the other athletes to find out just how awesome it is to play in front of the ‘squash-mad’ members of the Windsor Squash & Fitness Club.”
The Canadian Men’s and Women’s Team Championships is a high-calibre event in which 3 men or 3 women of each provincial/territorial team, as well as a Canadian Armed Forces team, play head-to-head, one player at a time, with the team who won the best of three matches being credited with the win.  The timing of the event has moved from its traditional spot in early January to the February 16-18 dates, which is a protected date by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), and will therefore be free of PSA World Tour conflicts for the many Canadians who compete professionally.
“On behalf of the proud sponsorship group, we, along with the Windsor Squash and Fitness Club and its members, and the City of Windsor, are proud and excited to host this event,” said Dr. Darin Peterson, of the Windsor Family Health Team.  “For the first time, the championships will have several financial and food sponsors that will make it an incredible event for both players and fans.  We are also excited to confirm that we will be offering free admission to the public.  This will undoubtedly help grow the fan base and awareness of the sport in Windsor.  We encourage all to come down to the WSFC and join us in celebrating this national event in February of 2018.”
The 2018 event will be one of the most exciting to date so get ready Southwestern Ontario, Canada’s best squash is headed your way!  As more event details are secured they will be posted on www.squash.ca/events.