In this week’s segment of “We The North” we feature another northern uprising at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, where an injection of youth and enthusiasm is driving the development of our sport.

Greetings to our Squash Ontario family as we settle into this new reality away from the courts for the time being. Over the coming weeks, we will be presenting good news stories from the 2019-20 season celebrating the special people that make our community so wonderfully unique. First up is a feature entitled “We The North” that will chronicle a resurgence of squash activity in Northern Ontario. With a rich tradition of producing top players and for having the best tournament hospitality anywhere, the North is now BACK due to the hard work and dedication of some special folks.

The Squash Ontario junior community is truly where the “leaders of tomorrow play junior squash today”; a very special collection of student athletes and young people making a difference in the world from around the province. With thanks to the vision of the Jesters of Ontario and in particular chair Bert Keene and Jeff Deverill, we will once again recognize the brightest lights of 2019-20 in sportsmanship, on-court excellence, commitment to improvement and coaching achievement.

After careful consideration and in the interest of the health and safety of the squash community, Squash Ontario has postponed all junior and provincial championship events to assist in the prevention of the COVID-19 spread until April 16th at a minimum.

Excitement is building around the province as high school squash teams gear up for the biggest Jim Mason High School Teams Tournament yet which is just 6 weeks away!

The 2020 Ontario Winter Games took place this past weekend in Orillia and surrounding areas with the Barrie Athletic Club playing host to the squash games. Eight junior teams, totaling 64 players, came from all over Ontario come to compete against each other over three days.

Four years of home team Niagara dominance came thundering down at the 2020 Ontario Masters Regional Team championships this past weekend at The Club at White Oaks.

Family day weekend saw three-person provincial teams from around the country travel to compete in the annual Men’s and Women’s Canadian Team Championships, in Winnipeg and Quebec, respectively. Winning their finals 2-1 each, the men’s team (seeded #2) of Mike McCue, Nick Sachvie, and Cam Seth, and the women’s team (seeded #1) of Molly Chadwick, Hollie Naughton, and Iman Shaheen brought home top Canadian team titles from the 2020 events.

Old melded beautifully with new this past weekend at the OUA and Jesters University League Championships at White Oaks, hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines.

Yet another successful doubles event took place this past weekend (with only a few hamstring and calf sprains) with the Weir Team’s 2020 Ontario Men’s Veterans Doubles Championships Presented by Slaight Music, thanks to host club Toronto Racquet Club, Tournament Chair Blair Finlayson and his lineup of supporters - Cam Weir, Gary Slaight, Jon LeHeup, Paul Smith, Mike Hobart, Peter Sidqwick, and the Ontario Squash Doubles League. Also a big shout out to additional event hosts Badminton & Racquet Club, Toronto Lawn & Tennis Club, and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club for offering up their courts.