World-class squash coming to the college

World-class squash talent will be raising a racket locally next week.

The Lethbridge Squash Association will bring some big-name players from across the globe to town as they host the ScotiaMcleod/Charlton & Hill Squash Pro Am Tuesday through Sunday at Lethbridge College.

“It’s a professional-ranked tournament,” said Ryan Boorsma, vice-president of the Lethbridge Squash Association and tournament organizer. “So this is the highest division of squash you can play in. They’re coming from all different countries. We’ve got England, Pakistan, Egypt, Argentina and Mexico, from all over the world. They’re going to be competing for a tournament prize purse of $10,000 U.S. A best of-five is a typical match with very little breaks. It’s a very high-cardio and precision sport.”

Among the Canadians competing is one who won’t have to travel far to get here, as Calgary’s Andrew Schnell makes the two-hour journey.

Other competitors will be coming to southern Alberta via Montreal and Winnipeg.

“I’ve been in contact with Andrew,” said Boorsma, adding fellow Canadian Nick Sachvie will also be on hand. “He’s based out of Calgary, so he’s semi-local. I think many of these athletes are travelling across the country right now. They’ve travelled into Montreal to play and they’re in Winnipeg right now and then they’ll be coming to Alberta after that. There are tournaments everywhere and they choose their tournaments based on the prize money. So the higher the prize money, the more ranking points they can receive.”

Some big names from outside of Canada will also compete here, including Charles Sharpes of England.

The squash club in Medicine Hat reached out to the Lethbridge Squash Association to host a tournament to give the players travelling internationally — and incurring those costs — a circuit of nearby events to play in, said Robert Baird, president of the Lethbridge Squash Association.

“We were pre-slotted into a circuit that fit in with Edmonton and Calgary and Medicine Hat, which means players could travel from Colombia or the U.K. and come here for a one-month stint and play four quality tournaments.”

In addition to taking in the world-class talent, local squash players will get to make a home court appearance as well

“A lot of the players around here are excited to see it and watch and play in the amateur portion,” said Boorsma. “In the professional draw we don’t have any locals at this point, but we have an amateur that plays alongside it to not only watch the squash, but get their fill playing during the weekend.”

The Lethbridge Squash Association was formed last summer with the goal of hosting a professional event, said Boorsma.

“We didn’t quite realize the work it was, but we had five people join us and since then it’s gone pretty smoothly. A lot of great volunteer time has been put into it.”

Tickets are $20 for a day or $30 for the whole weekend and $10 a day for students or $15 for the entire event.

Spectator seats are available upstairs and downstairs at the courts.

The qualifying matches take place between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Tuesday and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

The main event starts Thursday running from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday’s action starts at 2 p.m. with the final slated for Sunday at 2 p.m.

Anyone interested in billeting a player can visit

http://lethbridgesquash.ca/billetsneeded/ http://lethbridgesquash.ca/

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