Top Players In Town For National Event

Twenty-six of Canada’s best racquetball players will be in Vernon this weekend for the first Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event of the season.

The tournament is being held at the Rosters Sports Club from Friday to Sunday.

The results will have an impact on which men and women make Team Canada for next year’s Pan Am and World championships.

The results also are part of the criteria for nomination for Sport Canada funding.

High performance athletes will compete in Men’s and Women’s Open Singles events, including the top ranked men’s and women’s players in Canada.

The organizers are also hosting a tournament open to all participants that will run concurrently with the Selection Event that includes several singles and doubles skill categories.

In total, fifty four players of all ages and abilities will be competing in the tournament.

There is a lot of interest in this selection event as there are several national team and national development team athletes entered who have been away from active competition or who have not participated in a national event for a while.

“I’m eager to see the level of play from our high performance athletes and from those returning to competition,” says Geri Powell, Racquetball Canada’s Administrator of High Performance and Sport Development. “There’s a lot on the line for upcoming international events and our athletes are highly motivated.”

The following is a list of the athletes competing in the National Team Selection Event.

Women’s Open Event

Athlete            Home Town         National Ranking

Danielle Drury Saskatoon, SK   4

Valerie Fallu Candiac, QC 6

Erin Geeraert Calgary, AB 12

Frédérique Lambert Montréal, QC 1

Michèle Morissette Baie-Comeau, QC 5

Cassie Prentice Macrorie, SK 15

Christine Richardson Winnipeg, MB 3

Jen Saunders  Winnipeg, MB 2

Men’s Open Event

Athlete             Home Town     National Ranking

Nicolas Bousquet Montréal, QC  8

Mitch Brayley Calgary, AB  16

Pedro Castro Brossard, QC   7

Lee Connell Saskatoon, SK   6

Kurtis Cullen Brandon, MB   9

Ian Frattinger Martensville, SK   65

Mike Green Hamilton, ON    1

Coby Iwaasa Lethbridge, AB un-ranked

Joshua Keil Saskatoon, SK  18

James Landeryou Saskatoon, SK  4

Tim Landeryou Calgary, AB   3

Michael Leduc Québec, QC    20

Tanner Mattson North Vancouver, BC  17

Samuel Murray Baie-Comeau, QC   2

Tommy Murray St-Hubert, QC    10

Tanner Prentice Macrorie, SK    11

Anthony Schoenberger New Westminster, BC un-ranked

Trevor Webb Cambridge, ON   12

The event is open to the public at no cost.

Rosters Sports Club is located at 2319 53 Avenue

Play begins: Friday, November 24 at 11:00 am
Men’s Bronze Medal Match: Sunday, November 26 at 10:00 am
Men’s Gold Medal Match: Sunday, November 26 at 12:00 pm
Women’s Bronze Medal Match: Saturday, November 25 at 5:00 pm
Women’s Gold Medal Match: Satruday, November 25 at 4:00 pm

Racquetball Canada is the national sport governing body for the sport of Racquetball in Canada.