It’s one thing to play in a Canadian championship. It’s quite another to do so on your home turf.
With athletes from across the country converging on Kelowna for the 2016 Canadian Junior Racquetball Championships, you wouldn’t have known there was any nervousness in the six players from Kelowna playing in front of a home crowd.
The athletes from Kelowna kept their cool and posted an impressive record at the championships, held April 20 to 23 at Global Fitness & Racquet Centre.
Spencer Bell,16, lead the way with an impressive showing in the boys 16-and-under division singles competition by taking home a bronze medal. He also teamed up with Calgary’s Cameron Brookwell to take silver in the boys 16- and-under doubles division.
Bell’s younger brother, Mitchell, 10, took home gold in the 10-and-under singles competition, as well as earning silver with his Kelowna partner, JoeyCosmo Lee in the boys 12-and-under and under doubles division.
Malaya Galigan, 14, took home a silver medal with her doubles partner from Langley, Riley Sommerville, in the girls 14-and-under doubles division.
In his first nationals, Cadan Klassen, 9, took home a bronze medal in the boys 10-and-under two-bounce division.
Eight-year-old Kevin Lee competed in both the boys 8-and-under and 10-and-under singles divisions, taking a fourth place finish in both. His older brother, JoeyCosmo Lee, 12, placed fourth in the boys 12-and-under singles competition.
The Kelowna athletes were part of Team B.C. and were joined by five other players from the Langley Junior Racquetball Program.
The head coach for Team BC was Kelowna’s own Richard Gauthier. The assistant coaches were Eric Urteaga and Jason Scott, both from Langley.
The Kelowna athletes train under coach Gauthier at Global Fitness and Racquet Centre in Kelowna.
