This article appeared in the Vernon Morning Star on November 21, 2017.
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Racquetball stars hit Vernon
The top-26 players will be at The Roster in Vernon for a Racquetball Canada Selection Event
Top-ranked Mike Green of Hamilton and Frédérique Lambert of Montreal are among a field of 54 in the Racquetball Canada Selection Event starting Friday at The Roster in Vernon.
The top 26-players in Canada will be playing for a spot on Team Canada for future international events like the 2018 Pan Am Games and Worlds. Lambert recently finished second at the US Open.
“This is a real treat for our club to be able to host this event,” said local tourney director Doug Ross. “Corey Osborne recommended us to Racquetball Canada and our reputation for putting on a great tournament was taken into consideration when considering the bids. There are nine of the top-10 ranked men’s open players and the top-six female players entered.
“This national event is sponsored by Tourism Vernon, Sunshine Autographics and Vernon Hyundai. This will be an amazing opportunity for people to see racquetball played at the highest level and people are encouraged to swing by the Roster and check out the action.”
There will also be a small tournament for rec players run concurrently. It has 28 entries.
Ross expects competition will be intense as the results are also part of the criteria for nomination for Sport Canada funding. 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,” said Geri Powell of Racquetball Canada. “There’s a lot on the line for upcoming international events and our athletes are highly motivated.”
No. 17-ranked Tanner Mattson of North Vancouver and unranked Anthony Schoenberger of New Westminster represent B.C.’s hopes in the men’s draw.
Play begins Friday at 11 a.m. with the men’s gold-medal game scheduled for Sunday at noon and the women’s final Saturday at 4 p.m.
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