Squash players from near and far faced off in the Yukon Open Squash tournament on April 22 and 23 at Better Bodies Fitness Centre.
Squash Yukon Coach Gyanendra Singh said it was exciting to host the well attended tournament that included players from outside the territory.
Players in the tournament were divided into categories by skill level.
In Mixed Open, the highest-skill category, Singh made it to the final match against Ian Safton, a visiting pro player from Victoria, British Columbia. Singh said it was an exciting showcase match for the other players in attendance to watch. The best-of-five set final match came down to the last set.
Singh won the first set 11-8 before dropping a game to Safton 11-9. The Yukon coach then won another 11-9 before Safton forced a fifth set by winning the fourth 11-9. Singh secured the win with an 11-2 fifth set.
Finley Armstrong won the Men’s B final in straight sets over Jason Pedlar with scores of 11-3, 11-2 and 11-6.
In the Mixed A final Stephen Burdess dropped the first set to Coleman Newell before winning the next three 12-10, 11-6 and 11-8 for the win.
Shayna Haley came back from a first set loss to Chantal Edmond to win the next three and the Mixed B final.
Brys Stafford bested Lydia Young, another player from Victoria, in straight sets for the win in Mixed C.
Singh said summer is a quieter time on the squash courts but in September Squash Yukon will be back with more tournaments, a regular league and programs for kids.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com