Thursday, July 30, 2009

Opening Ceremonies and Beyond!


And so, the World Junior Squash Championships have begun. The opening ceremonies happened last night, with speeches and good lucks from many important people, and lots of jokes. One of the ministers deemed us all fighters on the court, and not off, wishing it could be the same throughout the world. The media was there in droves, which was awesome. We took pictures of them taking pictures, there were so many!
This semi-formal event was very classy, some in suits, some in prom-style dresses, and the German girls were kicking it old school in traditional dresses. Obviously we looked great in matching red dresses and white shoes. Don’t worry; we are representing you all well! Glenn and Jess (Gless) both looked sharp as well, effervescent one might say. In the end, the ice cream with chocolate chips in the buffet topped the night off nicely.
Today, we all played. Danielle and Jen played in the morning, forcing the team to get up early. Just kidding, it was awesome cheering them on. Jen played first, coming out strong and taking the first game, but falling to France’s Lecoq in 4. Danielle then took on Garcia from Spain, and with a ton of great volleys she took her down in 3. In the afternoon, Sam played Tucker from South Africa and played very strong squash to win in 3. Laura was next, taking down Pranjpe from India in 3 games. Danielle played for the second time of the day against India’s Reddy, finishing the day with a strong match, but unfortunately losing in 4 close games.
Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow, ready to show them all just what we’re made of!
Go Team!!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Follow the 2009 Junior Women's World Championships on Twitter!

Hi Everyone,

Not only will you be able to see reports from Chennai here on the Junior Women's National Team blog, you can also follow all of Canada's results on Twitter at www.twitter.com/squashcanada. and you can follow all the results and media releases for the event on squashsite.co.uk here: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/worldjuniors/index.htm

Squash Canada

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Finally Here!


Hello Everyone!
It’s Team Canada reporting live from Chennai, India! We arrived here late Wednesday night to busy streets, crazy driving, and extreme heat. So far we’ve explored temples, rode elephants, and saw snakes and crocodiles in captivity. It’s a complete culture shock and we actually decided to buy sarees the first day in an attempt to “blend” in. People still stare and chuckle, but we think we look good. Even though our days have been very busy with tourist activities, we still have been training hard every day on court. The courts here are very different from the courts we all are used to back home. The first couple of days of training there was no air conditioning and we were all dripping with sweat during the warm up! But fear not fans, us Canadian girls are fit! Hope all is well back in Canada and you are enjoying Canadian summer weather, which we have been told is equivalent to Indian winter!
Team Canada

Monday, July 20, 2009

Canada Seeded 3rd for Junior Women's Worlds Team Event

Egypt, three-time winners of the trophy since 1999, are seeded to retain the Women's World Junior Team Squash Championship title in India next month - according to the interim seedings for the event announced today by the World Squash Federation. Seeded third, Canada are expected to record their highest-ever finish in 12 appearances since the inaugural event in 1985

For the full article ... http://www.squash.ca/e/story_detail.cfm?id=2241

Sunday, July 19, 2009

We're down to 50 hours before departure


Friday was a big day for Team Canada. Our first real challenge together as a team: picking an off court outfit everyone liked. Exhausted and hungry after walking around the entire mall 3 times, we made some compromises and settled on a cute dress and shoes, then went for dinner at the Pickle Barrel for the second night in a row. Both nights it entertained and delighted us to find Jess’s photo in the menu, playing squash!

Now, after a weekend of matches, the team is sore and looking forward to a day or two off squash (Harry Potter must be seen prior to departure). Seanna Keating, Marnie Baizley, and Eric Baldwin came to run us around in our practice tournament. Greatly appreciated! I know I’ll be looking for a rematch once we’re home.

Count down: 50 hours

P.S. check out squashsite.co.uk where it says that Canada has been given a tentative seeding of 3!!

By: Sam Cornett

Thursday, July 16, 2009

100 hours to go

Hello fans!  Our journey has begun here in Toronto, where Jess is preparing the girls for a World Championship.  Training is tough; we are focusing on particular skills every day, followed by ridiculously difficult fitness sessions post-squash.  And some slip ‘n’ slide to cool down at the end of a long day’s work.  A nice dinner Thursday night was a good way to bond and relax a bit, plus we got to visit with Coach Leah’s little guy Carter!  Back on court, the energy and intensity is high, and everyone here is getting more excited every day.  Count down: 5 days, approximately 100 hours. 
By: Sam Cornett

Monday, July 6, 2009

Canada names strong team for women's world junior championships

OTTAWA- Squash Canada announced today that Laura Gemmell of Toronto, Samantha Cornett of Ottawa, Jennifer Pelletier of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Danielle Letourneau of Calgary have be named to the Canadian team for the women’s world junior squash championships. he junior worlds are scheduled for July 29-August 8 in Chennai, India.

The junior worlds are scheduled for July 29-August 8 in Chennai, India.The individual tournament runs from July 29 to August 2 and the team tournament from August 3-8.

Gemmell, 18, is one of Canada’s most successful junior players of all time and is seeded third in the individual tournament. She’s won the national under-19 title four years in a row and was a member of the last two world junior squads helping Canada to seventh place and near upset of second-seed Britain in the team event in 2007 and sixth place in 2005. Gemmell advanced to the fourth round in individual play at the 2007 world juniors.

“Laura can challenge for a medal in the individual event this year,” said Canada’s junior national women’s coach Glenn Stark of Calgary. ‘’She`s coming off two exceptional tournaments in Britain (including a third place at the British Junior Open) and has played these girls before.’’

http://www.squash.ca/e/story_detail.cfm?id=2232