INUVIK
The consensus Sunday afternoon at the squash courts was that the sport is "a good sweat."

Brian Healy, left, and Chris Gilmour face off on the last day of the squash tournament at the Midnight Sun Complex Nov. 29. Eighteen players took part in the last tournament of the calendar year. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo

About 30 people in town play, according to tournament organizer and squash aficionado Grant Convey, but 18 came out for three days of fun competition.

"It lends itself to the individual," he said.

"And it's indoors; you can play it all year round. Like any sport, you want that level of competition to stay healthy."

The tournament itself was one of three the group typically has over the course of the year. Convey said they are a good opportunity for players to get together and change up their regular routine but that it could also be a challenge to make it all work logistically.

"There are so many different skill levels in town," he said.

"That's probably the toughest part. We try to organize the tournament to have equal players."

There were three divisions - men's, women's, and mixed - won by Brandon Johnston, Britney Selina, and a tie between Alex Deroches and Lisa Mackenzie. Convey said they used to host women's-only tournaments to try to grow that side of the sport in town. The growth of the sport depends on people's schedules, said Convey.

"It's a great atmosphere for new players to come out and learn the sport," he said.

"When we have a bit more funding, we bring up Spider Jones, a big name in squash in the territory, to do clinics and stuff."

While there is a perception in the south of squash as something reserved for white-collar people, Convey said that hardly holds true here.

"It's great here," he said.

"There are no membership fees, it's relatively cheap to get started, and it's open to everyone, it's a good sweat. The more participation, the better."

Like any club in town, the squash club is always looking for new players, especially younger players to keep the sport going. He said a lot of the current players brought the game with them from elsewhere, but that it's nice to have a squash community in Inuvik. There is a junior program, likely to start up again in the new year but Convey said it faces the same challenges as every other junior sport in competing for the same group of children to play. He was confident, however, that if people give it a chance, the sport will draw them in.

"It's a good sweat," Stacey Christie, fellow player and tournament competitor told Drum.

"Once you get rallies going, it's a great work out and really fun. I love it."

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