INUVIK - Inuvik will send only one representative to the Territorial Squash Championships in Yellowknife to compete against players from across the North and west, but no worries.

Hani "Dangoria" Ibrahim, a former national squash champion for Sudan and now a resident of Inuvik, will travel to Yellowknife this weekend to compete and try for his international referee certification. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

He's a two-time national champion.

Of course that nation was Sudan, but Hani "Dangoria" Ibrahim considers Inuvik his home now and will play proudly for his community. The tournament runs from May 30 to June 5, though out-of-town players such as Ibrahim and members of Canada's national team, will play from June 3.

"That will be a challenge because I will play against the higher-ranked players," Ibrahim said. "But I used to be an international player and played in the biggest tournaments in the Middle East."

That wasn't that long ago. He won the title two years in a row – 2008 and 2009 – before moving to Canada. In November 2010, he played for the first time in the NWT and received a ranking of 33 out of 200 players in the territory.

In addition to keeping his ranking, Ibrahim hopes to gain his international referee certification. He already has certification under the Arab Squash Federation, but with an international referee watching as he calls games during the Yellowknife tournament, he hopes to gain the higher level.

"My roommate has said that he noticed in the last tournament, I was playing every day," Ibrahim said. "But to prepare for this tournament I'm doing a lot more reading."

When he returns from this tournament, he and fellow squash enthusiast Chris Balla will continue building the squash league in Inuvik, which currently has approximately 25 players. Ibrahim hopes to hold a clinic to improve the skills of people who already play squash and then start holding lessons for children.

"I want to involve some of the elementary school teachers so they can have squash in the classes, like baseball and soccer," Ibrahim said. "Spider Jones (of NWT Sport North) has really supported us and is always giving us ideas, like what to do with the kids and how to start the league."

Ibrahim himself started playing at a young age. His father played many sports, including squash, and is the coach of the Sudan national team. Ibrahim started with tennis and then switched over to squash. He was never one for team sports.

"Tennis you can play and chat with your team, but in squash you only have a half-second to be ready," Ibrahim said. "You have to be mentally and physically fit and you have to have attention for everything because it's really fast."

With the help of the Beaufort Delta Sahtu Recreation Association and Inuvik's department of recreation, Ibrahim and Balla have been able to acquire racquets and balls for the club, allowing for new members to join in the fun.

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