INUVIK
Eighteen players came out for a squash tournament earlier this month, giving club organizers the impression the community might just have appetite to sustain a league in town.

Kendall McDonald and Brandon Johnston compete in the top pool on Feb. 11. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

"It's a big commitment is the problem," said Grant Convey about setting up a league. Convey helps run the Inuvik Squash Club.

"You'll do it probably one night a week and you're relying on everyone on your team showing up. With people being so busy in Inuvik, it will be interesting to see who can make this big of a commitment, along with all of their other commitments."

The league's final details were still being discussed at time of print, but the general idea is for mixed teams of four divided by skill level. Interested players would sign up and rank themselves on a scale of one to four depending on their ability. Then, teams would be made at random to have a mix of all skill levels.

"Squash is a little tricky because a one (rank) can't play a four or they'll destroy them, is the theory, but there are ways we can maybe handicap as well," said Convey.

He happened to win the top pool in the two-day tournament on the weekend.

"Is that indicative of how I always play? Not at all," said Convey.

As a natural coach, he usually prefers watching the other groups and seeing players jockey for position.

"I was happy with the weekend and that I beat Brandon (Johnston), which I seldomly do," said Convey. "I was focused on Saturday and he wasn't, so that's good news."

To save on costs, the club is going with nutritional breakfasts of fruit and granola bars to get people through the tournament, instead of the popular choice of pizza in the past.

Moving forward, Convey wants to get the word out about the league starting up.

"Right now there seem to be a lot of people playing squash," he said.

Anyone interested in signing up can contact Convey or Natasha Kulikowski, or register on a sign-up sheet at the squash court.

"We just want to thank everyone that came out and made the tournament a success," said Convey.

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