The sounds of rubber balls smashing off walls echoed through the Prince Rupert Racquet Centre this weekend as squash enthusiasts from Prince Rupert, Terrace and Smithers renewed rivalries and played for bragging rights in the third annual Feel the Love Squash Tournament.
Event organizer Lee Beal said 32 players competed in the event in multiple divisions to find out who is best in the northwest.
“It was very successful,” said Beal. “It gets bigger and better every year. Any time you can get more than thirty people, it’s a successful event.”
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The tournament was played in a round-robin format, with players who had the best records advancing to play in the finals. The main event of the weekend was the men’s ‘A’ event final, which pitted Richard Haley against Steve Hawyes. The pair have played against each other in a number of tight finals over the last few years, with each player winning two games. Hawyes beat Haley in three competitive sets.
“It’s always great to play Rich, he’s such an amazing sportsman,” Hawyes said. “He’s so fair and so competitive, just a great guy.”
Hawyes said the key to his victory was playing precise squash and keeping the rallies as short as possible. Even though playing this way carried some risk, he said it was worth it to give himself a chance at the victory.
“I knew that the moment there was an opening, I had to go for it,” he said. “I knew I had to be positive, I had to go on the attack because if I let the rallies go on, there’s not a chance against him.”
Other event winners included Kyle Hawyes (Men’s ‘B’ event winner), Adam Simons (Men’s ‘C’ event winner), Phat Tran (Men’s novice event winner), Patricia Cisneros (Women’s ‘B’ event winner), Siobhan Hawyes (Women’s ‘C’ event winner) and Robynn Hofsink (Women’s ‘C’ event winner).
READ AND LISTEN: The Northern View audio only podcast with Lee Beal
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