Quebec Men and Manitoba Women win Gold at the 2023 Canadian Men’s and Women’s Teams Championship

The 2023 Canadian Men’s and Women’s Teams Championships, hosted at the Regina Squash Centre, came to a close and two new teams were crowned champion: Team Quebec for the men, and Team Manitoba for the women.

After a two-year hiatus, the Men’s and Women’s Teams Championships returned to the National Championship schedule and were held in Regina, Saskatchewan from January 20th – 22nd. For the women, Team Manitoba dominated the round robin division of the championships, heading the leaderboard with an impressive 3-0 record (W 2-1 Ontario, W 3-0 Quebec, W 3-0 Saskatchewan). Manitoba prevailed over team Ontario 3-1 to take home the title. Team Quebec (Sophie Joubarne, Jasmine Boucley, and Lea Provencal) took third.

Women’s Team Finals

Team Manitoba

Score

Team Ontario

Melina Turk (1S)

0-3

6-11, 12-14, 4-11 (18 min)

Niki Shemirani

Alix Younger (2S)

3-0

11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (15 min)

Khaaliqa Nimji

Anika Alexander (3S)

3-1

11-6, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8 (25 min)

Vanessa Steinwall

For the men, Team Quebec had a slow start in the round robin recording 1-1 (L 1-2 Saskatchewan #1, W 3-0 Manitoba) and then fought hard to win their semi-final match against Team Ontario to advance to the finals. Mohamed Kamal and Ben Pitfield put forth a nail-biting match as the second seeds for their respective teams, but in the end, Mohamed came out on top, aiding in Team Quebec’s sweep to the finals. The men’s final saw Team Quebec prevail over Team Alberta in a 3-1 victory. Team Ontario (Cory McCartney, Ben Pitfield, and Cameron Butler) took third.

Men’s Team Final

Team Quebec

Score Team Alberta

Abbas Nawaz (1S)

3-0

11-8, 11-4, 11-6 (23 min)

Adrian de Vries

Mohamed Kamal (2S)

3-0

11-6, 11-9, 11-4 (26 min)

Brock Janzer

Marat Sargsyan (3S) 1-3

12-10, 6-11, 7-11, 7-11 (41 min)

Tyson Schille

“The 2023 Canadian Men’s & Women’s Team Championships was received well by our club, city and province. Players from across the nation were welcomed with warm prairie hospitality. I want to take this opportunity to thank the many sponsors, players, volunteers, referees, and spectators for making this event the success it was. Without YOU, such an event simply can not happen. The team at Regina Squash Centre is very proud to have hosted such a prestigious event and look forward to working with Squash Canada on future championships.” – Thomas King, Tournament Chair.

“We’re ecstatic to be bringing the Canadian Women’s Teams title back to Manitoba for the first time since 2000, joining previous champions and Manitoba squash legends Marnie Baizley, Alana Miller, Carolyn Russel, and Danielle Parent. We would also like to thank the Regina Squash Centre and all the amazing people in Regina for hosting us this past weekend. Thomas and Colin King hosted a great event and it is so exciting to see a new squash club flourishing in the prairies. Congrats to all the participants that played last weekend!” – Melina Turk, Team Manitoba