THUNDER BAY – One of the biggest events on the local squash calendar has evolved over the years.
Originally designated for players 30 years of age or older, the Silver Fox Squash Cancer Charity Tournament has since become an event for all ages and also sees funds raised for the Northern Cancer Fund.
“It’s nice to have an initiative like that to support,” said Sean Cameron, organizing committee member. “It’s great to do stuff with other squash players and community members who love the sport … and to be able to raise money for a good cause.
“(Event chair) Rick Gauthier was really passionate about raising funds for the Northern Cancer Unit and the Canadian Cancer Society and we’ve been able to help them out over the last few years, along with putting some funds towards local squash initiatives here.”
The 2024 edition of the Silver Fox Squash Cancer Charity Tournament takes place from April 19-21 at the Canada Games Complex.
Steven Bill, Thunder Bay Squash communications person, said there is a similar vibe at the Silver Fox event to what people would see during the Northwestern Ontario Open tournament that takes place each fall.
“There’s a lot of the same faces from the region that come to both events, but we really encourage anyone to come out,” Bill added.
“As we like to say here, if you’re able to serve a ball then you should sign up and play because we have everything from the beginner to the high-level player.
“It’s really an opportunity to get anyone into the sport, show them how fun it is to play and how great the squash community is in Thunder Bay. Plus, with the fact that this is to help support a specific charity, it really makes people feel good.”
There will be men’s, women’s, juniors and beginner divisions at the three-day event. The deadline to register, which can be done on the Thunder Bay Squash website, is April 15.
“We’re getting pretty close to what would be the cap that we’ve set for the amount of people in the tournament,” Cameron said. “Around 70 is a good number and if we start getting higher than that, we’ll have to accommodate people where we can and likely start some games earlier on, which is fine.
“It’s good to get registered early though just so we can get a good feel for how many people are playing and what we need to do schedule-wise.”
Anyone who is interested in making a donation ahead of the tournament or that wants to donate raffle items for the weekend can do so via e-mail using silverfoxsquashcancer@gmail.com.
