In this week’s segment of “We The North” we feature another northern uprising at the lakehead in Thunder Bay, where an injection of youth and enthusiasm is driving the development of our sport.
Historically, a strong and passionate community led by the legendary Coach Bob Shine saw Thunder Bay produce top junior players including national champion and current SDA star Rob Nigro and more recently one of Canada’s top female juniors Patricia Ndebele.
Bob has since passed the torch to a young group of committed volunteers and things have begun to ramp up fueled by a powerful online presence with one of Squash Ontario’s favorite Instagram pages - Thunder Bay Squash. After a Squash Ontario coaching clinic in Thunder Bay last May, six newly certified coaches have jumped into the trenches to provide important instruction on a volunteer basis, serving as the backbone of squash programming. New initiatives include a revamped junior program which starts as early as 6 years old, house leagues, women’s clinics and tournaments including the recently postponed Silver Fox Charity Classic which was set to attract 100 players from T-Bay, Minnesota and Northern Ontario.
Overall, Thunder Bay Squash which operates out of the 4-court Canada Games Complex has grown their membership to over 300 enthusiasts, including dozens of brand new players and those who are returning to the sport. We thank committee member Sean Cameron for preparing this report and would like to give special recognition to media coordinator Steve Bill, who is a providing a great example of how to promote our sport as well as the entire Thunder Bay Squash Community.
Please click on the links below to hear Steve Bill’s recent interview with CBC as well as Thunder Bay Squash’s website and social media accounts to see more about was this inspiring group is doing to grow squash!
