This past weekend was scheduled to be the 2020 Canadian Junior Closed Championships in Victoria, BC where many Ontario juniors would have secured National podium finishes to end their seasons. Instead, over 100 junior families and coaches spent their Saturday evening attending the first-ever virtual Junior Awards Banquet, Presented by the Jesters. With guest presentations from the likes of Rob Brooks, Sam Cornett, Graeme Williams, Jim Paton and Nick Sachvie, the attendees were treated to a wonderful celebration of the junior community and what was tracking to be another incredible season on and off the courts. With a record number of nominations received, Squash Ontario was thrilled to award the very best in excellence, dedication, coaching excellence and sportsmanship and even more thrilled to connect with our young athletes albeit through the computer screen.
Please read below for a re-cap of the 2020 Junior Awards Banquet. Congratulations to all of the nominees and recipients for their special contributions to the sport – we can’t wait to see you all back on the courts soon.
Mark Sachvie Coaching Achievement Award - Greg Hutner, with nominees Lisa Coates and Matt Serediak
BU19 Jim Mason Fair Play Award - Isaiah Miller, with nominees Nikhil Ismail and Behrad Haghighi
GU19 Jim Mason Fair Play Award - Sara Khan, with nominees Molly Chadwick and Hannah Guthrie
BU15 William Bannerman Spirit of the Game Award - Wasey Maqsood, with nominees Vishaal Mehta and Jack Jones
GU15 William Bannerman Spirit of the Game Award - Ananya Maheshwari, with nominees, Gabby Waite and Angela Zhang
BU13 William Bannerman Spirit of the Game Award - Sebastian Singodia, with nominees Arham Izhar and Carlos Concepion
GU13 William Bannerman Spirit of the Game Award - Keira Hickox, with nominees Zoe Chong and Aneesa Tejani
BU19 Player of the Year - Nikhil Ismail, with nominees Maaz Mufti and Amin Khan
GU19 Player of the Year - Molly Chadwick, with nominees Sara Khan and Amal Izhar
BU15 Player of the Year - Ewan Harris, with nominees Jacob Marrison and Carl-Edmund Roux
GU15 Player of the Year - Iman Shaheen, with nominees Shirin Batra and Ananya Maheshwari
BU19 Most Improved Player– Jagroop Bhangoo, with nominees Felix Scholberg and Chris Kirrolos
GU19 Most Improved Player– Amal Izhar, with nominees Leah McGillicuddy and Aleeza Khan
BU15 Most Improved Player– Vishaal Mehta, with nominees Carl-Edmund Roux and Faazil Khan
GU15 Most Improved Player– Jenna Askari, with nominees Shirin Batra and Ashley Hall
All of the above award recipients will be joining the historical records of Squash Ontario award winners.
To close out the season, we want to share a special thanks to our corporate partners and individual donors who made this season possible thanks to their generous contributions to the game. Thank you to Equity Builders, Jesters, Slaight Music, Travel Edge and YDC Pro who headlined the 2019-20 season as Platinum Corporate Partners, and to Gold Corporate Partners Forthlane Partners, Harrow, Mortgage Company of Canada Inc., and the Toronto Centre for Medical Imaging. Squash Ontario thanks all other corporate partners and individual donors for their amazing support.
Make sure to click the link below for a video of the banquet, and photos of the nominees and winners. We look forward to seeing everyone when the courts and clubs are open soon!
