Three Yellowknife teenagers have travelled to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, to represent the NWT at the Canadian Junior Open of squash.
Sofia Ardiles, Logan Doll and Mairin Campbell left the territorial capital on Thursday for the tournament, which begins on Saturday and continues until Tuesday.
“It is a pretty big deal. This is my first Canadian Junior Open,” said Campbell, who – like Doll and Ardiles – is 16 years old.
“There are going to be competitors from all over the world. I’ve never been to such a big competition, but I am really excited to play and meet new people.”
Doll, who has played at this level before, said: “Last time, it was really interesting. I played two kids from Canada, two kids from Mexico.
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“The Mexican kids, they have a different play style. They’re used to playing in different conditions. It’s super high altitude in Mexico City, the ball bounces a lot differently. So you get to experience different play styles. You get to experience just different vibes.”
Ardiles described facing competitors from New York City and Barbados in her own past appearances at the Canadian Junior Open.
She’s hoping for a top 10 finish, while Campbell has a goal of “win a game, maybe a match” and meet people along the way.
Doll, who also competed this year for Team NT at the Canada Summer Games in tennis, said: “I definitely spend more time on squash than tennis so I think, for this, I’m looking to get a higher-end result. It’s a 60-person draw so definitely top 20 is what I’m looking to get for a result.”
