Squash Yukon held their Reservoir Dogs tournament March 25-26 at Better Bodies gym in Whitehorse.

Six teams of six players each participated.

Each player played five matches, which were a straight 25 minutes long and counted total points instead of going by games played and won.

A special feature of the tourney was that participants hit the ball directly into Solo cups for extra points.

Two pounds of local coffee per player was donated for prizes.

Organizers also took in donations for Ukraine, which were handed over to the Red Cross.

Stephen Buckler, the president of Squash Yukon, said Friday’s action “was great! It was cool because we’re donating the registration fee to the Ukrainian community.”

“It was by donation, so I think we’ll know by the end of the tournament, but I think people were being pretty generous. It’s normally a $20 registration fee, but I think people are giving a hundred or so, which is awesome.

“A couple guys from the Ukrainian community came by last night to cheer us on and to give us these ribbons and they were really thankful and it was really cool to have them come by.”

Buckler said it was going great on Saturday as well.

“Everyone is feeling sore, but it’s a lot of fun and you get the adrenalin rush from hitting cups, so it’s great. Everyone loves the tournament. People have been a bit stir-crazy, wanting a tournament like this since the start of the pandemic, so it’s two and a half, three years in the making ... it’s good to be back.”

This isn’t the first organized competition they’ve had since the pandemic began.

“No, we’ve had the Yukon Open every year, but – except for I think the first year of the pandemic, just cause I think everything was closed. Better Bodies has been open with restrictions, so we’ve had really bare-bones tournaments, where like you come in with your mask, you play your match, then you leave. So it’s not much of a tournament atmosphere or anything.

“We had pizza last night and coffee, food, so it feels like we’re back to normal, even though it’s not quite. People are still careful, but it’s nice to be able to come together as a community again.

“Everyone’s out here, excited to play again and it feels like old times, really and it’s for a good cause, so everyone’s having a great weekend.”

Buckler had just finished a tough match when the Star talked to him.

“I was playing our new squash pro, Gyanendra. He’s here from New Delhi, working full-time for Squash Yukon and he is definitely the best player in the Yukon and he wiped the court with me just a couple minutes ago, but it was fun and it’s great to play someone at a higher level than you.”

The squash pro, Gyanendra Singh, is in the Yukon through the Yukon Nominee Program and was playing against Buckler with his left hand to keep the competition fair.

“We’re trying to get him here permanently. He’s in his second year with us, but we’re working toward that, which is awesome for the squash community. We’re gearing up for Canada Games 2027, so we need a squash pro, we need a strong team and this is the first steps towards that.”

Singh explained why he ended up teaching squash in the Yukon.

“I was working in Kuwait for seven years as the squash pro and I was running the stadium there. I just wanted a change, a move and I wanted to develop, especially in Canada – not in Toronto, not in Ontario somewhere, I just wanted to stay away from the cities and this Yukon place is so beautiful, so I just wanted to develop the squash thing here. That’s why I’m here.”

“I had an offer from an Edmonton club and Yukon. I saw the background here and I felt like Squash Yukon needed someone to ... really lift the program. So we can grow the squash all over the world.

“It’s a very healthy sport, according to the Forbes magazine – they published an article in 2004, and squash is one of the healthiest sport(s). If you go on the treadmill, thirty minute, you burn 450 calories. Here, it’s like double of that,” he added.

Singh has been in the Yukon for one year.

“It’s amazing. Its so beautiful. And the community here is really amazing. The people are so welcoming and they are so lovely.”

“I’m gonna stay here. I’m in process to bring my family here – my wife. So I already applied for the visa and the steps for the visa.

“Right now I am on the work permit. I have applied for my PR. I am in the process of getting my Permanent Residency and I will stay, for sure.”

As for the Reservoir Dogs tourney, Singh says it’s a different kind of competition.

“It’s a cups tournament, so it’s not like our normal tournament. It’s more fun ... everybody has a chance to win the game. It doesn’t matter what skill level you are. And it’s so fun. Once you hit the cup, you get six points – that is so fun.”

Singh would like to see the players competing in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) some day.

“We’ve got a broader spectrum of the players ... but we don’t have the top level of player – those who are competing in Squash Canada. So that’s why I am here. I am developing the program for here, doing lots of junior programs ... clinics and lots of coaching ... so I can take the Squash Yukon players to Squash Canada play so we can compete at the top level, and maybe even in the future, a couple of years, we can go to the world stage of competition, for professional squash competition, we can produce some of the players from here. That’s my target.”

The 2027 Canada Games are also a target for Singh and his charges.

“We are working towards that also, to develop (a) junior program ... for that tournament also.”

Singh added, “the people here are amazing. The squash committee’s really amazing. I’m loving the life here. It’s great.”

Brenna MacPhail was one of the hard-playing participants.

“This is hands-down, without question, the most fun squash tournament of the year. I go to all of them, but this one, without question, is the most fun. There’s a little bit of different style of gameplay, and there’s incentive at the end, coffee or otherwise, so (that) ups the ante a little bit.

“This is definitely a tournament of attrition, because it’s length gameplay as opposed to point gameplay, so pretty tough.”

“And it’s a lot of lunging, a lot of dynamic movement.”

McPhail is a Squash Yukon member through the league and through lessons from Singh.

“He’s really excellent. Learned a lot from him.”

Mchphail has been playing the racket sport for four years.

“It’s addictive for reasons I can’t actually describe. It’s a community. That’s the first and foremost. There’s definitely a community feel to it. And then the game itself. It’s a very thinking game, while at the same time being very athletic. So you’ve got both of those components overlapping. And I think that’s what makes it addictive.”

McPhail said there’s a lot of strategy involved.

“Totally. But you’ve got to get good to implement the strategy. So you’re always trying to improve, level up.”

“There’s no squash where I grew up and where I went to school, so coming to Whitehorse was my first introduction to squash.”

She added she’s thankful to the organizers and to Squash Yukon.

“The fact that they’re still putting these things on for us and allowing us to come back together as things open up is really important for everyone.”

A total of $1210 was raised for the Ukraine.

Buckler added that the Yukon Open is coming up April 22-24. Those wishing to participate can do so by emailing Singh at squashyukon.coach@gmail.com.