Day 5 of Team Competition

Out final day in Eindohoven. Tomorrow we will head back to Canada. We were set to play New Zealand in the 5/6 today at 11am. The order of play was 1,3,2. 

Chloe was up first, she had a some trouble settling into the match but once she gain confidence she made some great shots. Chloe won 3-1 putting us in the lead 1-0. 

Maddie was up next. She already played the girl earlier in the tournament and won in a very close 5 set match. She was nervous but it didn't show because she played well and won 3-1. 

Another win for Canada!! We didn't have to play the #2 match because we were up 2-0. We placed 5th. Upsetting our 8th seeding and matching the Canadian Girls team's 5th place finish at the 2013 World Juniors. 

We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit before the closing ceremonies banquet. It was at a local sports complex. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the pics on my phone but I will upload them once I get them. 

We are catching a 7am train to Amsterdam tomorrow for our flight home. 

Day 4 of Team Competition

We had a great day today. Our match against Hong Kong was at 2:30pm. We had a late buffet breakfast then heading to the club around 1pm. 

Hong Kong is seeded 4. Behind Egypt (1), USA (2) and England (3). We knew we had a tough match today. The order of play was 2, 1, 3. Sophie, Chloe and Maddie to finish it off. 

Sophie had a tough match to start us off. It was rough with lots of lets. Sophie tried to play a clean game but the other girl kept running into her and being very physical. She lost 3-0 but it was really close. 

Chloe was on next with more pressure because Hong Kong had to win one more match to win the encounter and advance to the 5/6 play off. She lost the first game but it was really close with some questionable reffing. She fought hard in the next three games and squeezed them out. Chloe won her match 3-1.

Maddie had the most pressure because matches were tied 1-1. She was a little shaky in the beginning because of nerves but won the first game 14-12. After she relaxed a bit more and got used to her opponents style she was able to win the next two games 11-5, 11-8. 

Win for team canada!! We will play for 5/6 tomorrow at 11:00am. 

Day 3 of Team Competition

We had a fun morning but a tough evening today. 

This morning we rented bikes at our hotel and went on bike ride around the city. Our hotel feels like it's in the middle of nowhere but since it's so flat here we got downtown in about 15 minutes. We explored a few of the local parks and there were a some art exhibits set up. There is also a carnival in town but we couldn't find it today so we are going again tomorrow morning. 

Biggest picnic bench we've ever seen. It was at one of the art exhibits. 

We got back to the hotel around 3:30 and relaxed until we caught the 5pm shuttle to the club for our 7pm match up against USA who are seeded 2nd. The order of play today was 3, 1, 2. 

We had a tough match. Everyone played well but couldn't outlast the U.S. We lost the encounter 3-0. Tomorrow we will play Hong Kong in the 5-8 playoff. We are hoping to upset our seeding (8th) and place 5th. 

We will play tomorrow at 2:30pm. Our match won't be on the show court though. 

Day 2 of Team Event

We played Switzerland at 12:30 today. We knew this one was going to be tough because they are seeded right behind us. The order of play was 1, 2, 3. I had a rest day today so Chloe, Sophie and Maddie played. 

Chloe won the first match 3-0. She moved her opponent around the court and played some good shots. 

Sophie had a tougher match against the #2. Sophie played great squash but couldn't finish it off so ended up losing 3-2. 

With matches tied 1-1 Maddie had to win in order for us to make the top 8. (Quarter finals). She played well and had some great attacking shots. She won the match 3-0. The final score of the match up was 2-1. 

Our next match up was Egypt at 7pm so we had a few hours to kill. There is a sports complex right beside the Squash club with a go karting track so our whole team went. We got decked out in suits and helmets to make us look like we were race car drivers. I have never seen such a complicated track, it's 10x better than the one at Western Speedway in Victoria. There were hills, turns, ramps..

Richard was the winner. Lapping everyone a few times. 

We had a tough time against Egypt. The order of play was the same as this morning: 1, 2, 3. Sophie took the evening off so Chloe, Maddie and myself played. Playing their team was a great experience but we all lost quiet badly in 3. The top two on the Egyptian team are ranked #12 and #15 in the world.

We placed 2nd in our Pool so we will still advance to the Quater finals at 7pm tomorrow against the U.S. 

We won't know what court we are on until tomorrow but there is a good chance we will be on the show court with live streaming. Here is the link: 

http://wsfworldjuniors.com/live/

Go Canada go!!

Day 1 of Team Event

We started the Team event today at 2:30 against South Africa. The order of play was 3, 2, 1. Chloe had a rest day so I played position 3, Maddie played position 2 and Sophie played position 1. We won the match up confidently 3-0 without losing a game. 

We have by far the best cheering section. Everyone on our team brought noise makers, hats, decorations, tattoos.. 

My brother, Luke, is our team "Mascot"

After the match we went downtown to an Italian restaurant with the U.S. Team. And then back to the hotel for an early night because everyone is tired. 

Tomorrow we will play Switzerland at 12:30pm and Egypt at 7pm. 

Day 5 of Individual Competition

Today was the last day of the individual event. Chloe had made it to the Plate Final and was taking on Belgian Tinne Gilis. 

Chloe was the only Canadian match on for today and it was an exciting match to watch against the 5/8 seed, Tinne Gilis of Belgium. The first game was really close but Tinne pulled it out 13-11. Chloe came out strong in the second game and won 11-7. Chloe hit a few more tins than she wanted so Tinne got the third game 11-8. Chloe played some amazing squash in the 4th game and took it 11-7. Tied at 2-2 the match was getting more intense. Chloe came out strong but Tinne held her ground and didn't seem to be making any errors. Tinne won the 5th game 11-6. 

We said goodbye to Tara today who is flying back to Canada after a great performance in the Individual draw. We will miss you a lot. :)

The winner of the Girls Individual Event were Nouran Gohar who upset the first seed Habiba Mohammed in a close 4 games. The winner of the Boys Individual Event was Diego Elias who cruised through the tournament without losing a game. 

Tomorrow is the first day of Team Competition. We are seeded 8th but we will be working very hard to prove our seeding wrong. We are in Pool A wit the number 1 seeds; Egypt, the 9th seed; Switzerland and the 13/16th seed; South Africa. 

Day 4 of Individual Competition

The Individual event of the World Junior Championships continued today. The posts have been slow the last few days because we are busy and the wifi isn't great in most places. 

It was an ugly day outside. Tons of rain and wind kept everyone inside the buildings. Just as well as some amazing squash was happening here at Squash Time with semi finals taking place. Semi Final Day for the main round saw 4 Egyptians girls facing off against each other. 

I had my third match of the tournament against the German Nele Hatschek. The German started strong and took full advantage of some loose balls and won the first two games 11-8. However, I was able to win the third game by the same score, 11-8. In the fourth game, the German seemed to be favouring a leg and was really challenged to move when I sent her into the front corners. I took the fourth game 11-6.  In the fifth, it was quite obvious that Nele was not playing the way she could, and again, I was able to take full advantage and won the fifth 11-4 to move into the semi final of the plate.

Chloe played her first match of the day against Swiss Céline Walser. Chloe was hitting it with good authority and sending her deep and won 11-5. In the second game, Céline started to challenge and take advantage of some of Chloe’s decision making, but Chloe was able to hold her and win 11-7.  Chloe went into the third with confidence and won it decisively 11-3.

I had to play a tough opponent in the Semi's, Tinne Gilis from Belgium, the 5/8 seed.  I lost the first two games 3-11, 5-11. I was up 8-5 in the third game and the momentum seemed be to shifting, but then the experience of the European came through and Tinne won the next 6 points to take the final game 11-8.

Chloe will play Tinne Gilis of Belgium in the World Junior Individual Plate final.

We stayed at the club almost all day. Because there wasn't enough time to go back to the hotel in between our matches. There isn't a lot to do around the club because it's on the opposite side of town than the hotel. 

We watched the Semi Final matches. The 4 Egyptian girls are all so close in playing level that it is anyone's game really. It is a lot different than any other junior squash match that you would see in BC. It takes twice as long as an average match because there are so many lets and strokes. It is also a lot more rough. Habiba Mohamed (#1 seed) beat Salma Hany Ibrahim (3/4 seed) in a super close 5 setter. Salma was up 10-6 in the 5th game and Habiba came back to win 14-12. Habiba won 3-2 in just under 90 minutes. The other semi final was just as exciting, Nouran Gohar (#2 seed) beat Mariam Metwally (3/4 seed) in 4 games. 

Behind the show court 

Tomorrow is finals of the individual Competiton and team competition starts on Friday, the 31st. 

Day 3 of Individual Competition

I had a day off today so I got up early and my parents picked me up and drove to a Lier, a small town in Belgium. It was about an hour drive from Eindhoven. We spent most of the day there then came back so I could watch some matches. 

Maddie had a good day. She played a Mexican in the morning. She was seeded high so Maddie knew it was going to be tough. She pulled it out 3-1. Next she played Lucy Turmel from England in the quarters. But she lost a close 5 games. 

Tara also played in the morning but she lost to a Malaysian girl in 3. They (Sophie, Maddie, Tara) are out of the individual tournament now but are getting ready for Team event that starts on Friday. 

Chloe won easy in 3 games against a French girl. She plays in the quarters tomorrow morning. 

Day 2 of Individual Competition

We had a slow start to our day today. I don't think any of us got to breakfast until 10 today. Since Tara and Maddie got the day off, they were able to sleep in. 

Sophie was our first match at 12:40 against Kayley Leonard from the US. She played really well in the first game and beat her 11-5. But Kayley came back and won 3-1. Sophie is out of the individual competition now but she made it in the top 32. 

Chloe played at 4:40pm against Eleanore Evans from the US in the first round of the consolation draw and won 3-1. She played a again at 8:00pm against Victoia Leow from Australia, it was close but she won 3-0. She plays again tomorrow at 4 o'clock against Sarah Mekhalfi from France to confirm her spot in the quarter finals of the consolation draw. 

Since I lost yesterday I went down to the consolation draw. I got a bye in the first round so I didn't have to play until 8:00pm tonight.  I played against Fleur Maas from Netherlands. She just turned 14 and is the U15 national champ of Netherlands. After my match yesterday, I was nervous going into my game today. But I played well and won 3-0. I was supposed to play a girl from Zimbabwe tomorrow but she defaulted because injury so I am in the quarter finals on Wednesday. 

Tara and Maddie are both up at 12:40 tomorrow. If they win, they could be paying three matches in one day. 

Here is a link to the draw: 

https://wsf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=B691FE70-6B59-4117-9072-33B95DE094C2&draw=2

Day 1 of Individual Competition

We started the day off with Tara playing at 10 o'clock against a girl from South Africa. She lost the first but came back and won the next three straight fairly quickly. At 4 o'clock she played a match against Amanda Sobhy, a U.S. girl who is going to Harvard next year. Tara lost 3-0 but didn't go down without putting up a fight. She will play again on Wednesday. 

I played at 10:40am against Julie Rossignol from France. I showed up in a pair of black shorts not knowing that there was a rule that everyone competing had to wear a skirt. And ofcourse, I didn't have an extra skirt in my bag and no one else from Team Canada did either. Luckily I was able to borrow a skirt from an Australian girl who had already played. It was huge on me so I had to put it over my shorts for it to stay up while I played. The match was very close but I lost 3-2. 8-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-9. I play again tomorrow against a girl from the Netherlands at 8pm. 

My teammates called my opponent "French Grace" because we were both wearing white, same height and same hair colour. 

Maddie was also on at 10:40am. She was on at the same time as me so I didn't get to watch any of her match. She played a girl from New Zealand and beat her in 5. Her next match was at 4:40pm against a 13/16 seed from Egypt. Maddie played really well but lost in a close 3-0. She will play again on Wednesday. 

Sophie was the next one up at 11:20am. She played a Swiss girl. She had a little bit of trouble getting going but after the first game she found her rhythm and won the next 3 pretty straight forward. Sophie's next match was at 5:20 against a girl from Wales. She had really strange technique that threw Sophie off her game. But Sophie came back and won 3-1. She plays again tomorrow in the round of 32 against a U.S. girl who she knows quiet well. 

Chloe got a bye first round so her first match was at 4:00pm against a girl from Hong Kong. Her opponent had amazing hands and could get anything. Chloe lost in a very close 5 set match. She plays again tomorrow afternoon. 

Training Day 3/Opening ceremonies

Today was our last training day. We got up early and went to the club around 10am. Our coaches thought our courts were booked at 10:30 but turns out Columbia had them till 11:30. So we sat around and waited. Richard found a meditation recording and we listened to it before we went on court. We just did a few light drills because the competition starts tomorrow.

After we hit, we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a few hours. We had 6 or 7 hours to kill before opening ceremonies at 5pm.  Dinner was from 5-7 and the official ceremony started at 7pm. We were all supposed to get on the 5pm bus (an old coach bus). All the teams were waiting outside and as soon as the bus came everyone raced to the bus. The bus driver managed to squeeze everyone into the bus, he could hardly see out the front windows it was so full. But the bus broke down before we could even get to the end of the parking lot because it was so overloaded so, we were forced off. We had to wait another 30 minutes before a shuttle came. Once we got to the club, most of the food was eaten and it was pouring rain so we just went inside and waited for the ceremony to start. The WSF vice-president spoke and a dance squad performed. After the ceremony we took a few pictures and headed back to the hotel. 

Team photo at opening ceremonies 

Tomorrow is our first day of individual competition:  

- I play at 10:40am against a girl from France called Julie Rossignol, she plays the #2 position on the French team. If I win I'll play again at 4 o'clock against the 13/16 seed Reeham Sedky. 

- Tara plays first at 10 am against a girl from South Africa called Faith Sithole. 

- Maddie also plays at 10:40 against a girl from New Zealand called Juee Bhide. 

- Sophie plays at 11:20 against a Swiss girl named Marija Shpakova. 

- Chloe gets a bye first round. So she doesn't play until 4 o'clock against the winner of someone from the U.S. or Hong Kong.  

Eindhoven - Training Day 1/Day 2

We arrived at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam at 11am yesterday after our 8 hour flight and took a 1.5 hour train into Eindhoven right away so we could make our practice court. 

Waiting in the Toronto airport. Our team twitter is @teamcanada2015 

The hotel is nice but it feels like it's in the middle of nowhere. We went out last night after dinner to try and find a grocery store but there is nothing around here (Or it all closes at 6pm). Downtown is much more lively with lots of shops. But it is a 20 minute drive. 

Eindhoven reminds me a lot of Victoria. The population is about the same and it has the same weather. 

We've trained both days at the club, Squash Time. It is nice but there isn't a full glass court. Courts are like the ones at Cedar Hill with glass at the back only. As you walk into the club, there is a big bar. It reminds me a little bit of the Nanaimo Squash Club entrance. 

Team photo after Friday's training session!

We went out for dinner downtown tonight. We took the bus that cost €3.50 which is really expensive compared to BC Transit's $2.50!! After being at the hotel and around the hotel I was a bit worried to what we would do for our 12 days here, but downtown is great. There are tons of small shops and neat restaurants. 

Tomorrow is our last training day before opening ceremonies on Saturday night. Pictures to come! 

We are all feeling good and ready for the Individual Competition to start on Sunday. My first match will be on Sunday at 10:40am against a girl from France. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there will be any live streaming. 

Toronto

On Monday, I landed late afternoon in Toronto after a relatively short flight from Victoria. I was picked up and taken to the NSA. (National Squash Academy). I met up with Richard, Janet and Sophie. We played condition games for an hour or so. 

On Tuesday, we had a full day. Maddie and Tara arrived late last night. At 10am, we all played at the TAC (Toronto Athletic Club). It's on the 36th floor of the TD building. After, we went for lunch at this restaurant called "The Marche". At the beginning they handed you a card and would swipe the card each time you took something to eat. After, we went to get manicures. We got team canada colours. At 5pm, we went back to the NSA and played matches against some local boys. 

This is the view from the club 

Today, we played at the TAC again. Some light condition games. This afternoon we are meeting up with our last teammate (Chloe) and flying out at 8pm. I am really looking forward to getting to Amsterdam. 

10 days till takeoff!!

Hello everyone,

There are 10 days till I head out and it's finally starting to kick in that this is actually happening!! I never thought that I would be representing Team Canada at such a big event.

On July 20th, I fly to Toronto to meet up with the rest of my team. We will train in Toronto for three days before leaving to Amsterdam on July 23rd.

There are five members on our team:

1. Chloe Chemtob (Quebec)
2. Sophie Mehta (Ontario)
3. Maddie O'Connor (Ontario)
4. Grace Thomas (BC)
5. Tara Shannon - spare (Alberta)

Our team coach is Richard Yendell. He was coach for Team Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championships in Poland as well. Our manager is Janet MacLeod from Nova Scotia. 

The competition takes place in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is roughly a 2 hour train ride South of Amsterdam. 

Venue:

We will compete at the 15-court Squashtime Centre. It is located at the University in Eindhoven. 

During my 12 days in Eindoven I will compete in two events: 

1. Individual Competition - July 26-30

2. Team Competition - July 30-August 4

This is the link to the individual draw:
https://wsf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/event.aspx?id=B691FE70-6B59-4117-9072-33B95DE094C2&event=2

Accommodations: 
We will be staying Van der Valk hotel in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

I will try to update the blog as regularly as I can.