The 2023 BC Open, held November 22-26 at Evergreen Squash Club, came to a close on Sunday, with Guillermo Cortes Ortiz and Niki Shemirani crowned as Men’s & Women’s PSA Division Champions, respectively. An event-record-breaking 177 players competed in the event, in divisions ranging from Tiered, to Masters, to Junior Silver. The BC Open focused on participant experience both on and off the court, with hard-fought matches throughout, and social activities like Community Day Programming, a Player Party social, and our Courtside Bar.
Truly a Team Effort
Squash BC thanks our event partners for supporting the 2023 BC Open. We thank Platinum Partners R&B Brewing and Aussie Pie Guy for their support and for supplying our Courtside Bar with incredible refreshments and snacks. We also recognize and thank Gold Partners CGG, Underhill Geomatics, and Team Kerr.
The event would not have been possible without our hosting partners. Evergreen Squash Club made for the perfect primary venue, with club members frequently filling the stands for action-packed matches. As well, Evergreen’s Parent & Supporter community put forth a donation campaign that helped make the event possible. We also thank Hollyburn Country Club for stepping up as our secondary venue, once our event registration surpassed single-venue capacity.
Squash BC also thanks Tournament Referee Simon Bicknell for his tireless work throughout the event. Thanks to the support of our Building the Future Fund and grant funding sources, we were able to use the BC Open as a training and assessment opportunity for our Referee Development Program. We thank all our Referees: Simon, Bryan, Darren, Henny, Kiowa, Les, Sam, Sergio, Timo, and all player referees for levelling up the professionalism of the event with their work.
Finally, we thank our event team: Thomas Brinkman and Cathy Covernton for their support throughout the weekend at Evergreen; Ryan Picken for ensuring Hollyburn’s court were available; Squash BC’s Board volunteers: Bruce, Cindy, Colin, Diana, Natasha, Nathan & Sam; and the Squash BC Staff Team: Dawson, Jake, Justyna, Kiyan, and Tournament Director Josh. We could not have put forth such a successful event without your support!
PSA Results: Cortes Ortiz & Shemirani Take Home BC Open Titles
The 2023 BC Open featured Men’s and Women’s PSA Satellite Draws with $2,500 USD prize pools each. The squash community was out in full force to witness the action, with hundreds of fans attending the event throughout the weekend. Both sides had thrilling matches, with many stretched to the fifth game.
In the Men’s PSA Final, second seed Guillermo Cortes Ortiz (originally from Mexico, but now training and coaching out of the Vancouver Squash Academy) took down top seed Jacob Lin (of Richmond, but now playing for Harvard University) 15-13, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7. The Women’s PSA Final was a true battle, with top seed Niki Shemirani (originally from Iran, now living and training in Ontario) coming out on top over local favourite Alex Toth 4-11, 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9.
Check out full PSA draws and results on the 2023 BC Open Club Locker Page.
Amateur Action: 17 Divisions, Record-Setting Participation
The 2023 BC Open broke participation records for the event, with 177 players competing. The event included Men’s and Women’s Tiered Draws, Masters Divisions, and Junior Silver Divisions – ensuring there was an event for everyone. Check out all the division champions and finalists below, along with a photo gallery of their prize presentations.
Tier 1: Samuel Boulanger def. Rayan Hashmi 11-5, 13-11, 11-7
Tier 2: Jet Li def. Orin Song 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 12-10
Tier 3: Bryan Askin def. Tomos Edmonds 4-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6
Tier 4: Nathan Ko def. Isaak Song 11-8, 14-12, 10-12, 11-5
Tier 5: Keoni Markman def. Steven Wang 11-6, 11-7, 11-5
Tier 6: Aaron Yao def. Hank Wang 11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6
Tier 7: Theo Song def. Aidan Verster 11-9, 11-9, 11-3
Tier 8: Jacob Dorling def. Ruy Diaz 11-5, 12-14, 14-12, 11-8
Tier 9: Arnav Saraf def. Jack Ni 15-13, 11-3, 11-2
Women’s Tiered: Juana Chaves def. Kylie Neiser 11-6, 11-4, 11-3
Men’s 40+: Navin Samarasinghe def. Ben Thomas 11-4, 11-2, 11-1
Men’s 60+: Byron Kidd def. Nazir Hirji 11-7, 11-7, 11-5
Junior Silver Tier 1: Lucas Luo def. Albert Xian Tang 11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8
Junior Silver Tier 2: Kayam Suleman def. Vivian Tao 11-6, 11-3, 11-4
Junior Silver Tier 3: Cayton Liu def. Hannah Q Xu 14-12, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10
Junior Silver Tier 4: Emily Xu def. Damen Tessler 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3
Junior Silver Tier 5: Xiangyi He def. Jennifer Yun 11-3, 11-4, 11-2
Check out all the draws and results on the 2023 BC Open Club Locker Page.
Off-Court Experience
In between the thrilling matches on-court, BC Open participants and fans were treated to an incredible off-court experience. Things kicked off on the Wednesday leading into the event with Community Engagement Programming. Evergreen Squash Club put forth junior programming, and we hosted a Rules Refresher for interested referees, led by Tournament Referee Simon Bicknell.
Throughout the weekend, our Courtside Bar was well attended, with participants and spectators treated to R&B Brewing’s beer menu, Aussie Pie Guy’s tasty cookies, and more refreshments. $1 from every drink sold was donated to the Squash BC Building the Future Fund, which supports the revitalization of squash throughout BC, through grassroots programming, coaching & officiating development, court advocacy, and more. More than $400 was raised at the Courtside Bar during the event for the Building the Future Fund!
Players also enjoyed a Player Party Social on Saturday evening at the Angry Otter Taphouse & Forno. We thank the Angry Otter staff for their work throughout the social – and for making those incredible pizzas!
Looking Ahead: 2024 Events
With 2023 nearing its close, it’s time to look ahead to some of the incredible events scheduled for the new year. Junior Participants should block off March 15-17 for the 2024 BC Junior Squash Championships, taking place at the Vancouver Lawn Club. Post-Secondary Students will be in action the following week, when the 2024 BC Jesters Post-Secondary Championships returns to the calendar from March 22-24 at the University of Victoria. Finally, from April 11-14, we hope you’ll all join us in Nanaimo for the 2024 BC Squash Championships. This event is poised to be an incredible experience for participants, so we hope you’ll take part!
The BC Open will be back in action next year. Look out for an announcement from Squash BC once we have confirmed our 2024 hosting partner.
Squash BC thanks all participants, fans, sponsors, volunteers, referees, staff, and supporters for making the 2023 BC Open an unforgettable experience. We hope to see you all next year!