Nine players in Whitehorse's Better Bodies Improved Squash Program will compete at this year's Alberta Jesters' Junior Open Squash Championship, held in Edmonton from Nov. 16-18.

This is the first out-of-town tournament of the season for this group and it will serve as a measuring stick in the players' preparation for the junior nationals in April.

'The kids go for squash, but they also go to meet friends there,' said Maria Desmarais, Squash Pro for Better Bodies. 'It is very inspiring too to see some of the top people in Canada play and some of these kids are on the national team or they are being scouted for the national team, so we get to see very good squash there.'

This is the 25th annual tournament and Better Bodies has been participating in this event for about 12 years. There is no qualification for the tournament and any player under the age of 19 can participate. More than 200 squash players will compete at the event.

Players in the tournament can choose between two skill level categories, novice and main. There are also five divisions, which are based on age and go from under 11 up to under 19. All participants at the event are guaranteed to play at least three games.

The nine players from Whitehorse are Shaun Stinson, Logan Bull, Logan Godin, Braden Brickner, Gavin Nyland, Nicholas Terry, Stephen Grundmanis, Sophia Flather and Zoe Walker.

Desmarais said this event can be a little intimidating for some of her players.

'Sometimes coming from a small town they are a little overwhelmed by the calibre of play, but I keep telling them that they have been working hard to get there and they are as deserving to be there as anybody else,' she said. 'We try to keep that in mind and that is the main thing.' She said the idea is for players to improve upon their personal best from the previous year or tournament, but added that can be difficult at this type of event.

'It is more difficult to measure because you could have done really well in the last tournament, but maybe your three opponents were people who had just started,' Desmarais said. 'Whereas in this, if you are playing someone who is ranked it would be a much more difficult match then somebody who is just a novice player, so it is a little bit more difficult to measure.'

Desmarais said her players can set their own personal goals though.

'They will do the best they can. That's all we expect, to try as hard as they can and set goals for the next session,' she said. 'It's a stepping stone for the big tournament in April because the junior nationals are a whole other level. They get the best in Canada playing.'

Zoe Walker has been playing squash for four years, and this is her fourth time entering this tournament. Walker is 15 years old and will be competing in the U-17 division as a main' player.

Walker said she likes playing in the tournament.

'I am always excited, it is always fun,' she said. 'You do make a lot of friends at these tournaments.'

She said her favourite part is being able to play against different people.

'In the Yukon, you are more limited in who you can play and you always play with the same people in your ability, but down south you are playing people ten times better than you or ten time times worse than you, so it's just interesting to play them.'

Walker practices at least a few times every week and her goal is to win two out of the three matches, but she is not putting too much pressure on herself.

'It's just a goal, you can only do what you can do,' she said. 'It depends how the draw is and where you are put.'

Walker said no matter what happens, she will have fun playing in the tournament.