Twenty-three athletes from outside the Yukon took part in the 2005 Squash Yukon Open tournament this past weekend, bringing the total number of competitors to nearly 100.

The annual tournament, which was held at Better Bodies Cross-Training Center in Whitehorse, usually garners about 70 players, but the addition of eight B.C. athletes ñ� including four juniors ñ� one from Calgary and 14 from Yellowknife, made this year's event particularly large.

The top three categories men's open, men's A and women's A were all won by Outside participants. B.C.'s Jeff Boag, who will be coaching the province's squash team for the 2007 Canada Winter Games, took top prize in the men's open division. He faced fellow B.C. athlete Ben Thomas in the final match.

'Ben and I play each other quite often and it's always a lot of fun,' said Boag after the victory. 'It's always quite entertaining.

'We both play the same style. We both like to hit the ball hard and we just have similar shots.'

Alberta's Jon Cox claimed victory in the men's A category while B.C. junior Emily Paton defeated Yukon junior Lia Johnson in the women's A final. Paton described her match with Johnson as 'very challenging.

'She's a great player. This last match was the hardest definitely. She just had really, really good shots and she's more consistent than some of the other ladies.'

None of the B.C. athletes had ever been to the Yukon before, and they certainly picked a good time to visit the territory, during Rendezvous. They were immediately greeted at the airport with garters upon their arrival and spent much of their free time taking in the Rendezvous festivities on Main Street and around town.

'It's (the Yukon open) pretty much like any other squash tournament we would play in,' said Paton. 'But it's cool to be here and see the different events going on. We're going to try and get to the sugar shack and I think we're going to the hotsprings.

'We wanted to go dog sledding, but I don't think that's going to happen.'

While they enjoyed the activities and the people, they insisted the real purpose for their trip was to get more people in the Yukon involved in squash, as well as check out the facilities they'll be competing in at the Canada Games.

'Marie (Desmarais) and Chris (Toleman) invited me to come up and bring some of the juniors from B.C., to help out the juniors from here so they can see what the level of competition at Canada Games is going to be,' explained Boag.

'And also to sort of get a head start on everyone else for the Games, to have an insight into what it's going to be like when we come back.'

Jarryd Senick, a junior who competed in the men's A division, said he just hoped to put a good face to the sport of squash and get more people interested.

'I don't think that people are promoting it like they should be,' said Senick. 'It's not promoted on a real competitive level up here, I don't think.'

'It's so cold up here, and squash is an indoor sport, so it just makes sense,' said Dan Diachuk, who also competed in the men's A category.

'When you're not dogsledding, why not play squash?'

Almost all of the B.C. athletes said they started in squash because their parents or other members of the family were into the sport, which is a common reason. But they stayed in it because it's such a fun, social sport and you get to do lots of travelling at least if you live outside of the Yukon. A typical year for them consists of about 20 tournaments, while the Yukon juniors only get a few events in a year.

'If you can't play with someone, go out by yourself and hit the ball for 45 minutes, or go to the gym for 45 minutes,' said Senick when asked what Yukon players can do about their lack of competition.

'Or pull some dog sleds,' joked Diachuk.

One of the other differences the B.C. residents noticed was the atmosphere at the local squash courts. First of all, there are actual squash clubs in B.C while the squash courts in Whitehorse are part of Better Bodies.

We have some of the best squash clubs in Canada,' said Diachuk. 'They're very social. We have beer in the vending machines.'

Diachuk also noticed the spectators at Better Bodies over the weekend weren't as forthcoming with claps of appreciation when a competitor made a good shot or won their match, which he joked may be due to the fact there's no beer served at the local courts.

But overall, the Outside athletes had a great time at the tournament and were impressed with the hospitality of everyone they met in town, and at least a few of them plan on returning to the Yukon at some point.

Here are the full results of the 2005 Squash Yukon Open:

Men's Open

1st Jeff Boag

2nd Ben Thomas

Men's A

1st Jon Cox (Alberta) 9-5, 9-2, 9-1

2nd Niel Bergman (Junior, Vancouver)

3rd Dan Diachuk (Victoria), 9-5,

9-4, 9-1

4th Mark Tubman

Consolation ñ� Dan Thomson over Jared Tuck (Junior) 9-2, 5-9, 9-5,

9-5

Men's B

1st Nikki Sequeira (Junior, Victoria) 10-9, 9-7, 2-9, 9-7

2nd Chris Toleman

3rd Jeff Seaman 6-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-2

4th Andrew Corney

Consolation Marie Desmarais over Barry Bellchambers by default

Men's C

1st Jean-Francois Roldan 7-9, 9-1, 9-3, 9-5

2nd Mike Bernier

3rd Michel Gelinas 6-9, 9-1, 9-7,

9-3

4th Rob Schneider

Consolation Stephen Mills over Robert McMynn (Junior) 6-9, 9-6, 10-8, 7-9, 9-2

Men's D

1st Stephen Aucoin 9-4, 9-3, 9-7

2nd Paul Shearme (Yellowknife)

3rd Ray Santa 10-8, 9-2, 9-5

4th Trevor Mead-Robins

Consolation Cory Morris over Kyle Keenan 9-4, 9-7, 9-5

Women's A

1st Emily Paton (Junior, Vancouver) 6-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-6

2nd Lia Johnson (Junior)

3rd Jessica Patterson (Yellowknife) 9-3, 9-2, 5-9, 9-6

4th Lori Muir

Consolation Jane Bell (Junior) over Elmy Harris 9-3, 8-10, 9-5, 9-7

Women's B

1st Jean Beckerton 9-4, 9-5, 9-10, 9-4

2nd Lara Lewis

Consolation ñ� Erin Taylor (Yellowknife) over Toni Auge (Yellowknife) 5-9, 1-9, 9-4, 9-3, 9-4

Women's C

1st Patricia Bacon

2nd Shari Knorr

Women's D

1st Jen Meurer

2nd Holly Sanson (Yellowknife)

Junior A

1st Ian March

2nd Shaun Stinson

Junior B

1st Jeanette Carney

2nd Kai Knorr

Junior C

1st Anatole Tuzlak

2nd David Lister

The big door prize at the tournament was a trip for one to Vancouver or Alberta, courtesy of Air North. The trip was won by Whitehorse's Jim Gilpin.