It's one thing to play in a Canadian championship. It's quite another to do so on your home turf.
With athletes from across the country converging on Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ for the 2016 Canadian Junior Racquetball Championships, you wouldn't have known there was any nervousness in the six players from Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ playing in front of a home crowd.
The athletes from Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ kept their cool and posted an impressive record at the championships, held April 20 to 23 at Global Fitness & Racquet Centre.
Spencer Bell,16, lead the way with an impressive showing in the boys 16-and-under division singles competition by taking home a bronze medal. He also teamed up with Calgary's Cameron Brookwell to take silver in the boys 16- and-under doubles division.
Bell's younger brother, Mitchell, 10, took home gold in the 10-and-under singles competition, as well as earning silver with his Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ partner, JoeyCosmo Lee in the boys 12-and-under and under doubles division.
Malaya Galigan, 14, took home a silver medal with her doubles partner from Langley, Riley Sommerville, in the girls 14-and-under doubles division.
In his first nationals, Cadan Klassen, 9, took home a bronze medal in the boys 10-and-under two-bounce division.
Eight-year-old Kevin Lee competed in both the boys 8-and-under and 10-and-under singles divisions, taking a fourth place finish in both. His older brother, JoeyCosmo Lee, 12, placed fourth in the boys 12-and-under singles competition.
The Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ athletes were part of Team B.C. and were joined by five other players from the Langley Junior Racquetball Program.
The head coach for Team BC was Â鶹¾«Ñ¡'s own Richard Gauthier. The assistant coaches were Eric Urteaga and Jason Scott, both from Langley.
The Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ athletes train under coach Gauthier at Global Fitness and Racquet Centre in Â鶹¾«Ñ¡.