Bow Valley Indigenous Youth Squash program

The Cause

We provide free squash lessons to youth in the Bow Valley, as well as adults. We provide trained and certified coaches, as well as all required equipment (racquets, shoes, balls, safety glasses) and nutritious snacks for the youth. We run once a week for 10 weeks in the fall, 10 weeks in winter, and 4 sessions in the spring. The Banff Rocky Mountain Resort donates the court time. For those interested in participating in the Junior events, we cover their entry fees. We have had many youth go to Calgary to participate in Junior tournaments (last season had 15 juniors go to 5 provincial events) held throughout the season, and provide extra training sessions for those wishing to compete. We have been operating since 2015, with a pause for COVID 19. We have also paired with (Settlement Services of the Bow Valley and the Town of Banff) to include new Canadians and new residents othe Bow Valley. This past year has seen a significant increase in participants and we may need to expand by adding another day. We are constrained by there's only 2 courts available in the Bow Valley (Banff Rocky Mountain Resort) at this time.

We run a tournament in Banff annually as a fund-raiser for our programs, with a live & silent auction at the banquet. In 2019 we had a young man from Tsu Tina participate, who had been part of our JOS program at the time. The tournament sells out every year - in 2023 it sold out in 2 hours.

When we first started our main focus was Indigenous youth in the Bow Valley, and they made up the majority of our participants. One issue that has contributed to the loss of the Indigenous participants (COVID 19 saw the program halt, and they did not return after) because of transportation issues. We had some volunteer drivers but at times it was difficult to arrange for rides. We have been in touch with some residents recently who have suggested they would be interested in having some of the youth participate again, but the issue of getting to and from Banff is a concern. If we could pay for gas, at a minimum, this would go a long way to help encourage participation.

Squash has strict rules about fair play and court behaviour, which is a benefit to the players, in addition to the fitness gains and social intraction.

Who Will it Benefit?

Those involved in the program benefit in various ways, including increased fitness (squash is one of the most aerobic sports), socialization (within the Bow Valley, and with other participants from other cities when in tournaments), self-esteem (squash is a sport where size is not determinant of your skill as (one of our smallest players has competed and done very well against much larger opponents) and is gender-neutral - males and females play against one another. By encouraging youth and adults from various backgrounds to learn this new activity (last year we had over 600 player visits from 12 countries), and interact with other players from many different backgrounds (Indigenous, international (new Canadians), long-time residents and new-comers) they gain self-confidence and improve their fitness.