Four members of the Kelowna Junior Racquetball Team will compete this week at the Canadian Junior National Racquetball Championships.
Malaya Galigan, JoeyCosmo Lee, Mitchell Bell and Spencer Bell all qualified for the nationals in Leamington, Ont., thanks to their efforts at the B.C. championships earlier this month in Langley.
The four are coached by locally by Richard Gauthier, who is also Team B.C.’s coach.
Malaya Galigan, 14, will compete in the girls 14U singles and 14U doubles divisions.
JoeyCosmo Lee, 12, will compete in boys 12U singles, boys 14U singles and boys 16U doubles.
Mitchell Bell, 11, will compete in the boys 12U and boys 14U singles divisions, while his older brother Spencer Bell, 16, will compete in the boys 16U singles and boys 16U doubles with partner Joey Lee.
All four athletes have experience playing at the national level having competed in several Canadian championships.
At last year’s championships, Spencer Bell was chosen to represent Team Canada at the World championships in Mexico. He is hoping to earn a spot on this year’s national team.
Canada’s national junior team is made up of the top two finishers in both Boys and Girls 14, 16 and 18 year old age groups.
The Kelowna Junior Racquetball Team plays out of Global Fitness & Racquet Centre in Kelowna, where coach Gauthier serves as the Club Racquetball Professional.