April 15, 2014
The Upper Canada Chapter conducted its third annual squash tournament, entitled ‘I Was There 3, Gananoque.’ The successful day saw competitors and sponsors receive full value for their time and money.

The day started with a visit by Denis Flanagan, LO’s director of public relations and his partner the LO gnome Grout. This was followed by several hours of good squash. “A meal was slipped into the middle of the day with the thought that if we bought Perry Hartwick of Upper Canada Stone Company a lot of beer, he might have some difficulties in the final matches. He didn’t,” said tournament organizer Dan Clost CHT.

“We’d like to thank our sponsor, Upper Canada Stone, and the representatives Perry Hartwick and Justin MacDonald. Significant in-kind donations (swag table) came from Garant, Connon CBV and Thornbusch Landscaping. We are appreciative of their generosity,” says Clost.

There were several changes to the tournament this year. The Dead Tin Award has been retired. “It was learned that there is no one on the planet in former LO membership coordinator Helen Hassard’s class. She will forever be its last recipient,” said Clost.

Clost noted that in the interest of rational scoring, it saddened him to say that old-school squash racquet trophy for the best player was taken away to the Golden Horseshoe Chapter by Perry Hartwick. “He was undefeated throughout, giving me, the runner-up, a proper lesson in the final match,” admitted Clost.

The overall champion of the tournament was the three-person team from Picture Perfect Landscaping Quinte, consisting of Elaine and Neil Bouma and Judy deBoer-Bell. They amassed an astounding total of 159, burying the Upper Canada Stone duo who only squeaked together 154.

I Was There 4 is slated for January of 2015 (avoiding significant show dates) and will be held in the western reaches of the Upper Canada catchment. “We’ll be looking to take back our trophy, but more importantly we are anxious to enjoy some good times with our colleagues,” concluded Clost.