The Faces of Women in Squash is dedicated to highlighting the broad spectrum of female squash players in British Columbia. This section celebrates the diverse group of women and girls, from beginner to seasoned player, who play the sport for fitness, competition and fun. We hope that you will feel inspired by their stories.
Giselle Delgado ~ August 2021
“The results aren’t important. The friends, the good times, and the calorie burn are!” This was Giselle Delgado’s response when asked about what she might say to encourage someone to play squash. Those of us familiar with the game will readily agree, although in fairness, she has achieved some pretty amazing results.
Jessica Evans ~ June 2021Growing up in Surrey, Jessica Evans says she “played almost every sport there is”, including rugby, soccer, and basketball, but squash is what she has become most passionate about. She’s been playing for approximately 10 years now, after being introduced to it by friends when she was living in Vancouver. Very soon, she was playing both singles and doubles squash, sometimes six days a week, at the Vancouver Racquets Club.
She describes herself as naturally competitive and finds playing squash extremely challenging and rewarding. She believes it provides such a good balance to maintain both physical and mental health.
Maria Min
Reprinted with permission from Jericho Tennis Club
My dad started playing squash with me when I was five. Squash just became an integral part of my life, almost without me realizing it because I started at such a young age.
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Karen Hawyes ~ January 2021
Sarah Cao ~ October 2020
Those Magnificent Women of Squash
Ruth Castellino, Laura Ramsay and Cathy Brown were recently interviewed by host Mary Labrie, for an episode of the Women of a Certain Age radio show and podcast. Tune in and listen below!
Rachel Au ~ August 2020
“Everything!” is the way Rachel Au describes the aspects of her life that playing squash has impacted. Currently in her mid-20s, she has been playing the game since age six when her father began teaching her to play at the Evergreen Squash Club. She believes that she isn’t a naturally gifted athlete, but playing squash taught her to be disciplined, and she has since realized that she can achieve almost anything by putting in the time and effort to learn.
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Alicia Haneine ~ April 2020
Squash has been a lifelong passion of Alicia Haneine. She started playing when she was only six years old on squash courts in a facility her father built on the family’s property in Mexico City. She says it was a very informal place: no coaches, no professionals, just children and adults coming together to play and have fun. Nevertheless, with her older brother as a role model, she was playing on Mexico’s national junior team by the time she was twelve years old.
After earning a degree in marketing, she worked as an industrial marketing consultant and then in purchasing and marketing. She, her husband (a squash player she met on her family’s courts), and her first child immigrated to North Vancouver in 1998. There, she continued to work in marketing for various organizations, and in 2006 she and her husband began managing their own business renting furnished apartments for short or long-term accommodation.
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Chris Yap ~ March 2020
For Vancouver’s Chris Yap, being an Official for the sport of squash is so much more than meets the eye. Now retired, in her past professional life,
Yap was a transportation specialist, balancing her work with her active
avocation as an Official in the sport.
Like so many squash players, Chris Yap first placed a racquet in her hand twenty years ago while attending the University of Alberta. But for the past 15 years, this Squash BC member has added a whole other layer to an active squash lifestyle through focus and dedication in officiating and referring the game. Today she is recognized by the global squash community as a National Level Official and Assessor and Squash BC is proud to have her in the ranks of its membership.
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Laura Ramsey ~ February 2020
Laura Ramsey is considered a legend in the sport of squash in Canada. She first started playing racquetball in 1978 when she and her husband moved to Coquitlam from Toronto. She initially played at the Blue Mountain Racquet Club there until it closed. She then joined Vancouver Lawn Tennis & Badminton and eventually Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver.
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Julia Dorrius ~ November 2019
Julia started playing squash when she was 7 when her father, Kevin, was running a junior squash program in her home town because she wanted to by just like him. He was instrumental in her training, as was Adam Terheege, her coach for four years. With these individuals’ amazing knowledge, experience, and talent, she says it was hard not to try new things.
Sophie Dorrius ~ July 2019
As soon as she could hold a racquet, Revelstoke native Sophie Dorrius started playing squash. Her Dad Kevin Dorrius started the then three year old with a beach ball gradually moving to smaller balls.
She says she remembers the close losses more than significant wins, especially the ones where she was close to winning against a very strong player. She says she has learned to focus on what to do differently instead of what she did wrong.
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Hermione Cao ~ July 2019
Hermione Cao started playing squash three years ago in summer squash camps and private lessons with Richard Yendell, Jericho Tennis Club’s resident Squash Pro. Initially, she says she “honestly thought squash was boring.” But the challenge of playing other people and an awareness of how the nature of the game changes as she plays opponents with varying rankings kept the 13-year-old Crofton House student in the game.
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Bev Lawton ~ March 2018
This year Bev Lawton was publicly recognized as the 2018 Recipient of Sport BC’s President’s Award for Squash BC’s annual Athlete of the Year Banquet that was held on March 13, 2019 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Click here for full profile.
Photo: Bev Lawton, President’s Plate Recipient on left, Natasha Doucas, President of Squash BC
Shahira Tejpar – November 2018
Shahira Tejpar was introduced to the game of squash as a teenager and her love of the game continued while attending Simon Fraser University (SFU). Click here for full profile.