A very big honour for a Castlegar resident and member of the squash community. Rebecca Vassilikakis was one of two women crowned by Squash BC as an emerging female leader in the sport. Vassilikakis is a board member for the Nelson Squash Club as well as a coach and Squash BC area rep. She has also been very active as an avid player as well as hosting clinics and social events.
Nominations were made online with 22 clubs eligible. The program criteria were going over and beyond to promote and identify opportunities to participate as well as encourage overall enjoyment of the sport. A release from Squash BC says Vassilakakis stood out in both respects.
Part of the award is also a $500 grant for the Nelson Squash Club which Vassilakakis says will go to good use.
“I’ve recently been trying to do more for women in squash in our region and last night we had 15 people from Castlegar, Trail and Nelson playing in our Nelson club so I think that money will help just to facilitate more events similar to that.”
Squash BC has recently launched the Emerging Female in Squash program to get more women involved. Vassilakakis says at the provincial level their membership is 80 per cent male. She feels this may be partly due to the fact that the sport used to be male dominated and that women take on different roles as they have kids and start families; sometimes their own personal activities can drop off.
The facility in Nelson did close for a time, but since the club has been back in its original location, Vassilakakis says things are on the up again and the sport is growing. She invites anyone interested to come give it a try. There is a court at Selkirk College in Castlegar and two courts in Trail at the arena. You can learn more by heading to the Nelson Squash Club website and checking out a drop in session.