Slater on international Squash tour

National and O.E.C.S. Junior No.1 squash player, Shane Slater, is set to embark on a non-stop international squash tour starting on December 3rd and concluding a month later on January 7th. {{more}}

The first stop for the 16-year- old Slater is St. Lucia, as he competes alongside defending champs Team SVG in the OECS Squash Team Championships slated for December 3-5. As a member of the four-player National Men’s Team, he will face opponents from the British Virgin Islands, Dominica and hosts St. Lucia. Two days later, he travels up north to compete in the Canadian (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario) and United States Junior Opens (Yale University, Connecticut), scheduled for December 9-12 and 17-20 respectively. He will face stiff competition in North America’s premier junior events, competing against the top Pan-American players and juniors from around the world, with the US Junior Open regularly attracting over 400 entrants. After a short break, Slater travels across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom, to compete in two ESF World Ranking events. His first challenge is the Scottish Junior Open (December 27-30), which is a Grand Prix event on the European Junior Circuit. Here he will compete for a share of the 1500 ranking points available in the event. Slater will then face his biggest challenge, as he aims to qualify for the main draw of the elite British Junior Open (January 2-6), which holds Gold Event status on the European Junior Circuit. He will compete against the world’s best junior players from over 35 countries, representing six continents.

There are 3000 total ranking points available in the most prestigious junior tournament after the World Junior Championships. Shane will be competing in the Boys Under-17 age group, and his results can be followed at www.svgsquash.com.