A long time ago in Prince George there was a sports centre called Triad. Triad was a court building that catered to the numerous handball, racquetball and squash enthusiasts that existed in the city in the '80s and '90s. I remember going to watch my dad in handball tournaments and using his bar tab to order an obscene amount of Shirley temples. During the time that Triad was open, the Prince George Handball Association and the Raquetball and Squash clubs in Prince George were very active and all of the clubs hosted tournaments that were well attended. All three clubs also had thriving Junior programs that were a great alternative to school team sports for kids of all ages. Then Triad burned to the ground.
Luckily there were four racquetball/handball courts and two squash courts at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club and there was a similar amount of courts at the YMCA. Between these two facilities, all three court sport clubs in Prince George were still able to host tournaments and have courts enough for everyone (juniors and adults) to play though the centralized location was lost. A few years after everything was established, the Family Y (as it's now referred to) went through the first round of renovations and eliminated a few of the courts and installed movable walls so that the racquetball/handball and squash players could use the same space. Still the clubs survived. Slowly, slowly over the next decade, court sports fell out of favour and the PG Golf and Curling Club started converting their existing courts into driving ranges and climbing walls and the Family Y received a grant to convert the last of their courts into dedicated space for "under-exercised" children (now closed).
In 2007, the Northern Sport Centre at UNBC opened and it was decided that this magnificent center only needed two squash courts to serve the community because there existed racquetball/handball elsewhere in the city. No longer.
I was a nationally competitive Junior Handball player back in the day and I still feel like court sports are the perfect way to exercise, be competitive and have fun. Unlike team sports that require many players and tons of specialized equipment, court sports can be played one-on-one or doubles and with minimal equipment. Court sports can be played all year which is a bonus given the frigid temperatures we experience throughout our long winters. Speaking from personal experience, court sports are a fabulous way to increase dexterity, endurance and sportsmanship as a youth. Plus, it's fun.
I'd like to see thriving Junior programs for all three court sports again. As Junior players, we would have friendly rivalries across sport lines about who's sport was better (Handball, obviously). We would meet other kids from different schools and support each other's games. If there were a place to play in town, I'm willing to coach the next generation of players. Who else is willing?
My dad and some of his Handball Association friends have managed to keep playing in a secret location but I'd like to know from the community if anyone else misses court sports in town. Where's a girl going to get a game in town?
