Racquetball Canada – WINNIPEG, April 4, 2017 – Team Canada will begin competition this coming weekend at the 2017 Pan Am Championships being held in San Jose, Costa Rica. The tournament runs from April 8 to 15.

Pan Am and World Championship medalists Mike Green, Tim Landeryou, Samuel Murray, Jennifer Saunders and Michéle Morissette are named to the team representing Canada. Pedro Castro and Danielle Drury round out the team. Castro has been on the podium at a prior Pan Am Championship and this is Drury’s second appearance for Canada at the international elite level. 

The coaches for Team Canada will be Michel Gagnon and Rino Langelier. This will be Gagnon’s twenty-ninth international coaching assignment and Langelier ninth. 

Chris Exner of Saskatoon, SK, John Halko of Edmonton, AB and Dan Smith of Timberlea, NS have been selected by the International Racquetball Federation to officiate at the Championships.  

The Pan Am Championship team was selected based on results from two National Team Selection Events, the 2016 Racquetball Canada Canadian Championships and the International Racquetball Tour and Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour (LPRT) rankings.  

“I am eager to see our team’s results of this event.” said Geri Powell, Racquetball Canada’s Administrator of High Performance. “All of our athletes have strong competitive experience which will help Team Canada in their overall performance. I wish all athletes the best at the Championships.”

The Pan Am Championships take place annually and are used as a qualifier or seeding event for the World Championships. Canada has competed in twenty-eight Pan Am Championships since 1994 and has a history of success, winning eighty-five medals including thirteen gold, forty silver and thirty-two bronze.

The event will be live-streamed by the International Racquetball Federation. Links to the draws, results and livestreaming can be found on the International Racquetball Federation website. 

Team Canada for 2017 Pan Am Championships          

Men 

Athlete	Hometown	Event	Coach
Pedro Castro	Brossard, QC	Doubles	Rino Langelier
Mike Green	Hamilton, ON	Singles	Corey Osborne
Tim Landeryou	Saskatoon, SK	Doubles	Loren Prentice
Samuel Murray	Baie-Comeau, QC	Singles	Rino Langelier

Women

Athlete	Hometown	Event	Coach
Danielle Drury	Saskatoon, SK	Doubles	Loren Prentice
Michele Morissette	Baie-Comeau, QC	Singles	Michel Gagnon
Jennifer Saunders	Winnipeg, MB	Singles & Doubles	Cliff Swain

Coaching & Team Support Staff

Name	Hometown	Role
Michel Gagnon	Montréal, QC	Head Coach
Rino Langelier	Brossard, QC	Assistant Coach
Bob Fong	Vancouver, BC	Physiotherapist

Racquetball Canada is the national sport governing body for the sport of Racquetball in Canada. Along with the support of the Government of Canada and many valued partners, Racquetball Canada develops competitive national teams and oversees programs that grow the sport of racquetball in Canada.

Media Contact:

Jan Hanson

Director of Communications and Marketing

Racquetball Canada Board of Directors

jhanson@accesscomm.ca I 306.502.4422