Team USA defeated Canada 22-8 to retain the Battle of the Border trophy in the fifteenth edition of the junior international competition between Team USA and Team Canada, August 2-5, at White Oaks Resort in Niagara-on-the-lake, Canada.
The Battle of the Border has been an integral part of US Squash National Team programming as it provides players from Under 13 through Under 17 age categories the opportunity to represent Team USA in a team format for the first time—an experience that prepares them for a potential World Junior Championships appearance in the Under 19 age group.
The event consists of a combination of Team USA training squads, a mixed age-group training session with Team Canada, Reverse Test Matches and the Battle of the Border itself. This combination of programming makes it a popular event with a number of junior athletes making their second or third appearance of their junior career.
This year included some format changes that added to the competitiveness with additional points available for the Reverse Test Matches (#1’s v #2’s, #3’s v #4’s) on the Saturday morning that were worth a ¼ point, before the official Battle of the Border on Sunday.
Captained by Nick Spizzirri and Renee Chan, Team USA took a 4-2 lead from the Reverse Test Matches into Sunday’s main event where the U.S. won the best of twenty-four tie 18-6. The score line doesn’t do justice to how close some of the matches were, though it appeared that Team USA managed to pull through some of the closer matches that could have gone either way.
An experienced coaching team led Team USA, including Aisling Blake, Christina Brownell, Madeline Perry, Attila Agh, Chris Lengthorn and Lyall Paterson. Team USA thanks Cindy Sachvie, Graeme Williams and the White Oaks Resort for hosting and coordinating the event.
