One will make his debut, while three former University of Victoria Vikes men’s field hockey stars will once again don the Canadian jersey for next month’s Pan American Cup in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Harbir Sidhu will earn his first cap when Canada opens pool play Aug. 4 against Trinidad and Tobago. Fellow former Vikes Brendan Bissett, Matthew Sarmento and Keegan Pereira will again sport the Maple Leaf after playing for Canada at the Rio Olympics last summer in Brazil.
The Pan American Cup will see Canada take on five other countries, with the continental champion earning qualification for the 2018 FIH Men’s World Cup.
The Canadians will face the United States and Brazil in warm-up matches before taking on Trinidad and Tobago. Canada also faces Brazil and Mexico in pool play.
Women’s softball titles up for grabs
Two provincial softball titles will be on the line this week in Saanich.
The Victoria Saanich Women’s Softball Association is hosting the Softball B.C. Senior C/D Provincial Championships Friday through Sunday at Hyacinth Park and Strawbery Vale Park.
Thirteen teams will battle for the Senior C provincial title, while five teams, including the Langford Junior Lightning, will vie for the Senior D championship.
The Victoria Storm will get things started in the Senior C Division on Friday at Hyacinth Park with a 10 a.m. game against the Mudd Dawgs, while Victoria-based Blackout takes on the Reign, also at 10 a.m.
The Senior C playoff round begins Saturday at 8 a.m., with the semifinals going Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by the championship game at 4 p.m.
Canadian karate star offers seminars
Victoria karate enthusiasts have a chance to learn from one of Canada’s best in the fast-growing sport.
Current Pan-American heavyweight champion and Canada’s best hope of qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Daniel Gaysinsky, will be at Kenzen Sports Karate in Royal Oak on Monday to teach a guest seminar.
Gaysinsky, ranked No. 7 in the world, is based out his home club in Toronto and is on a brief tour of B.C. to teach seminars.
Two seminars will be offered — 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. — and registration can be done by calling 250-507-1441.
Island golfers eye PNGA women’s title
The Island is well represented at the 2017 Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in Renton, Washington.
Port Alberni’s Christina Proteau finished first after the two-round stroke play portion thanks to rounds of 74 and 73, and then on Wednesday Proteau easily defeated Jane Harris of Tukwila, Washington, 5-and-3 in the Round of 16 match play portion of the tournament, being played at Fairwood Golf Club. And Alison Murdoch of Victoria Golf Club finished fourth after stroke play and beat Denise Kieffer of University Place, Washington, 3-and-2 in the Round of 16.
Lake Cowichan’s Karen Kloske qualified for the quarter-final match play, but lost her match 3-and-2 to Gretchen Johnson of Portland.
In this morning’s quarter-final matches, Proteau will face Leilani Norman from Eugene, Oregon, while Murdoch will go up against Ginny Burkey, also of Eugene.
If the two Islanders are victorious in their morning matches, they will play each other in this afternoon’s semifinal round.
UVic squash boss honoured
He continues to put the University of Victoria’s squash club on the map, and now Ian Sefton’s hard work is being recognized by the provincial governing body.
Squash B.C. recently presented Sefton, the UVic squash club president for the past three years, with the President’s Plate. The award annually honours the best supporter of the game and association.
Since 2014, Sefton has worked as a squash instructor at least once a week, while also running sessions for after-school programs and gym classes. The squash club itself has more than 50 regular members this year, a huge growth since 2014, when there were just 20 members.
Mid-Am champ from Victoria Club
In last week’s column, 2017 B.C. mid-amateur champion Craig Doell was said to have played out of Royal Colwood. Doell actually is a member at Victoria Golf Club.
