Kathy Brook – Executive Director
Kathy started as Executive Director of Racquetball Canada in January of 2020. Kathy has worked in sport for 30 years. She has experience in strategic planning, meeting facilitation, grant writing, speaking and more. Kathy came to Racquetball after working at the Coaching Association of Canada where she was a senior coach education consultant for multiple sports including Racquetball.
Kathy has a Master of Physical Education from Memorial University, a Bachelor of Education from Queens University, and a Bachelor of Physical Education from McMaster University. Kathy is a Master Coach Developer for many sport organizations in Canada and a Certified Professional coach. Kathy has sat on a number of Boards of Directors and has received multiple awards for her commitment to sport, coaching, governance and innovation.
Jen Saunders – High Performance Director
Jen is an 18 year veteran of Racquetball Canada’s national team with many international and national podium results and brings an intimate knowledge of high performance sport to the position. In addition to her experience as an elite athlete, Jen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Activity and Sport Studies.
Jen also has a wealth of experience in sport administration through her work as the Executive Director of Racquetball Manitoba and her involvement with many provincial and national projects, as well as hosting national events.
Jan Hanson – Communications, Safe Sport & Diversity Director
Jan has a long history of working in sport administration and the not for profit sector in both staff and volunteer capacities. Prior to joining the staff team, Jan had taken on the role of the Communications lead with Racquetball Canada as a Board Member for seven years. She was the Executive Director of Canoe Kayak Saskatchewan from 2007 to 2016, working with high performance sport and community programs. Jan was also a staff member with the Canadian Red Cross for fifteen years in the area of public safety and community services.
Terry Nelson – Financial Administrator
Terry oversees the financial accountability of Racquetball Canada, related to budgeting and financial reporting. Terry has been working in the financial sector for over 30 years, specializing in national and international accounting procedures. He is well known in the racquetball community, having served on the boards of both Racquetball Ontario and Racquetball Canada for over 20 years. He gives to the sport as a coach at the grassroots and provincial level, a sport leader, programmer, and tournament host.
We have five Operating Committees that support the work of the Board of Directors and staff.
Athlete Development Committee: The primary responsibility of this committee is the oversight and implementation of Racquetball Canada’s Grassroots Athlete Development section of the Racquetball Canada Operational Plan.
Hall of Fame Selection Committee: This committee’s primary responsibility is the oversight and selection of members to Racquetball Canada’s Hall of Fame.
High Performance Committee: This committee’s primary responsibility is the oversight and implementation of Racquetball Canada’s High-Performance Athlete-Development section of the Racquetball Canada Operational Plan.
Marketing & Communications Committee: This committee’s primary responsibility is the oversight and implementation of Racquetball Canada’s Marketing and communications (website and social media) and the Marketing and Promotion section of the Racquetball Canada Operational Plan.
Sport Development Committee: Its primary responsibility is the oversight and implementation of Racquetball Canada’s Sport Development section of the Racquetball Canada Operational Plan.
We are grateful for the the contributions of volunteers from across Canada who have an impact on our sport and our community. Our volunteer team is made up of dedicated and committed individuals who give their time in many ways at all different levels of the sport.
Depending upon the position and level of involvement, volunteers may be asked to undergo Background Screening and complete Safe Sport Training as well as other more specific training about the policies that guide the organization.
Those interested in serving on an Operating Committee or volunteering their time with Racquetball Canada should contact our Executive Director.
Our programs operate hand in hand with our Long-Term Development Framework which builds a solid foundation of fundamental skills for children, provides a pathway to high performance success and supports being active for life.
Our Long-Term Development Framework lays out how we will develop in the coming years as we strive to help Canada achieve its twin goals of creating a healthier, more active population, while increasing Canada’s success on the word stage.
This means that our programs will focus on quality sport – not just athletes, but also coaches, officials and volunteers. This will attract more people to sport, ensure that their experiences are positive, keep them active in the sport for longer and help them reach their full potential, be that in local recreational play or on the courts at the World Championships when wearing the Team Canada uniform.
Our Badge Program empowers athletes of all experience levels, from novice to experts, to enjoy playing racquetball through an inclusive and thoughtfully designed curriculum.
The Badge Program teaches racquetball techniques, using progressions that develop skills gradually. Each of the 10 levels of the Badge Program builds on the skills learned in the previous level. The versatile nature of the program allows for activities to be modified to accommodate all skills and abilities. This empowers everyone to play their best! The Badge Program works hand in hand with our long-term development pathway.
The Inflatable Court Program is a way to introduce the sport to new participants in a non-traditional way. The courts, which can be set up indoors and outside, are great for schools, communities and events.
The focus is on skills, not scores.
Racquetball builds skills that are developmentally important skills for life. The Inflatable Court helps develop physical literacy skills like agility, balance, coordination, and other skills that apply to almost every sport.
We have developed a series of tools to be used with the Inflatable Court Program to build excitement about the sport and encourage participants to take things to the next level by taking part in programs.
We are committed to excellence, whether you are coaching those who are first-time players or those who compete at the elite international level. We work in partnership with the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) to provide coach education and development opportunities that fit the needs of our coaches.
Our coaching education program links directly to our Long-Term Development Framework and provides coaches with the right knowledge and skills to help all athletes develop to their potential.
We offer coach education in the NCCP Community Sport and NCCP Competition streams. Coach education is accomplished through NCCP sport-specific workshops that we administer and NCCP Multi-sport Multi-sport Training Modules available through the provincial and territorial coaching associations. In addition we offer sport additional workshops targetted to community coaches.
A schedule of all upcoming sport-specific courses can be found in the Tournament and Events section on our website.
We strive to provide the best referees possible at its events, and there is a systematic program to achieve this aim. We provide officials for both the National Championships and Junior National Championships, as well as the National Team Selection Events. We also often nominate people to referee at international racquetball events.
Officiating can be a very rewarding experience that is available to all members of Racquetball Canada.
We select athletes to three National Teams. These athletes are provided coaching, training and competition support. Members of the National Elite and Development Teams sign an annual contract which outlines expectations of both Racquetball Canada and the team members.
National Elite Team: consists of 6 female and 6 male athletes. Athletes are selected for a period of one year based on performance at the National Team Selection Events, National Championships, as well as LPRT and IRT results if applicable.
National Development Team: consists of up to 10 athletes, with a maximum of 5 female and 5 male athletes who were not already selected to the National Elite Team. Athletes who qualify within the age limit are selected for a period of one year based on performance at the National Team Selection Events and the National Championships.
Junior National Team: consists of up to 6 female and 6 male athletes based on results from the Junior National Championships results with the exception that if a Junior plays in the Pan American Championships as part of the elite team, they will receive an automatic berth onto the Junior National team for Junior Worlds. The top two athletes in the girl’s and boy’s 21 & U, 18 & U and 16 & U singles are selected.
Racquetball Canada names a pool of National Training Coaches annually. These coaches are contracted by Racquetball Canada to develop athletes on the National Elite and Development Teams.
Thank you to the following coaches for their commitment and dedication to our high performance program;
International Event Teams are teams of athletes, coaches and other necessary support staff (i.e., a “National Team”) who represent Canada in the sport of racquetball throughout the world. We select teams for the following International events:
Athlete Selection
Each International Event Team involves a specific selection process for athletes and coaches. You can view the current criteria by clicking on the name of each international competition listed above. If there is no link, the criteria has not yet been developed for the selection process of the team for the next event. Racquetball Canada does not select athletes for the World Games team. Athletes qualify as individuals based on results from the World Championships held prior to the World Games.
Coach Selection
Coaches selection for International Teams is impacted by the selection of National Team Coaches.
