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The Calgary Oilmen's Squash Tournament is an annual squash tournament with proceeds going to the supported charity. Friendly, hopefully, singles matches are augmented with a Doubles event (to a maximum of 16 teams). As always, the emphasis is on fun and enjoyment.
To sign up, simply complete the sign up form (see below) and return it to a committee member. Don't delay to avoid any disappointment, we usually fill up quickly.
Sign Up Form
What Charities are Supported?
Money raised from this event is donated to a chosen charity. Last year, we successfully raised $41,000 for the Alberta Children's Hospital. We ask for your individual and company support this year.
Let Us Not Forget Past by Dave Hubbard
The Oilmen’s Classic conceived in the fall of 1985 by three racquetball players namely, Kevin Anderson, Dave Lawson and me, Dave Hubbard. Our motives were really quite selfish in that we were all fairly new to Calgary, at least Kevin and I were, and we wanted to expand our circle of contacts, play some competitive racquetball and do something a little different for the Calgary oilfield. Kevin worked for Chevron, Dave for Protec and I for Smith International. I mention this because had it not been for the support of these companies in the fledgling years of the tournament it would not have reached the momentum to make year two. When the tournament was named “Oilmen’s Classic” we did so with a lot of hopeful anticipation, and it probably wasn’t until year five the tournament began to resemble anything close to a “classic” event.
In planning the first tournament we decided it would be prudent to include squash players because of the concern the budget, a poultry $4500, might not balance otherwise and the Terrace Club, our first venue, supported both sports. We really didn’t expect the squash side of the event to survive but considered it a necessary compromise. The first tournament played in March of 1986 and attracted 30 racquetball players and 16 squash players. We couldn’t help but notice the squash players not only had the most fun, but their courts were located in the club lounge area close to the bar, hence attracting the most spectators.
In year three Frank Veldon joined the organizing committee and brought with him visions growing the budget and donating to the Children’s Hospital. The squash side of the tournament had also grown to where more squash courts were needed. The writing was on the wall, but in a desperate attempt by the racquetball proponents on the committee to keep the racquetball side alive, the event was moved to different clubs for the next two years until the decision was made to drop racquetball and develop the squash side. Of course that meant that three of the organizing committee members would have to retrain. I can only speak for myself on this point, but it was certainly one of my best decisions!
By year five, we clearly needed more squash horsepower so we convinced Geoff Miller (Alberta Tubulars) to join the committee. This was the year the Oilmen’s Classic moved to the Bankers Hall Club where it was played under the watchful eye of Kathy Ludmark (Bankers Hall Club manager and world class squash player). It was also the year that Frank’s charitable donation goal was finally achieved. There as enough money left over at the end of the tournament to donate $1000 to the Children’s Hospital.
Mike Letourneau went from player to organizing committee member in year six. He obviously needed a new challenge since he had won three or four of the first five events. Mike invited Dale Styner (then ranked number six in Canada and former 3 time Canadian Open Champion) to play in year seven. That was the year that all of us neophyte squash players learned there was another entire level of squash above the “A” level players we had come to admire. The only way Styner would agree to play was if he played the two top players at the same time, two against one and spotted them 7 points per game. Mike and Dave Safton rose to the top of the “A” side as expected and squared off against Styner in the final. That match certainly goes down as one of my most memorable; well that and the match where the first woman competing in the men’s “C” event beat her first oilman, who just happened to be Kevin Anderson.
Over the next three or four years, Kevin, Dave and I stepped down from the organizing committee, leaving the “Classic” in new and capable hands. Through the vision of the committee members that followed, the Oilmen’s Classic has evolved well beyond anything that Kevin, Dave or I could have imagined back in 1985, and has become a world class oilmen’s event.
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