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In hockey terms, it would be like a hardened veteran pro like Ryan Getzlaf and a rising young talent like Leon Draisaitl dropping into your local rink for a pick-up game.
The 2015 world champion and current world No. 2 Gregory Gaultier of France and world No. 8 Ali Farag of Egypt, put on quite a show Saturday for enthralled squash enthusiasts at the Cedar Hill club. Farag won the exhibition match 3-1.
The term barnstorming was once widely used in sports as all-star American baseball teams, headed by Babe Ruth, toured Japan and breakaway pros Bobby Riggs and Rod Laver barnstormed the world in tennis.
It is still common practice in squash. Gaultier and Farag flew via Paris and Cairo, respectively, meeting up in Frankfurt en route to SeaTac to Victoria.
Today, it鈥檚 back to Puget Sound on the Clipper to begin a tournament next week in Bellevue, Washington.
鈥淚t is part of our job to grow the sport. Maybe some young players will see us play today and be inspired,鈥� said Farag, 25, who has a degree in mechanical engineering from Harvard University.
Gaultier was world No. 1 in April and is expected to regain the top spot when the June rankings come out. Farag has been as high as No. 6 in the world this year.
鈥淭his is a way we can get close to people,鈥� Gaultier, 34, said.
鈥淚t gives squash fans, who can鈥檛 travel around the world to watch us in the big tournaments, a chance to see us in person. It鈥檚 a chance for us to share with them up close and to give back to clubs.鈥�
Joseph Weinerman of the Cedar Hill facility was among those who took part in a clinic for club members conducted by Gaultier and Farag earlier in the day.
鈥淚t was so informative with lots of good tips,鈥� said the 13-year-old from Oak Bay.
Cedar Hill club pro Benjamin Uliana described Gaultier, who has won more than 50 World Tour events, as 鈥渙ne of the true greats of the game鈥� with a patented physically imposing style.
The native of Aix-en-Provence has made it to four world championship games 鈥� losing to David Palmer of Australia in 2006, Amr Shabana of Egypt in 2007 and Nick Matthew of England in 2011 鈥� before finally claiming the title two years ago.
鈥淭here was a lot of emotion in winning the world championship,鈥� Gaultier said.
鈥淚 was carrying a lot of baggage after so many years [of coming so close]. Something came off my back when I won the world championship. Now I feel light again. I鈥檓 happy I finally made it happen.鈥�
The 2017 world championships take place in Manchester, England, in the winter, with Gaultier aiming for a second world title in three years, while Farag is among the top tier of younger players knocking on the door.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 take an elevator to the top in sports. You have to climb the stairs,鈥� Farag said.
As part of the barnstorming Saturday, Gaultier and Farag played five top-rated sa国际传媒 juniors from Cedar Hill, Shawnigan Lake School and Vancouver, along with a very lucky raffle ticket winner.
Canadian under-19 champion Ryan Picken, of Shawnigan Lake, took Farag to extra points at 13-11.
Squash is contested in both the Commonwealth and Pan Am Games, in which neither France nor Egypt participate, but is not yet in the Olympics.
鈥淧aris 2024,鈥� Gaultier predicted, if the French capital is successful in its Olympic bid for that year.
It is, perhaps, fitting that the starry world pair were on the Island. The Cedar Hill Club boasts players such as Matthew Henderson, the 2015 Canadian junior open champion, Grace Thomas, who in March became the top-ranked Canadian junior women鈥檚 player, and women鈥檚 world No. 15 Victoria Lust.
That continues a notable squash legacy on the Island. It has included legendary builders/coaches Stuart Dixon and Phil Green, and former world-level players Winston Cabell, Sher Horne, Trevor Thom, Andrea Levy, Richard Jackson, Darren Thomson and Ashley Clackson.
Multiple Commonwealth and Pan Am Games medallist Jonathon Power, who in 1998 became the only Canadian to have won the world championship, was born in Comox.
