Brandon Racquetball Association

It has been month since these athletes made their presence felt at the Racquetball Canada National Championships and the National Rankings have been updated. "Cullen's Crew" is rapidly climbing up the rankings. As a group they moved up an average of almost 15 ranking spots each. Some individual highlights include: Buster moving up 65 spots, Halin 47 spots, Leyton now holding the #4 ranking in Canada and of course the photo shows all the hardware and awards that they brought back to Brandon. We are very proud of their accomplishments!

We're excited to continue offering our Intro to Racquetball programs throughout the summer, and we'd love to see you join us if you've never played before!

This program is designed to help new players learn the fundamentals in a fun and supportive environment. We also have an enthusiastic group of new coaches who will be using this as a coaching mentorship opportunity, working alongside Coach Kurtis to develop their skills and learn how to coach beginners effectively.

Whether you're looking for a new sport, a great workout, or just want to give racquetball a try, this is the perfect place to start. Email us at [email protected] to register today!

Congratulations to our teammate Buster MacPherson on a very successful trip to Burlington!

Buster competed in 4️⃣ divisions
🔥 U16 Boys
🔥 Men’s Doubles B
🔥 U16 Junior Doubles
🔥 Men’s C

And yes, we can confirm that his luggage WAS much heavier coming home… he WON
🥇 GOLD Men’s C division
🥇 GOLD Men’s Doubles with Jailin

Buster said he had a wonderful time. “It was so great to play against new people and continue friendships started from last year. The community is so incredible and it was great to be a part of it.”

Shout out to Athlete AND Coach… Leyton Gouldie. Just another day in the office…

Hardly. This guy TRAINS. Full-time university student. Part-time job. Coaching on weekends. We even hear he does his own laundry!!!

Leyton you’re one of a kind and we’re all proud to call you a BLASTER!!

The Sherman Greenfeld Award is awarded each year at Junior Nationals to a male athlete that has shown excellence on and off the court. This year Brandon's Leyton Gouldie was the recipient.

Leyton has achieved podium success 10 times at National Championships and made the Junior National team four times. He is also a member of Racquetball Canada's Elite team.

He is a junior coach in Brandon, helping bring the younger ones into their elite program. At this year's Nationals he stepped up and helped coach Team ‘Toba when we were short handed.

Congratulation Leyton! 🏆🎉

And she’s a Brandon Blaster!!! 🤩

The Heather Stupp Award is awarded every year at Junior Nationals to a female athlete who has shown excellence on and off the court. This year it was awarded to Brandon's Kaitlyn Couckuyt.

Kaitlyn trains with Kurtis in Brandon. She has made the Junior National team for the past three years and has made the National Development team. She also helps coach the women's program in Brandon. All of these accomplishments while still being a competitive volleyball player.

Congratulations Kaitlyn! 🏆🎉

Gavin is one of our toughest 🔥 competitors and biggest heart ♥️ . Amidst all of his matches, he graciously volunteered to ref LOTS of matches. And when first-timer Samuel Chiupka was nervous to ref fast matches with big crowds, Gavin showed up to support and encourage him.

He competed in;
🔥 14U Singles
🔥 14U Doubles
🔥 Junior A Singles
🔥 Adult B Doubles

He finished 14U double third 🥉 place!!!
Gavin shares;

“My time in Burlington was fun, fulfilling, and inspiring. I played many games, learned a lot from my peers and rivals, made new friends and had a great time and can’t wait to go back and compete next year!”

Tony competed in FOUR categories as a member of Team Manitoba;

1️⃣Jr A Singles 🥇
2️⃣14U Singles
3️⃣16U Doubles
4️⃣ B Doubles

Congratulations on your 🥇 medal Tony in the Junior A Singles 👏🏻

Tony said that nationals was a very unique and interesting experience because he was able to meet people from all over the country 🇨🇦 who love the sport as much as he does and at different skill levels! He can’t wait to go back!!

Congratulations Emma Sopel. Last year (2025) she finished 3rd in Junior C division.
This year?
She brought home 🥇 in Women’s B!!!

This year, she particularly enjoyed working with her coach Cher, learning how to tap into her inner strength and pushing herself a little harder. Thanks Coach Cher 🥰. Emma is committed to growing as a player so that she can keep improving… so she can come back stronger next year to beat more of her competitors!

“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy” 🐍
- Toba Kai

As much as she loves to compete, Emma equally enjoys being part of Team Toba, and spending time with her teammates. She shares that she is “sorry, but not sorry” for stealing your 🍕 Gavin. 🤣

Racquetball Manitoba

Oren Gouldie… you’re a LEGEND.
Compete? Always
Battle? Yup, you know it!

Oren, a member of our Brandon Blasters Junior A squad, is a mighty competitor. When they say, “iron sharpens iron” they’re talking about him. We are so lucky to have such a talented teammate who not only gets better, but makes all of our blasters better, every time he steps on to the court!!

🥇 14U Male Champion
🥇 16U Doubles Champion gold medal
🌟 Elite finalist losing a hard fought battle

Pam Gouldie Travis Gouldie

Meet Samuel (Sam) Chiupka.

You’ll likely recognize this 9 year old from his 2025 Groovy Granite 7K race victory, in October. This little guy has a mighty passion for sport that has only just begun to emerge.

Brandon Blasters are extremely proud to congratulate Sam on his first National Tournament play where he secured not 1 BUT 2 silver medals!! 🥈🥈

Samuel won silver in Junior Singles U12 and Junior Singles C.

Samuel also teamed up with his older brother Gabriel to compete in Junior Doubles B.