Hiroya Boda earned a silver medal at a Canada Cup table tennis tournament, Nov. 14-15 in Burnaby.
The North Island College student from Japan had two long days of playing and did remarkably well, said Ed Schum, who accompanied Boda on the trip
Boda placed second in the U-2250 event. "This is for players with a national rating of 2,250 points or less," Schum explained. "This is a very high rating, with not many players in Canada having a higher rating than that."
The medal will be added to Boda's recent Vancouver Island championship, and sets the stage for the Hiroya Open Table Tennis Tournament this Sunday, Nov. 22 starting at 10 a.m. at the Cumberland Cultural Centre.
Part of the action will be the Hiroya Challenge: For $10 you get to play one game against Boda and get $1 back for every point you score against him. If you beat him you’re $1 ahead. Proceeds of this event will go toward junior development of the Comox Valley Smashers table tennis club.
As for the tourney itself, Schum notes, "We already have some of the top players from Victoria and Nanaimo as well as from the Valley registered and are expecting a quite competitive event, with everyone trying to beat Hiroya."
There will also be categories for recreational players and juniors. Online registration is open at vitta.ca; registration closes at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20. Entry fee (to be paid at day of tournament) is $15 for one event, $20 for singles and doubles, and $5 for juniors.
There will be a raffle for a custom-made table tennis racket (similar to the one Boda will be playing with), handcrafted and donated by Schum, with proceeds going to the club to purchase more quality TT tables.
For more information and to register call Adam Kuzma at 250-203-7235 or email him at adamkuzma39@gmail.com