Squash Canada pays tribute to Paul Marley, one of the great ones
It is with a heavy heart that we inform the Squash Community that we have lost one of the great ones this week. After an 18 month battle with cancer, Paul Marley passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon. The family will be hosting a celebration of life at the Evergreen Squash Club on Saturday, March 15 at 4 pm.
Paul’s passing leaves a big hole in squash both within British Columbia and the world. Paul was the
ultimate positive force anytime he was near a squash court. From playing in various Masters
Championships to bringing squash players to BC from all over the world, his incredible enthusiasm for the sport of squash will be remembered worldwide.
Paul’s squash playing career took him to many national championships in North America. A
tremendous player, he was one of those guys that when you saw his name in your draw various
words would come to mind, not all of them printable. Paul was incredibly
competitive but win or lose, the opponent would be greeted with a huge smile and
handshake few would forget.
To say Paul loved the game of squash would be an understatement. Paul’s main complaint about squash was that he didn’t find it earlier in life. However the amount of time Paul did spend playing sure helped the rest of the squash world; Paul decided he needed to give something back to the game he loved once the “ol’ hips” slowed him down more than he liked.
He gave back by organizing a PSA event atthe Evergreen Squash Club,taking
it from a $5,000 event to a $50,000 event in eight years. Paul had a following
of professional squash players who went out of their way to make it to his
tournament as many times as possible.
Once they came to the event, they would come back year after year. When those players walked into Evergreen
Club for the tournament, they were welcomed by Paul and made to feel like they’d come home. Our Province was incredibly lucky to have a world class organizer like Paul put squash in BC on the map.
The last few years saw Paul being presented with well deserved awards
commemorating his service to sport, and in particular to squash. In 2011 Paul was
given Squash BC’s highest volunteer honour, the Jack Larsen Award.Â
2013 Paul was presented with both the Sport BC President’s Award, and the Queen’s Jubilee award,
Paul is survived by his wife Marnie, their sons Jason & Ryan, and every squash player in the world. We
all owe Paul a debt of gratitude for bringing his style of squash, enthusiasm, and energy to all our
lives. Paul will be missed.