Six players will be representing Bermuda at the Pan American Senior Squash Championships in Asunción, Paraguay, starting today.

This major tournament is serving as the official qualifying event for the 2027 Pan American Games, to be held in Lima, Peru, from July 16 to August 1, next year.

Anaya Smith, Taylor Carrick and D’Vario Thompson are representing Bermuda in the men’s event, while Abigail Brewer, Sidney Wallace and Rachel Barnes compete for the women. National women’s champion Melina Turk travelled with the team as coach.

Five members of the squad competed at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Dominican Republic. The only change is Thompson, who replaces the unavailable Micah Franklin.

Carrick, Bermuda’s top male player in the absence of Franklin, is expecting tough competition. Based in Canada, he was the first Bermudian player to arrive in Paraguay.

“It’s obviously a lot stronger competition here and there’s zero easy matches for anybody this week,” Carrick told The Royal Gazette.

“We’re just going to try our best to keep strong opponents on court for as long as possible and see where it lands us. It’s a bit intimidating and exciting at the same time playing against some of the top countries in the world.

“If we could qualify, that would be a really strong result for us. We’re obviously going to try our best.

“I believe that I played some good squash at the CAC Games. I definitely felt that I was harder to beat and made people work for it more than I have been in the past.

“I think it’s moving in the right direction, personally. I just need a little more vigour and then I can beat these better players.”

Brewer’s career highlight came a year ago at the Pan American Squash Championships in Rio, where she went toe-to-toe with some of the finest players in the world.

“It’s probably the highest tournament I’ve participated in,” she said.

“Last year I played the world number two Diego Elias, of Peru, in the mixed doubles and the United States women in the team event, so playing the world’s top professional players gave us exposure to a whole new level of the sport.

“Our pool of players in Bermuda is small, especially for women, so it’s really important for our development to experience these tournaments.

“I personally found it really motivating playing against pros at that level. I think we all came back ready to train and all of us have improved so much over this past year.”

Franklin, head of squash at the Bermuda Squash Association, backed the players to represent Bermuda with pride.

“The team are going there to give it everything,” Franklin said. “Fight for every point, give it their all and leave proud regardless of the outcome.

“After a quick turnaround from the CAC Games, I’m incredibly proud of this bunch and their mental resilience.

“I sadly won’t be with them due to prior family commitments, but rest assured they are in the best hands with coach Melina Turk, who is also our 2026 Bermuda national women’s champion. I’ll be cheering them on from the sidelines.”