Player
1955 – 2016
Squash has been an integral part of Jay’s life since he was teenager who learned under the guidance of Coach Jim Bentley at the Toronto Cricket Club. Throughout the years, not only has Jay assembled a long and impressive list of World, National, International and Provincial titles; he has given back to the game through his coaching [beginners, advanced, young, old, local and international] and refereeing including giving clinics to train new referees.
In 1974, Jay won the Ontario juniors and was selected as Captain of the Canadian Junior Boy’s National Team to Australia. After completing his undergraduate degree at of Toronto [winning the Canadian Intercollegiate championship two times and awarded the Trinity College Athlete of the Year], Jay left for Europe where he spent a year in Germany coaching the Hamburg Squash Team including Carol Martini (at the age of 15 yr) who went on to win the German National Junior Champion and was a finalist in the German National Open Event. The next year, Jay moved to Paris, France where he coached the Adult and Junior teams of the Stade francais. During that year, he coached Paul Ackaouy (at age 15yrs) who also went to become the French National Junior Champion. In 1997, Jay was inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame and in 2013, was inducted onto the Cricket Club Squash Wall of Fame. Jay has also represented Canada on two CanAm Cup teams and again in 2014 as a certified National Referee & National Examiner.
Playing Record
Doubles
8 Ontario Men’s Open Titles
4 Ontario Men’s 40+ Titles
3 Ontario Men’s 50+ Titles
6 Ontario Mixed Doubles Titles
2 Canadian Men’s Open Titles
1 Canadian Men’s 45+ Titles
2 Canadian Men’s 50+ Titles
11 Canadian Mixed Titles
4 US Titles
3 World Titles
Singles
2 Canadian Intercollegiate Titles
3 Canadian Singles Titles
4 Ontario Singles Titles
Jay Gillespie represents all the facets worthy of a Hall of Famer. He is a true ambassador, motivator and promoter of the sport both on and off the court, provincially, nationally and internationally. He has excelled at both singles and doubles squash to a level few can match.
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