The 2026 Caribbean Junior Squash Championships (Junior CASA), hosted in Tortola, will go down in the history books of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) squash, after Team SVG delivered a dominant, title-winning run that cemented its status as the top junior men’s squash program in the Caribbean.
The SVG contingent got off to a blistering start in the tournament’s individual and doubles competitions, walking away with four medals across age groups. Zavin Garrick claimed gold in the Under 11 division, while Jayden George took home the top spot in the Under 17 draw. Jaydon Williams added a bronze medal for his third-place finish in the Under 19 category, and the boys’ doubles pairing rounded out the medal haul with a silver. Several other squad members also picked up consolation and plate division titles, showcasing the depth of talent across the team.
Carrying that early momentum into the team event, the top-seeded SVG boys’ squad — made up of Garrick, Savante Padmore, Ethan Webster, George, Aiden DeFreitas and Williams — delivered on pre-tournament expectations from the opening match. The team dominated group stage play, securing decisive wins over Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana to advance to the knockout round. In the semifinal, SVG pulled off a 4-2 victory over the Cayman Islands to punch their ticket to the championship match, setting up a rematch with defending champion Guyana, a long-standing regional powerhouse.
SVG’s first group stage win over Guyana had ended in a lopsided 5-1 scoreline, and the championship match proved that result was no lucky break. The team’s youngest competitor, Garrick, got the championship off to a flying start with a straight-game blowout of Jude Gobin, winning 11-2, 11-0, 11-4. George and Williams followed with straight-game wins over Justin Ten Pow and Joshua Verwey respectively, putting SVG within one win of the historic title. It was DeFreitas who sealed the victory, outlasting Shiloh Asregado in a four-set thriller 11-8, 10-12, 11-2, 11-9 to secure SVG’s first-ever Caribbean Junior Squash Championship team title.
While SVG’s girls’ team, made up of Caeli George, Naira Skye-John and Ciara George, finished 9th overall in the team competition, the combined results of the boys’ and girls’ squads pushed SVG to a third-place podium finish in the overall team standings.
Looking ahead, head coach Jules Snagg and his young squad are already setting their sights on defending their team title at the 2027 edition of the championships. Meanwhile, Jayden George is set to test his skills against the world’s best junior players next July, when he competes at the World Junior Squash Championships, hosted in Canada from July 20 to 31, 2026.