4th Dennis Squires Memorial Tournament turns grief into 'something more beautiful'

For the basketball players shooting hoops at the Mount Pearl High School gym Sunday, it was about more than just winning. It was a competition for a good cause.

For the fourth time, athletes from across the metro region came together to play in the Dennis Squires Memorial Tournament. The event was estabalished by Lori Letto, in hopes of keeping alive the memory of her late brother Dennis Squires, who died by suicide in 2018, while sparking conversations about mental health.

"Dennis was a natural athlete, but his passion was basketball," Letto told CBC News. "And this was a great way to take a passion and love of his, and turning it into something more meaningful."

Letto said the tournament has also been a gift for her family in the wake of her brother's tragic death. 

"He was a great friend and a teammate to so many. And so, this has been fantastic for our family as well for Dennis's memory. But it's also been a great way to keep a lot of Dennis's past teammates as well connected."

Twelve men's teams took part in the tournament, which ran from Thursday to Sunday. While the event started out with many of Squires's past teammates, said Letto, new players have started joining, carrying on his legacy.

"A lot of the younger players coming on have been asking like, 'Who was Dennis and what his story?' And it's actually been a great icebreaker for players to, I guess, open up and start talking about mental health and to share that story," she said.

"Now they're sharing their own stories and experiences. And so that's been really great to see."

All funds raised at the tournament, including registration fees, are going toward the provincial chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association, which will use it for suicide first-aid training and education programs.

For chapter CEO Chandra Kavanagh, the partnership was a natural one.

"This tournament is so, so special. It's because often … when we're talking with men about their mental health, they're put into a bit of a situation where we're talking about things like therapy and talking about our feelings. That can be quite difficult for a lot of men," she said.

"So when, instead of having that conversation in this very feelings-focused way, we can have that conversation in and around athleticism and competition, I think it opens men up."

From the very beginning, Jon Pye was involved as co-organizer. Pye, the director of Rock Sports Academy, was close friends with Squires and used to play basketball with him. The feedback from athletes, he said, has been positive — so much so that six teams had to be turned away this year due to limited space.