After a competitive two-day tournament at the OUA golf championships, McMaster's Kavith Ranchagoda wins silver with an impressive individual score
The OUA men's golf tournament began on Oct. 5 and the Marauders men’s team finished fifth place. Kavith Ranchagoda, however, stood out with an exceptional scores of -2 on day one and +3 on day two and tied for second place overall.
“I just wanted to go out there and prove to myself that I could still compete at a really high level. I haven’t been competing much in the past two years, so it was great to get that competitive bug out of me” said Ranchagoda.
Ranchagoda, a fourth-year software engineering student, won the OUA championship with the Marauders in 2022. Although he did not compete in 2023, he felt confident going into this year.
“Right before the tournament, I knew where my game was at - it was at a really solid spot in my mind,” said Ranchagoda.
Despite the Marauder men’s team not finishing in the top three, he was glad he could share the green with a familiar face from a previous season, Nicholas Dessureault.
“Coming into this season, we had one member of the old championship team left, Nicolas Dessureault. My first thought was "I’d love to get one last ride with him and get our team in a good spot,"" said Ranchagoda.
“Coming into this season, we had one member of the old championship team left, Nicolas Dessureault. My first thought was "I’d love to get one last ride with him and get our team in a good spot.""
Kavith Ranchagoda, fourth-year software engineering student Marauder's men's golf team
Ranchagoda said it was his father who introduced the sport to him. Even at a young age, he was often at the driving range. “We didn’t really have babysitting, so bringing me to the course was my babysitting,” said Ranchagoda.
He still remembers his first tournament, in which he competed at six years old. “I still remember finishing dead last and seeing the young kids laughing at my score. As a young kid seeing that, it added fuel to the fire,” said Ranchagoda.
Ranchagoda noted that while his first few years of competition were rough, he stayed confident and persistent and the results paid off. He won his first medal at eight years old and he’s been on a roll since then.
Looking for inspiration, Ranchagoda often reflects on golfers like Rory McIlroy. Mcllroy, who isn’t the tallest guy on the green, makes up for his size by being one of the longest hitters in the game. “I’m not a tall guy myself, but to see a guy who isn't the tallest but still can whack it a mile is pretty cool,” said Ranchagoda.
Once he graduates, Ranchagoda has his sights set on coaching golf, having already done so since the pandemic. But more than anything, Ranchagoda will always be a competitor at heart. “I love winning not as much as I hate losing … that’s that competitive bug in me ... I’m always going to continue competing throughout my career,” said Ranchagoda
McMaster student Mariam Kourabi has created a growing YouTube channel over the past six months to provide a presence of conversation regarding women’s soccer
Mariam Kourabi, a McMaster University student with a passion in the world of soccer, decided to make use of her knowledge in women’s soccer to create a unique YouTube channel: SHE scores bangers. This channel is dedicated to fostering important discussions about women’s soccer around the world.
“My YouTube channel is essentially all about women’s soccer. It is a project that I launched earlier this summer and so far, it’s been successful. I tend to cover different aspects of women’s soccer, such as the World Cup, major leagues, analysis, injuries among other things,” said Kourabi.
Although the channel is relatively new, Kourabi impresses with her consistent content creation. On the channel’s Twitter page, she keeps up her followers with daily updates on different situations within the soccer world, whether it's through text or media. Her video content is posted on a weekly basis and she has achieved 28,000 views in six months.
“My general goal is to post one to two videos a week onto the YouTube channel. This way, I can provide my audience with more content that they can follow on a weekly basis. Not only that, but I also post daily updates on the channel’s Twitter account. Do I find that sometimes school gets in the way? Of course, during midterm or finals season, I tend to post less but I still want to keep up with providing consistent content. Sometimes when I know that I have a midterm that is coming up next week, I would record extra videos over the weekend so that I have more time to focus on my studies whilst still posting content,” explained Kourabi.
I discuss all things SCHEDULE CONGESTION:
⁉️ Do we need THREE back-to-back Intl. windows post-summer? 🩹 Is schedule congestion increasing injuries? 🗓️ A look into 3 players, and their game load leading up to an ACL injury.
Women’s soccer does not get as much publicity as men’s, evidenced by media coverage over the years, among other aspects such as ticket sales and TV viewership. This has produced a sense of inequality that is visible to all, with most YouTube channels and other media outlets covering mainly men’s soccer, whether it’s the World Cup or the Champions League. Kourabi aims to create more equality thorough conversations regarding women’s soccer, and by creating a presence of attention towards it.
“Generally speaking, there is a lack of conversation when it comes to women’s soccer. Therefore, I created the channel, I want to create more ambition and give more presence to the conversation about the subject and keep it relevant. Over time, I’m hoping that more people will gain interest in the channel, and the message would spread that women’s soccer deserves as much attention as men’s [soccer]. For now, I feel that I am progressing well with the channel and hope that it continues that way,” said Kourabi.
Over time, I’m hoping that more people will gain interest in the channel, and the message would spread that women’s soccer deserves as much attention as men’s [soccer]. For now, I feel that I am progressing well with the channel and hope that it continues that way.
Mariam Kourabi, FOUNDER Of SHE scores bangers
It’s not every day you hear about a student creating a successful YouTube channel that focuses on bringing in an important conversation into the sporting world, but Kourabi defies this expectation. With her stellar rise in popularity over the past few months, her channel is showing great potential and we can expect many more things from SHE scores bangers in the future.
