Check out who has been suspected of stealing Olympic Togs

Click on Link below

http://www.nzsportsnews.co.nz/vid.php?id=94767

Never explain yourself. Your friends don’t need it. Your enemies won’t believe it.

Champion of Champions 2008 registrations are now being accepted. This prestigious District event is being held at Squash@Upper Hutt from Sept 4th to 6th, and is open to any player who wins their Grade or Division in a District tournament or their Club Championship Grade up until August 29th 2008.

If you won your division in any tournaments this year and would like to be registered for Champion of Champions 2008, go to the Tournaments page and enter online -

Key Word Champion of Champions.

In the comments section declare the Grade/Division & Tournament that you won in/at.

Please note that should a full field (96) be accepted play will be from Wednesday to Sunday

Poster & Details along with Registrations received to date can be viewed by clicking on links below.

Champion of Champions - Sept 4th

Click Here….For Poster & Details

Click Here….For Registration Progress as at 22nd July 2008

If you wish to be removed from this list

Please E-Mail sdm@squashwellington.org.nz

Coach Development Manager, Nick Mita today named the Wellington Senior Team to contest the Nationals in Auckland next month.

They are as follows,

Men: Martin Knight, Evan Williams, Willie Bicknell, Shane Johnston, Keeghan Burkhart, Mike Pittams, Mark Millar.

Women: Tamsyn Leevey, Emma Millar, Liz Day, Katrina Palmer, Liz Wilson, Stephanie Smith.

Coach: Nick Mita, Manager: Mark Millar.

Squash Wellington congratulate all Players & wish them every success at the Nationals

Mitchell Park have won an unprecedented 5 of the 8 Titles contested at the recently concluded Wellington District Super Champs

Full results are as follows

Mens B - Mitchell Park Womens B - Tawa

B Grade to Nationals in Whangarei

Mens C - Mitchell Park Womens C - Mitchell Park

C Grade to Nationals in Wellington

Mens D - Northern Womens D - Mitchell Park

D Grade to Nationals in Napier

Mens E - Mitchell Park Womens E - Island Bay

E Grade to Nationals in New Plymouth

Squash Wellington congratulates all Teams & wishes the Winners every success at this years Nationals

A BIG thank you to the Host Clubs, & Tournament Director Steve Scott

B Grade Khandallah, C Grade Wainuiomata & Fraser Park, D Grade Kapiti, E Grade Island Bay

There is no change at the top of the latest New Zealand national squash ratings.

Not surprisingly, Shelley Kitchen remains number one on the New Zealand women's list, with her current world ranking of seven an indication of just how well she has been playing in recent months.

Jackie Hawkes is at number two on the list, followed by Louise Crome and Joelle King, with all three showing solid form on both the domestic and international scene.

On the men's list, Kashif Shuja is again ranked number one, with Campbell Grayson at two and Martin Knight at three.

All four players representing New Zealand at the upcoming Junior Men's World Championships are in the top 16. Evan Williams is the best of the kiwi juniors at number six on the senior list, followed by Cameron Jamieson (8), Alex Grayson (13) and Keegan Burkhart (15).

Men's rankings... 1. Kashif Shuja 2. Campbell Grayson 3. Martin Knight 4. Josh Greenfield 5. Graeme Wilson 6. Evan Williams 7. Scott Gardiner 8. Cameron Jamieson 9. Willie Bicknell 10. Kent Darlington 11. Shane Johnstone 12. Lui Syder 13. Alex Grayson 14. Christopher Lloyd 15. Keegan Burkhart 16. Joshua Thom

Women's rankings 1. Shelley Kitchen 2. Jaclyn Hawkes 3. Louise Crome 4. Joelle King 5. Kylie Lindsay 6. Amanda Cranston 7. Lana Harrison 8. Jackie Laurenson 9. Lisa Cowlard 10. Trina Moore 11. Larissa Stephenson 12. Catherine McLeod 13. Kathryn Austin 14. Kay Newman 15. Lassie Cull 16. Sarah Agi

Issue # 1

News Letter from Mike (The T) Thompson - CEO Squash NZ

Hi, Please find linked below the first of what will be regular updates on happenings at Squash NZ. The newsletter will be going on the website soon as will an opportunity for those who wish to receive future updates directly. I hope you enjoy this and future reads.

Regards

Mike Thompson Chief Executive

Click Here….For Issue # 1

Individual glory is insignificant when

compared to achieving victory as a TEAM.

Waimea Sawmillers Nelson Bays Senior representative Squash team were delighted to retain the Heaphy Shield again after they competed against Marlborough and West Coast for the prestigious Shield at Nelson Squash Club at the weekend. Retired Nelson Bays coach Mason Robinson successfully guided the team to retain the shield eight times out of the past nine years and his successor Sean Weir was keen to keep the winning trend going as he took over the reins for the first time. Weir said "Marlborough was the team to watch. They appeared to have the strongest team they have had for many years and it was very close, but I was confident Nelson Bays had depth and ability to pull it off" . The Final result with Nelson winning 23 matches, Marlborough winning 22 matches and West Coast 3 proved that the rivalry between Nelson and Marlborough continues to thrive, even on the squash courts.

The Heaphy Shield has been contested by the West Coast, Marlborough and Nelson Bays for over 30 years with the first fixture taking place in 1976 at Westport. Each team consists of the provinces' top four men and women and competitors who play each other in singles as well as reverse singles, making for a physically demanding weekend where it can come down to "survival of the fittest". Having Won the Heaphy Shield for the last 3 years Nelson was endeavoring to make it four in a row at the weekend. Wiith the event hosted by the Nelson Squash club the locals used the home advantage to retain the Shield in a very close fought battle, the result coming down to the last match of the event.

The Final result with Nelson winning 23 matches, Marlborough winning 22 matches and West Coast 3 showed that the rivalry between Nelson and Marlborough continues to thrive even on the squash courts.

Nelson Bays is in the enviable position of having a number of Players in the region who were eligible for selection based on current form, particularly in the number 4 spots for both the men and women’s teams and several would consider themselves unlucky not to be a part of the team.

The Men’s Senior members of the team were consistent in their results with Nick Wiffen starting slowly with a loss but finishing the last match of the event with a class performance confirming his status as Nelsons number 1 player. Craig Beatson's fast hands and ability to finish off points saw him perform to his peak winning 3 out of 4 matches and Mark Kerr showed he is back to full strength, after missing last Years event due to a recovering from a serious injury. He proved this when he wore down his opponents to win 3 out of 4 matches. Tristan Palmer at number 4 won 2 Matches and showed that he is living up to the potential he has shown he has.

In the Women’s team No 1 Katrina Palmer showed her class by only conceding 1 game in the in the 4 Matches that she played. No 4 Annie Telford proved that guts and determination are a great combination as she won all 4 of her matches. At Number 3 and new to the region Leigh Rodd showed deft touch and clean hitting to win 3 out of 4 Matches. Susan O’Connell found the going tough in the number 2 spot against some class opposition, however her win on Sunday in the second to last match set up the Team to take out the Heaphy competition in the last match.

The Nelson Bays Team was Men: 1.Nick Wiffen ( Motueka ), 2. Craig Beatson ( Motueka), 3. Mark Kerr ( Nelson ) 4. Tristan Palmer (Celtic). Women: 1. Katrina Palmer (Celtic), 2. Sue O’Connell (Waimea), 3. Leigh Rodd (Waimea), 4. Annie Telford (Takaka), reserve Sue Netto (Takaka)

Hi everyone, Please find linked below the Squash events newsletter for Nelson / Marlborough. If you have any queries, feedback or require more information; please contact me directly. Kind regards

Greg Walsh SQUASH DEVELOPMENT 027-680-2637 sdo@nelsonbayssquash.co.nz

Click Here….For July 08 Issue

Wellington Juniors won 3 Titles at this weekends North Island Junior Age Groups at the Henderson Squash Club.

Evan Williams, Boys U19, Emma Millar, Girls U17 & Scott Galloway, Boys U13 (all pictured above)

Other Wellington players to perform well included, Eliza Sim, 2nd Girls U17, Rebecca Barnett, 2nd Girls U15, Keeghan Burkhart, 3rd Boys U19, Paris Dalrymple-Mortleman, 3rd Girls U 13, Chris Collins, 3rd Boys U13.

Coaches Comments:

A great weekend of squash with some good results for our young players. All of our players peformed very well but there was some stand out performances for me. Scott Galloway only 10 winning the under 13 boys in a thrilling 5 setter. Being up in the 5th with a good lead, Scott soon found himself down match ball 7. As gutsy as he is he never gave up and turned it around to win. Both players were awesome to watch. Emma Millar and Eliza Sim completed an all Wellington final in the girls under 17s final and although Eliza played very well Emma's experience came through and she continued to produce that solid and consistent squash that we have seen from her all year. Evan Williams completed our number one finishes with a good win over counterpart and world junior mens squad player Alex Grayson. A very good finish to Evans junior career as the world juniors will be his last junior event. Well done mate and look forward to seeing you excel on the senior circuit. Other great results saw Keeghan Burkhart 3rd in boys 19s, Rebecca Barnett 2nd girls 15s, Paris Dalrymple Mortleman 3rd girls 13s, Chris the purple haired Collins 3rd boys 13s and also 2nd to Nick Mita in the bubble gum blowing competition. A mention must go out to Zac Millar for an outstanding performance against the number one seed and winner of the under 15s Todd Redman. Zac took Todd to 5 sets, great effort Zac.

Winners of the recently held Nelson Bays Squash Junior Age Groups proudly display their trophies.

Our thanks to Black Knight for their support

Left to Right: Kane Espinosa (U15 Boys), Sean O'Connell (U19 Boys), Scotty Galloway (U11 Boys) , Josh Wood (U17 Boys)

Hayley Palmer (U17 Girls), Paris Dalrymple-Mortleman (U13 girls). Amy Seymour (U15 girls) not in the photo.

Another good month for New Zealand's top squash players on the latest world squash rankings.

Shelley Kitchen has maintained her place in the world's top 10, remaining at number seven on the WISPA tour's July list. Kitchen has now held the ranking for six straight months.

Fellow kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes has also held onto a spot in the world's top 20, albeit down one place on last month to number 19 on the list.

Louise Crome's recent good form, which included the Welsh Open title early last month, has seen her equal her career high ranking of 25 in the world, while the big improver is rising star Joelle King, who has leapt seven places to a career best number 54.

Meanwhile, Kashif Shuja is back on the improve in the PSA men's rankings, up one place to number 41 this month.

New Zealand number two Campbell Grayson has also continued his steady climb, up another four places to number 90 on the list. He has now improved his ranking by 34 places this year.

It's a similar story for Martin Knight, who has improved 22 places in 2008 including four places this month to number 94 in the world.

Click on Link below and see where you can now play Squash

Hilarious

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ squash%2Bremi/video/x3z49k_squash-remi-gaillard_fun

Knowledge talks... Wisdom listens

Top New Zealand squash talent is being developed by a former Australian star

It looks like being good news for New Zealand squash players as former Australian world No.3 Anthony Ricketts had to give the game away after having five operations on his right knee.

Still only 29, Ricketts took up a job with Squash New Zealand as head coach of the national squad three months ago and is rapidly instilling his own professionalism.

Ricketts has the best players in New Zealand training five days a week (up to three sessions a day) at the National Squash Centre in Auckland.

"The squad's structure set-up has been awesome," said New Zealand representative Martin Knight, who won the recent Professional Squash Association (PSA) South Island satellite tournament in Christchurch.

"There's anywhere up to about 10 or 12 of us (training) if everyone's in the country."

World No.94 Knight said the squad were revelling in having a former British Open champion at their disposal. "He's got a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience ... and he's passing it on to us."

Ricketts said he was lucky enough to be involved in the Australian Institute of Sport in Brisbane where he was "surrounded by people like (former world champions) Geoff Hunt and Rodney Martin" as coaches.

"Without them I definitely wouldn't have been the player I was," he said in Christchurch.

"The standards they instilled in me, now it's passed through to these guys."

And he revealed the structure he was setting up with the national squad was "modeled to a certain extent on that (AIS) programme.

Ricketts spent 11 years on the professional circuit and said the last couple had been a real struggle.

After the last of his knee surgeries, "basically the surgeons, doctors, physios said that's it" and he retired in January, still ranked in the world's top 10.

Having women's world No.7 Shelley Kitchen as a girlfriend, Ricketts had been coming to New Zealand pretty regularly.

Talks with Squash NZ had been going on for some time and, says Ricketts, "the time was right for them and me really".

"You know, I feel quite lucky it was here for me at the time. It's something I've always wanted to do."

While not much older than some of the senior players, the Australian believed his age was an advantage.

"Being young, I've got the advantage of coming right off the tour, so I know how it works and how the game needs to be played."

Ricketts pointed to things like the numerous changes in footwork patterns and strategies, and the significant move to 11-point rally in scoring.

"So being able to come off that, you know winning big titles, it helps. Yeah, there's a bit of rapport; they know it's serious business."

He made 17 finals appearances on the PSA world tour, including winning his "big three" of the Tournament of Champions (beating three world champions) and the British Open in 2005, and the Super Series world top-eight play-offs in 2006.

Described as one of the most exciting players on the circuit, Ricketts said his fitness level, his speed and determination took him a long way.

He did not object to the suggestion that he might have been feisty on the court.

"Yeah, there's no doubt I played a very aggressive game. I could call it determined, but it's obviously more correctly aggression. I tried to volley and play hard, play fast. And in the end when your strengths are your speed and fitness, there's always going to be a physical side to it."

Some of his most memorable clashes were with Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, including an acrimonious encounter in the 2003 world teams final where the players reportedly almost came to blows.

The 1.85m Australian said the pair definitely had a lot of respect for each other, but there were always matches that stood out "where there's a lot on the line and this is your livelihood".

"So when you get two guys that are quite aggressive, you know sometimes there's a bit of fireworks," he said with a laugh.

As a coach, his first international assignment will be taking the New Zealand team to the junior men's world championships in Zurich this month.

Ricketts reckoned "the sort of training we've started, I think they haven't really trained like that before" whereas other countries had been doing it for years.

But he said the junior quartet of Evan Williams, Cameron Jamieson, Lui Syder and Keegan Burkhart had taken keenly to the new regime.

His first impressions were New Zealand squash was in good hands "if these boys are the new generation".

There was definitely some talent there, but it would need nurturing, he said.

"I'm fairly confident we can get players back in the top rankings."

New Zealand, which boasted a world champion in Ross Norman in 1986, has had no men's players in the top 20 since the mid-1990s when Paul Steel reached a career-high 18th.

His name features in the Guinness Book of World Records and he was once labeled the greatest sportsperson of all time.

But now Jahangir Roshan Khan is reluctant to pick up a squash racket but once he is on court, it is hard to miss the aura.

In his playing days, Jahangir was simply unstoppable winning 10 British Open crowns and six world championships. He also won 555 consecutive matches.

Jahangir is truly a sporting colossus, who ironically was asked to stay away from the game as a boy.

"The doctor advised my father. Physically I was very weak. He told my father that I know that everybody in your family plays squash and it is not a n easy game physically. So I would recommend that this boy should not be playing squash. Do something else," Jahanagir revealed.

But squash was in his blood. His father Roshan Khan was a former British Open champion and his brother Torsem Khan was in the top six in the world before he died of a heart attack, cruelly on a squash court.

Torsem was Jahangir's friend, philosopher and guide.

"I was very close to him. Although we had an age difference of 12 years but I could share anything with him. He was my brother, my friend and my mentor," Jahanagir said.

Now Jahangir is trying to give back to the game that gave him so much. He is the President of World Squash Association but in his country the game that once produced a stream of great champions is now dying.

"It is sad because we have lot of talent but the only problem is administration. Coaching is a problem and at the same time we don't have players who are too much dedicated to the game. They want to do good but don't want to do the hard way," he said.

He belongs to the most illustrious family of squash and he lived up to its name. Jahangir means ‘conqueror of the world’ and he certainly did that with a racquet in his hand.

But unfortunately he has no one to pass on his legacy.

The latest Junior Rankings as at 4th July 2008 have just been released.

Click on link below to view

Wellington Junior Rankings as at July 2008

Click Here….For Latest Rankings

Find something you love to do..... and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.

For the latest new's from Squash Wellington

Click on link below

for the June Issue of

'The Backhander'

Click Here….For the June 08 Issue

The only real failure in life...... is the failure to try !

Please click on links below for the latest newsletter from Squash NZ and the National results of the Squash Club Weekend held in April

Click Here….For the Latest Newsletter

Click Here….For National Squash Club Weekend Results *

* View at 150% magnification

The 2008 Super Series commences tonight at the Wainuiomata Squash Club

For all details on Teams & Draws click on link below

Click Here….For Teams & Draws

For regular updates go to the INTER CLUB page

The 2008 Winners

Results of the Wellington District Junior Age Group Champs @ Thorndon Club 13 -15 June 2008

Boys results;

U11 Scott Galloway (Mitchell Park) def Tohe Wanoa (Island Bay) - by default

U13 Scott Galloway (Mitchell Park) def Brandon Young (Whakatane)

U15 Jonathan Barnett (Mitchell Park) def Brian Taparau (Upper Hutt)

U17 Ben Allan (Collegians) def Nic Gadd (Mana)

U19 Richard Pittams (Upper Hutt) def Matthew Taparau (Upper Hutt)

Girls results:

U11 Kadi-Eve Leggett (Tawa) def Shani Bennik (Mitchell Park)

U13 Paris Dalrymple-Mortleman (Kapiti) def Sophie Allan (Tawa)

U15 Rebecca Barnett (Mitchell Park) def Ellen Denny (Masterton)

U17 Emma Millar (Kapiti) def Eliza Sim (Tawa)

U19 Emma Millar (Kapiti) def Eliza Sim (Tawa)

There's no sense in being pessimistic ....

It wouldn’t work anyway

Mount Maunganui will be the scene of an innovative first for squash in New Zealand, with an international tournament to be staged inside a shopping centre in August.

Mt Maunganui Sports Club has announced the Mt Maunganui Festival of Squash, which will feature some of the world's best players competing on a glass court at the Bayfair Shopping Centre.

Malaysians Ong Beng Hee (world #11) and Mohd Azlan Iskander (#13) have been confirmed in the men's event, along with New Zealand's Kashif Shuja (#42), while Ireland's Madeline Perry (#16) joins Shelley Kitchen (#7) and New Zealand's other top female stars in the women's draw. Another top 10 player will also be confirmed next week.

The event will be held on August 8-10 and has been made possible through sponsorship and support from the Bayfair Shopping Centre, Delta Corporation and Squash New Zealand.

"Bayfair Shopping Centre is extremely excited to be part of such an innovative event and looks forward to hosting the worlds top players in our centre" said Bayfair Centre Manager Andrew Wadsworth.

Squash NZ CEO Mike Thompson says the national body is thrilled to add its support to the event. He says it is a great way to promote the sport to the general public "NZ hasn't seen a squash event of this nature since the early 1990's, and the ability to take squash into a shopping centre allows us to connect to a wider audience which is very exciting for our sport"

Squash Wellington are pleased to announce that Sportco, suppliers of Black Knight are sponsoring this years Super 6 Junior Tournaments.

The tournaments, 3 in the Wellington region & 3 in the Nelson / Marlborough region carry a total prize value of $12,000.00.

All 3 tournaments in each zone (North & South) must be entered for players to be eligible for the Black Knight series.

The North Zone tournaments are

Wellington Junior Age Groups @ Thorndon, June 13 - 15

Collegians Junior Open, August 1 - 3

Wellington Junior Open @ Island Bay, August 8 - 10

The South Zone tournaments are

Nelson Junior Open @ Nelson, June 20 - 22

NBS Junior Age Groups @ Waimea, June 27 - 29

Marlborough Junior Open @ Blenheim, September 12 - 14

All Posters & Entry details are available on the Tournaments page

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.

With Love We Remember

Paul Robert Sneyd

Born in Islington, London, 8th January 1953

Died in Wellington, 19th May 2008

Squash Wellington has lost a great friend & mentor of our sport with the passing of Paul Sneyd last week

A National Referee of some standing, he was attempting to qualify as a World Referee when he went to the world championships in Holland in 2005/2006.

Paul was an active member of Red Star Squash for many years, holding a number of executive positions within the Club and was an avid West Ham United fan, as was evidenced by the blue and maroon coffin draped with a West Ham scarf, and the bubble machine working overtime during his funeral - (reference to the West Ham anthem (crowd song) "I'm forever blowing bubbles")

Paul contributed 8 years to Wellington Squash, serving on many commitee's & holding Executive positions including that of President for two terms. (see below)

1990 - Management Committee & Referee's Committee.

1991 - Management Committee & Referee's Committee (Convenor).

1992 - Management Committee & Referee's Committee (Convenor).

1993 - Management Committee & Referee's Committee (Convenor).

1994 - Management Committee & Referee's Committee (Convenor).

1995 - Management Committee & Referee's Committee (Convenor).

1996 - Management Committee & Rep Teams Convenor

1997 - Vice President & on three Committees

1998 - Vice President & on three Committees

1999 - President & on two Committees

2000 - President & on three Committees

2001 - Executive Committee & on three Committees

The Board & Members of Squash Wellington offer our sincere sympathy to his immediate Family.

A Thread Woven into the Fabric - Brian Malcouronne

Squash Wellington in association with

The Pelorus Trust & Mana Squash

present the 2008 Wellington Open results

Men’s Open:

1st Martin Knight, Wellington. 2nd Kashif Shuja, Auckland. 3rd Willie Bicknell, Wellington. 4th Shane Johnston, Wellington. 5th Ricardo Stanley, Auckland.

Women’s Open:

1st Tamsyn Leevey, Wellington. 2nd Elizabeth Day, Wellington. 3rd Kath McNamara, Wellington. 4th Mickayla Kerr, Marlborough. 5th Liz Wilson, Wellington.

Men’s B Division: 1st Braddick Williams, Wellington. 2nd Kent Hammond, Wellington. 3rd Peter Cossey, Wellington. 4th Petar Cirovic, Wellington. 5th Richard Pittams, Wellington.

Women’s B Division: 1st Nicola Durling, Wellington. 2nd Christine Bevan, Gisborne. 3rd Fiona Gifford – Moore, Wellington. 4th Hine Sullivan, Hawera. 5th Tere Wilson, Wellington.

Men’s C Division: 1st Josh Wood, Nelson. 2nd John van Velzen, Marlborough. 3rd Zane Ririnui, Wellington. 4th Sean O’Connell, Nelson. 5th Andrew Pavitt, Wellington.

Women’s C Division: 1st Jennifer Conayne, Wellington. 2nd Janet Udy, Marlborough. 3rd Nicola Ward – Thomas, Wellington. 4th Kate Walker, Wellington. 5th Ronda Moore, Wellington.

Men’s D Division: 1st Andrew Kelly, Wellington. 2nd Paul Mead, Wellington. 3rd Jacob McCarthy, Wellington. 4th Jared Sullivan, Wellington. 5th Ray Leevey, Wellington.

Men’s E Division: 1st Ben Allan, Wellington. 2nd Chris Husson, Wellington. 3rd Gareth Knight, Wellington. 4th Riki Donnelly, Gisborne. 5th Jason Lines, Wellington.

Men’s F Division: 1st Brady Cole, Wellington. 2nd Cameron Bentley, Hawera. 3rd Geordie Grieve, Wellington. 4th Brent Smythe, Wellington. 5th Stuart Miller, Marlborough.

Men’s G Division: 1st Alex Walker, Wellington. 2nd Brian Tapurau, Wellington. 3rd Nicholas Gadd, Wellington. 4th Josh Sowden, Counties. 5th Peter Kappert, Wellington.

Men’s H Division: 1st Robert Greene, Wellington. 2nd Rex Mar, Wellington. 3rd Mike James Wellington. 4th Miles Sayer, Wellington. 5th Lyle Billowes, Wellington