Tākaka hosts annual squash comp

JO RICHARDS

Tākaka Squash Club’s annual open tournament attracted 36 entries from across the Top of the South, for three days of competition over King's Birthday weekend.

The opening ties were played on Friday, with the finals and prizegiving taking place on Sunday. A tournament dinner was held at the Rec Centre on the Saturday evening, courtesy of the Tākaka Squash Club committee.

The home club enjoyed a good measure of success, producing a winner in the Women’s 1st Division, runners-up in the Mixed and Men’s competitions, plus numerous solid placings across the other three draws.

Among those watching from the balcony overlooking the glass-backed courts at the Rec Centre on Sunday morning was veteran squash player Mark Gale from Waimea who had entered the tournament along with his wife Nan and son Liam – the

RESULTS / Hua

SQUASH

Mixed 1 Division: 1st Lucas Bennett; 2nd Thomas Tait (Takaka). Womens 1 Division: 1st Hester Davies (Takaka); 2nd Alyssa Velluppillai. Mens 2 Division: 1st Tom Walker; 2nd Richard Tait (Takaka). Mens 1 Division: 1st Chris McCarthy (Nelson); 2nd Anthony van Niekerk; 3rd special plate Roger Nokes; plate Buddah Childs (ex Takaka, now Christchurch). Womens Open: 1st Sarena Harwood; 2nd Keren Barcas; 3rd special plate Victoria Moran; plate Sue Netto (Takaka). Men's Open: 1st Liam Gale (Waimea); 2nd Jack Gibb (Waimea); special plate Jethro Moran; plate Brendon Whitley. Locals placings. Men's open division: 4th Rex Bowden; 7th Paul McConnon. Women's open division: 5th Sue Netto; 7th Kylie Harvey. Men's 1 Division: 3rd Roger Nokes; 7th Brendon Richards; 8th Archie Balck. Men's 2 Division: 2nd Richard Tait; 4th John Lavers. Women's 1 Division: 1st Hester Davies. Mixed Division 1: 2nd Thomas Tait; 3rd Tiff Price. GOLF

30 May. Woods Trophy (stableford): B Miller. Closest to Pin 3/12: S Rosser.

31 May. Club Champs: Junior A final - G Bradley bt T Polglase 3/2. Stableford: D Win 38, G Rowe 33, R Heuvel 32. Closest to pins: 3/12 G Rowe, 8/17 D Win, T Polglase. Twos: D Win (2), G Bradley, G Rowe. Best gross: D Win.

3 June. Club Champs: Junior B final - R Miller bt G Little 3/1. Bisque bogey: J Garner +3, C Hadler +2, P Solly +1. Closest to pins: 3/12 R Young, 4/13 G Ryan, 8/17 number one seed for the Men’s Open.

The Gales weren’t the only family fielding multiple entries; father and son Richard and Thomas Tait from Tākaka competed in the Men’s Division 2 and Mixed Division 1 respectively, each earning a second place.

The regular entries were joined by a several first-time tournament participants including Brendon Richards and John Lavers from Collingwood, and Alyssa Velluppillai and Tom Walker from Nelson. While keeping an eye on the action below, Tom was getting ready for his court appearance in the final of the Men’s Division 2 where he was facing Richard Tait – a tie he went on to win. He was particularly impressed with the facilities. “The courts here are really good.”

On Monday morning, as she reflected on the weekend, club secretary Sharon McConnon was clearly happy with the way the tournament had worked out. “A great weekend was had by all and spectators were treated to some great squash and a weekend of Golden Bay hospitality. The beautiful weather on Saturday saw a lot of visitors out enjoying the Bay in their downtime and we are really pleased they were able to get a look around town and head out to the beaches. Finals day on Sunday saw the rain come in again, perfect timing for a day inside… The Rec Centre is still admired by everyone who comes to play here and as a club, we are very proud to host here.”

Thanks to all participants as without them, we have no tournament. Thanks to our squash club committee – we are lucky to have such a great band of helpers. Thanks also to Amanda Tait for the bar duties on Saturday night – we really appreciate this, and to Lou, the Rec Centre cleaner who does an amazing job to make the centre sparkling clean. Also thanks to Sara Chapman, who helped with Friday’s finishing touches in the cleaning department. Last but not least, thank you to all our sponsors – Nelson Building Society, ITM Takaka, First National Golden Bay, Alsco (towels), Wholemeal Café, FreshChoice, 3BeeHoney and JB and Deanna for the porta washer raffle donation (thanks ITM for the great deal). This year, we were joined on Saturday by Andyara Milan who was on hand to offer sports therapeutic hot stone massages – first five massages courtesy of First National. This proved very popular – thanks so much Andy!

Raffle winners: FreshChoice goodie box – Pat Netto; 3Bee Premium Honey gift basket – Sarena Harwood; grocery box – Mark Gale; porta washer – Gary Balck.