Gisborne’s Surf City Squash Club has won the Men’s B Grade national Championship for the first time in the club’s history.
The club won four titles in National SuperChamps week, held across five locations.
This was the second time the club had achieved the feat. In 2022 it became the first club to win four New Zealand titles in the same year.
Apart from the club’s success in B Grade this year, Surf City Squash won the E Grade title for women, and the F Grade titles for men and women.
The club qualified for national tournaments with nine out of 10 potential qualifying teams.
Club president Daniel Newman said the club had now won 11 national titles in the past four years after going 18 years without a men’s title and 10 years without a women’s title up to the 2020 “rebuild”.
“In five years, we have established ourselves as one of the top clubs in New Zealand, if not the top,” he said.
Over the past five years the culture at the club had evolved, driven by club development officer Willie Donnelly, Newman said.
Competitive opportunities for the club’s members were limited by Gisborne’s isolation, and players generally had to travel out of the district for events.
By focusing resources on these team events, the club had created an environment where players could play and train together to improve in pursuit of a common goal.
“This has helped rebuild the player base at the club from around 38 members in 2020 to over 350 members now,” Newman said.
In Whangārei, the team that won the Davis Trophy for men’s B Grade supremacy were seeded fourth.
The team – Matt Ross, Tohe Wanoa, Chapman Kutia, Jacque Davis, Mike Low, Torin Donnelly and Tom Harbott – were managed and coached by Willz Donnelly.
They were in outstanding form all week against high-quality competition.
In round-robin play they beat Christchurch 4-1, Squashgym 4-1, Henderson 3-2 and Whangārei 3-2 to top their group and progress to the final, when they beat North Shore 4-1.
It was a treasured victory.
During the past 20 years, club teams have been runners-up in the men’s B Grade in 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2014.
Sixty-year-old Low was in those teams and has been back playing serious squash for only a year after a three-year break during which he tried to master kite-surfing.
The women’s E Grade team – Karli Bartlett, Jo McLean, Honor Phillips, Mikayla Craill, Tess Brownlie and Holly Pfeiffer – were managed by Nicola Bartlett and coached by Aana Donnelly.
They were top seeds for their tournament in New Plymouth, where they won all three of their pool matches.
In the semifinal, they had a stellar 4-1 victory over Rotorua rivals Geyser City and, in the final, beat Auckland’s North Shore 3-2.
The men’s E Grade team – Tawera Nikora, Hugo Phillips, Keenan Ruru, Deyzell Hiraka-Love, Gregory Bush and James Kissling – came close to making it an E Grade double for the club.
They, too, were unbeaten in pool play. They had a convincing 4-1 semifinal win against home team Kawaroa Park of New Plymouth, but in the final came up against a tough and experienced Thames team who beat them 3-2.
The double was achieved, though, in Invercargill, where the Surf City Squash Club teams won the F Grade men’s and women’s tournaments.
The men’s team — Wi Tupaea, Tom Williams, Raymond Hohepa, Callum Gordon, Ed Pirini and Casius Jackson-Williams — were managed by Tee Montgomery and were unbeaten in their round-robin. They were in excellent form, with close 3-2 victories over Ōpōtiki and Henderson being the highlights.
The women’s F Grade team — Anaura Hogarth, Lily Donnelly, Ngareta Williams, Fleur Paenga, Holly Leighton, Ella Kaczmar and Elise Levy — were managed by Suze Hogarth and were far too strong for their opponents. They won all four of their matches 5-0.
Outstanding coaching by Willie Donnelly led to rapid improvement and retention of the F Grade trophy won in 2023.
The men’s D Grade team of Keanu Makiri, Akira Makiri, Billy Callaghan, Adam Morten, Don Kennedy and Aaron White finished runners-up in Methven. The team, managed by Mo Kennedy, had convincing wins against Squash City, Kapiti, Hamilton and Timaru but came unstuck against a strong Eden Epsom team.
The women’s D Grade team — Hinemairangi Wilson, Rosina Pennell, Josie Ovenden, Winsome Kennedy, Hannah Wallbank and Stef White — were managed by Awhina White and had a difficult draw in a 10-team competition.
They finished the round-robin second in their group after a tough last-round match against Ohakune, and ended their week on a high, beating a strong Timaru team 5-0 in the third/fourth playoff.
Jereme Taylor, Ky Bartlett, Jonny Hardie, Hunter Johnson, Mike Hardie and Peren Mountfort made up the C Grade team, who finished fourth in Hamilton. They qualified for the semifinals by finishing second in their pool.
They couldn’t quite win the tight matches against top seeds Morrinsville, who beat them 4-1.
For the first time in years, the club were able to enter a women’s team in the B Grade.
Team members Kiera Thompson (Havelock North), Catherine Harbott, Casey Miller, Florence Faulks, Bella Seymour and Lane Bartlett gained lots of experience, fought hard and had some close results.
A highlight was an outstanding performance against Bay of Plenty champions Devoy, who had to work hard for their 3-2 win.
Newman said Raewyn Ross did a great job as manager. The outlook for the future was strong.
He said the club’s National SuperChamps success would not have been possible without the support of the Tairāwhiti community, funders and family, and he thanked them for that.