31/05/2026
Report
Whangarei SC travelled to Christchurch Squash Club during the Kings Birthday weekend (29th May - 1st June) to play in the Cousins Shield and Mitchell Cup.
The club had representative teams in both the Ladies and the Men’s competitions. Shelley Kitchen, Sacha Tito, Amalia Ricketts, Chelsea Traill and Pippa Saunders played for the Ladies. Freddie Jameson, Flynn Venmore, Maz Saunders, Zac Laing, Neil Rossin, Josh Laing and Bryan Ford represented the Men.
The men finished a creditable 3rd in NZ, making their seeding of #3. Freddie Jameson was unbeaten at #1 string with 4 solid wins against other top NZ players. Zac Laing also had a good weekend with crucial wins and tough 3/2 battles. The team pushed Devoy SC very close in the semi finals with a narrow 2/3 loss. Maz Saunders tried as hard as he could versus a higher ranked player in the deciding rubber, going down 1/3 in a brutally tough deciding match.
The future looks bright for the Mens team. The current team is very young (apart from Rossin) with the ages of 21,21,23,17 and 47. Next year could be our year with the possible homecoming of Finn Trimble….. The Shield could finally be visiting Whangarei.
The women also had a good weekend, finishing 5th in NZ (seeded 6). Both Shelley Kitchen and Sacha Tito remained unbeaten at #1 and #2 string in all 4 matches. Quite impressive for both as they beat much younger opponents. Amalia Ricketts also had a good tournament. She is improving fast and will look to use this match practice to prepare for the upcoming World Juniors (Teams and Individuals) in Edmonton, Canada.
Chelsea Traill and Pippa Saunders also played their hearts out and left nothing on the court ensuring that Whangarei beat their seeding by 1 position.
The great weekend finished well with Shelley receiving the Tanya Lawrence Award for good sportsmanship, high integrity and dedication to the sport of squash. She made a great speech honouring the memory of Tanya and dedicating receiving the award to the participation of female squash players in the Mitchell Cup and future competitions. A fully deserved accolade and award for our coach and manager at little old Whangarei SC.
The future looks bright for Whangarei SC and Te Tai Tokerau Squash. Up the Taniwha. Let’s hope we keep this momentum going for next year’s competition which will be held at Henderson SC, Auckland.
Over and out!