The NZ Masters Club Team Champs delivered three days of squash at its absolute best — early starts, late finishes, huge rallies, and Central teams bringing home serious silverware. With Whanganui and SquashGym both in action across multiple divisions, it was a weekend packed with drama, grit, and plenty of proud moments for our region.
Day One – Making a Statement
Whanganui 1 (Matt Nation, Paul Tuffin, Kent Darlington, Matt Ratcliffe and Dan Potter) came out firing, with Potter grinding out a five-set nail-biter to set the tone. The rest of the crew backed it up with straight-game wins, storming straight into the championship rounds.
Whanganui 2 (Anneka Weterman, Rob Moore, Smudge, Vance Wilson and Pauline Chapman) had tight matches all day, with the deciding tie falling to Smudge in a five-set battle that just slipped away. That result put them into the plate rounds — and locked in a very early 8am start for Saturday.
Whanganui 3 (JR, Nigel Ward, David Grant, Matt Power and Stu Hylton) pulled off the upset of the day, toppling the top seeds to book their own championship round spot. When it came down to Stu to clinch it, he stayed cool under pressure and delivered the goods.
Over in the evening session, SquashGym 1 (Clinton Bennett, Simon Vale, Mike Trail and Mike Scheepers) opened their campaign against Royal Oak in a late 7pm round. The result? A win to kick things off in style.
SquashGym 2 (Brendon O’Connor, Alice Hollows, Hubert Mayer, Iaveta Maurice Arthur and Tatoi Noi) faced a tough first-round matchup against Tawa 3. Despite some close games, they went down, sending them into the Plate side of the draw for the rest of the weekend.
Day Two – Early Starts, Big Moments
Saturday morning began with a Central takeover at Hutt City, as Whanganui 2 and SquashGym 1 both hit the courts at 8am.
Whanganui 2 took care of business with a clean sweep to make their Plate Final later in the day. SquashGym 1 went head-to-head with Red Beach in their Division 2 semifinal, claiming another win and booking themselves a spot in the Division 2 final.
In their Plate Final, Whanganui 2 found themselves needing two wins from the last three matches against Remuera. Rob stepped up with a commanding victory in three, Anneka followed with a win of her own, but dropping a game in the third proved costly, with the countback going Remuera’s way.
Meanwhile, Whanganui 3 faced a strong Franklin side in the championship draw. Stu once again put a point on the board, but Franklin took it 3-1. They shifted focus to the Special Plate playoff against Red Beach on Sunday morning.
Whanganui 1 kept their eyes firmly on the prize, dispatching Browns Bay 4-0 to set up a repeat of last year’s top-division final against Tawa.
SquashGym 2 bounced back in their Plate campaign, finding their form with a tight 3-1 victory over Henderson 2.
Final Day – Central Takes the Titles
Sunday morning began with Whanganui 3 taking on Red Beach in the Special Plate final. It was another tight contest, but Stu (who else?) stepped up again to close out a 3-1 team win and secure the Special Plate trophy.
Over in Division 2, SquashGym 1 faced a strong Franklin team for the championship. With the score at 2–1, it came down to Mike Scheepers in the last match. After some nail-biting rallies, he sealed the win to crown SquashGym 1 the Division 2 champions.
Then it was time for the main event — Whanganui 1 vs Tawa 1 for the Division 1 championship. Nation and Tuffin started with commanding 3-0 wins, putting Whanganui just one match from glory. Ratcliffe stepped up to clinch it, and Darlington made it a clean sweep with another victory for a dominant 4-0 result. Back-to-back Division 1 champions and already eyeing a potential three-peat.
The Final Tally for Central Squash:
🏆 Whanganui 1 – Division 1 Champions (two-peat!)
🏆 SquashGym 1 – Division 2 Champions
🏆 Whanganui 3 – Special Plate Winners
💪 Whanganui 2 – Plate Finalists
💪 SquashGym 2 – Plate Winners
An incredible weekend for our Central teams — full of hard-fought matches, huge results, and plenty of moments to make us proud. Bring on next year! 💙🙌
Winners
