Big changes at tourney venue

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 30

Big changes at tourney venue

Since the national squash championships were last held in Canterbury all of 14 years ago the host Christchurch Squash Rackets Club has changed almost beyond recognition, both inside and out.

The 1975 championships were certainly cosy in the then fairly small club lounge. Not too long after, though, the lounge was virtually tripled in size and a glass-back installed in the. gallerycourt.

More recently the exterior has had a snazzy paint job and a new carpark created with the acquisition of the next-door property in Chester Street. But even national tournament competitors who have played at the five-court complex earlier this season will be pleasantly impressed with the latest changes.

The club has had $130,000 worth of exten-

sions over the last couple of months, the main feature being a new firstfloor dining area in the north-west corner, a suitably enlarged kitchen and an office downstairs for the Canterbury Squash Rackets Association which the association will move into after the nationals. As well the building interior has been painted and carpeted throughout. Carrying out the extensions have been Simon building contractors, and hard-working committee and club members. The design and drawings were by Wayne Seebeck, a club member and Canterbury men’s team manager.

The dining facilities will obviously be very popular during the nine days of the Honda-spon-sored national championships which get under way with the lower-grade events tomorrow and the open grades on Saturday.

A caterer has been hired for the nationals but the club president and tournament director, Fred Williams, said the amount of use of the dining area after the nationals will depend on demand. Meals will be available during the summer pennant competition and the club is intending to start a mercantile competition on Friday nights.

The club will also offer to cater for up to 60 people for small weddings and twenty-firsts.

The tournament has attracted 218 entries for the three men’s and two women’s grades. There will be 64-draws for both the men’s and women’s opens. Mr Williams said the number of entries from lower-graded players had

been disappointing. “So many people think it’s (the nationals) just for the top guys.”

A feature of the tournament will be the provision of player packs, including a programme, for all 218 entrants.

Susan Devoy (Hamiltton) and Stephen Cunningham (College Rifles, Auckland) will be hot favourites to become the national closed champions — for the seventh and fourth consecutive year respectively. But Devoy has had some excellent tussles in the past with Joanne Williams (Taihape) and Scott Harrison (Ponsonby) will be after Cunningham’s scalp again after his upset win in the New Zealand Classic in Wellington last month. Cunningham seems to be in superb form approaching the nationals after downing two New Zealand team-mates, Rory Watt, and Ross Norman, the former world champion, in the Henderson Open last week-end. According to the seedings the quarter-final matchings on Monday will be:

Men: 1-Cunningham v. 9-Paul Steel (Whakatane); 5-Danny McQueen (Geyser City) v. 4-Mike McSherry (Titirangi); 3Glen Wilson (Mitchell Park) v. 6-Rod Hayes (Christchurch); 2-Harrison v. 7-Robert Wyatt (Geyser City).

Women: 1-Devoy v. 8Judy Burgess (Remuera), 5-Fleur Townsend (Remuera) v. 4-Marie Pearson (Manurewa); 3-Donna Newton (Remuera) v. 6Kay Collins (Cambridge), 2-Williams v. 7-Justine Marriott (Sumner).