Over 80 Squash Juniors are making their way to Burnside Squash Club

Over 80 squash juniors from around the country will take the court this week for the South Island Junior Age Groups which are being held this Thursday-Saturday at Burnside Squash Club.  

The age grades range from, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 in both boys and girls and will feature a wide range of players from those relatively new to tournament play to others who have PSA World Senior Rankings.

Making the tournament extra interesting is a number of players from the northern part of the country including the talented Freddie Jamieson from Whangarei who will be one of the top seeds in the boys U17 draw.

There’s also a couple of players from Auckland’s North Shore, featuring Ross and Anna Jowsey who play out of the Browns Bay Club.

Ross will be one of the top seeds in the U19 boys, while sister Anna will be competing in the girls U15.

There are several A grade players in the tournament  Malborough’s Paul Moran, who recently won the Midlands open, and U19 top seed, Tom Marshall (Malborough) as well as the two top players in the U19 girls Diana Galloway from Wellington and Leonie Marshall (Marlborough). Also in the U19 boys draw is local Canterbury plaer Scott Butterick who has had a strong season and will be a challenger for the U19 title. 

U17 boys has a large entry list and features Jamieson as well as Tom Marshall and local player, Ryan Ko as three competitors worthy of the title.

Other notable entries throughout the age groups include Chris Hebberd (Marlborough) in the boys U17, Maiden-Lee Coe (Wellington) who will be top seed in the U17 girls while Reece Holmes from Taranaki is one of the well-performing names in the U15 boys.

Notable previous winners of the South Island Junior Age Groups in the past 20 years include Joelle King, Amanda Landers-Murphy as well as Evan Williams. All three having represented New Zealand at Commonwealth Games and having top PSA World Rankings.