JUNIOR SPORT - SQUASH - Young player climbs ranks

IT MUST be said that young Abbie Palmer is going places with her sport.
Palmer, a 10-year-old squash player from Waipu has been getting around the country and the globe after she continues to rank at the top of her age group in national competitions.
Last year she went to Hong Kong and represented New Zealand at the Hong Kong Junior Open and this year at the ripe old age of 10, she has become the youngest player to be selected into the New Zealand Development Squad.
She finished fourth in her first international tournament, which was a good result considering she was the youngest player.
Her selection means she will represent the country in Malaysia in May when she competes in the All Stars international age group championships and then on to the Penang Junior Open.
Her selection was hardly a surprise for squash insiders.
2007 was a great year for Abbie, when she won five district titles, two under-11 and three under-13 titles, as well as winning both the North and South Island under-11 titles for the second time.
She finished off 2007 ranked at number one in the under-11s for the third year in a row and came runner-up at the nationals in under-13s, giving her a national ranking of number-two in that age group, when she was still only nine.
Abbie also won the special award at the squash Auckland Excellence Awards as well as the Bream Bay Junior sportsperson of the year.