The Whanganui Squash Club took out nine of the 11 possible accolades at the Central Squash Awards.
The Whanganui Squash Club took out nine of the 11 possible accolades at the Central Squash Awards.
After an emphatic season in 2024, the Whanganui Squash Club ran away with most of the trophies on the night of the Central Squash Awards.
The club boasted nine winners out of the 11 categories, including Club of the Year, and showed itself as a force to be reckoned with.
Despite strong nominees from the other 22 central-based clubs, club captain Anneka Weterman put down the club’s success to what had been “a massive year”.
This season, the club won the prestigious NZ Masters Club Team Competition and had various representatives at both regional and national levels.
“Everything has come together – we’ve had national and district events, our junior programme has been reinvigorated, top players have moved back into Whanganui. Everything that could go right has, for us,” Weterman said.
The club hopes its recent success will draw more numbers to the sport. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
The newly crowned Club of the Year saw its membership levels drop during the Covid pandemic, pushing it to restore both its reputation and community.
Since the height of Covid, the club has dusted off the cobwebs and proven itself on both the regional and national levels.
“The numbers are definitely back up – they’re still not where they were before Covid, but in the last year we have noticed an increase,” club administrator Jodie Arnott said.
The increase in curiosity had resulted in A-Grade players having to book in advance for courts to practice on in fear of someone else occupying the same space.
“Previously, they would just rock up, but now there is just no guarantee you’ll get on,” Weterman said.
The pair put the national recognition of squash down to the success on the world stage – particularly from Paul Coll and Joelle King, who are set to compete in the 2028 Olympics as the first New Zealand squash representatives.
Despite applying four times in a row, the sport was shunned by the Olympic Committee but will finally have a chance to attract more viewers and participants globally in 2028.
For Arnott and Weterman, their goal for the club, as well as the region, was to continue to increase interest.
“It’s such a cool sport and community and [is] super-underrated. The more numbers we have, the more volunteers and momentum we’ll have.
“We need competitiveness and consistency across all levels but, above all, we want people to want to be a part of the community,” Arnott said.
Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
