Squash Starts Return To Elite Sport In NZ With New Premier League
Thursday 14 May 2020, 6:14PM
By dave worsley
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In what is set to be arguably the first elite sport played in New Zealand after the relaxation of the COVID-19 rules, the squash premier league will take place this weekend.
The Unsquashable Premier League features the majority of the best New Zealand domestic male players and is the brainchild of the SquashXL Club in Auckland and owner John Duggan.
The eight-player tournament will run Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May and will be broadcast on PSA Squash TV YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/psasquashtv).
It is the first of four weeks of tournaments all at the same venue and aimed at giving players a chance to get back on court and be competitive again after seven weeks of no action.
The SquashXL venue features New Zealand’s only permanent glass court and will have an official PSA accredited umpire as well as live scoring.
Although there are no PSA ranking points on offer, there is prizemoney and for the competitors involved it’s about playing time and getting ready for when international tournaments are staged again.
The player with the highest world ranking is 20-year-old Joel Arscott at 237, Anthony Lepper is next at 256 and17-year-old Elijah Thomas who was a finalist at the Henderson Open in February one place further back in the world rankings.
Temwa Chileshe, 20 who won his first PSA Satellite title in April is ranked 337 and is the younger brother on New Zealand No.4 Lwamba who is in the top 150 in the world and currently based in the UK.
Others in the tournament are the powerful Glenn Templeton from the Bay of Plenty who is the current New Zealand junior champion and is 357 in world senior rankings while 17-year-old Leo Fatialofa from the Henderson Squash Club is also a top 400 ranked player.
Teenager, Jack Conder from the Titirangi Squash Club and Michael Schelton-Agar from the Remuera Club are also competing
The UPL will maintain all government required health and safety rules, including maximum gathering, spacing, hygiene and tracking.
First round matches will be played from 6pm on Friday 15 May, with Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 set for 3-6pm schedule.