All go for annual South Island masters quadrangular tournament Husband, wife in NZ Games team
SOME talented youngsters — and one very familiar masters player — will be in action at the South Island quadrangular tournament in Dunedin this weekend.
Squash Otago is hosting teams from Canterbury, Southland and Midlands for the annual event.
Teams consist of 16 players — eight men, eight women — with six in seniors, six in masters and four in juniors.
Each age group will have an overall winner, and the district with the most competition points will get its name on the trophy.
Team selection is a moving feast thanks to Covid, but Otago should be able to field a lineup that will challenge for the top honour.
Fresh from guiding a certain rugby team in its Super Rugby Pacific clash with the Force last night will be a Pirates club member in the Otago masters men’s team.
Highlanders coach Tony Brown is a dab hand with a squash racquet, and will line up with a rugby colleague, Highlanders analyst Andy Watts, and Paul Tapsell.
They are joined by masters women Tracey Flux, Sam Cross and Ange Button.
Ben Edwards (Pirates), Nick Askin and Brad Suddaby (both Otago) are the senior men’s trio, joined by Lowri Waugh (Otago University), Sophie O’Connell (Otago) and Alana Changfoot (Queenstown) in the senior women.
Ashton Hansen (Otago) and Isaac Cowley (Alexandra) are the junior men’s players, and a strong junior women’s team includes Martha Toghill (Otago University) and Aria Bannister (Otago).
Toghill, hailing from Wanaka, is 18, B1graded and ranked seventh on the Squash NZ under19 grading list.
Bannister, who recently relocated with her family to Dunedin from Whanganui and will be attending Otago Girls’ High School, is 14, B1graded and ranked fourth on the national under15 grading list.
Gore product Hansen, a 14yearold pupil at Otago Boys’ High School, is B2graded and is ranked second on the national under15 grading list. As a 12yearold, he was part of the SNZ junior transtasman team that competed in Australia.
WELLINGTON: Judo is back on the schedule at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and New Zealand is sending seven judoka to Birmingham.
Christchurchbased husband and wife Jason Koster and Moira de Villiers have been selected for their second Commonwealth Games together.
De Villiers heads to the Games ranked second in the Commonwealth and in hot form, having won gold at the Tunis and Algiers Opens earlier this year.
She won silver at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where she placed 17th.
Koster also returns from Glasgow 2014, where he won bronze in the under 100kg category.
‘‘It’s a dream come true,’’ de Villiers said.
‘‘After having my daughter four years ago, it’s been a real goal to get back to the Commonwealth Games and I’ve got my eyes on gold this time.’’
She said sharing the experience with her husband would be extremely special.
Koster first fought for New Zealand as a 17yearold and will head to Birmingham aged 39.
‘‘The last 10 years has been full on and I’m ready to finish what we started and to fight for gold.
He will be in demand in Birmingham, for as well as competing he also coaches de Villiers, Hayley Mackey (women’s under78kg) and Elliott Connolly (men’s under81kg) and Kody Andrews (men’s +100kg) at Premiere Equipe Judo Club in Christchurch.
Commonwealth Games debutants Qona Christie, Mackey and Sydnee Andrews round out the women’s team.
Birmingham will mark the first time judo athletes have been in any New Zealand Games team since the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. — RNZ