| LATEST NEWS | |
| 13 June 2005 | Federation Cup Revival |
Federation Cup Revival - Port Moresby Hangs onto Cup (Click here for results) The Bird of Paradise Hotel in Goroka was the scene of the revival of the PNG Squash Federation Cup over the Queen's Birthday weekend. Port Moresby fought off a determined attack from Mt Hagen to maintain their grip on the Cup but they didn't have it all their own way with Mt Hagen cleaning up in the Men's Division. The Federation Cup is an inter-provincial teams event that has been played each year since 1979 except for the last two years. The Federation Cup has not been held for the last two years due to high cost of travel and lack of funds. The revival of the event has coincided with the resurrection of the Goroka Squash Club. Vice-President of the PNG Squash Rackets Federation and Goroka Squash Club member, Chris Williams, agreed to have Goroka host the 2005 event. This made travel to the event considerably easier for all teams involved. The event sees teams consisting of 3 men and 3 women from each province compete against each other in a round-robin format. Teams competing in this year's event were Port Moresby, Mt Hagen, Madang and Goroka, with the Lae team pulling out at the 11th hour due to logistical problems. This year also saw a number of modifications to the rules of the event with players allowed to compete for their 'State of Origin' as well as a separate points table being kept for the Men's Team and the Women's Team events. The Port Moresby women's team consisting of Tina Yansom, Theresa Arti and Wendie Evans, proved far too strong for all the other teams and they sailed through the event with all players remaining undefeated. Only one individual game was lost when Port Moresby's number one player, Tina Yansom, dropped a game to up and coming Madang player Kristine Seko. Madang were the surprise package in the Ladies Division coming in second. In the Mens Division Mt Hagen proved dominant with their young team under the guidance of captain Chris Jenkins going through the event undefeated. In the final and deciding tie of the match Port Moresby and Mt Hagen battled it out for the Men's title. Nathan Rakava of Hagen overcame Anthony Nagul 3-1 in the first match. Hagen stalwart Chris Jenkins proved he had too much experience for up and coming Moresby player Roy Kup winning 3-0. In the final match PNG number one junior Michael Rucklinger, prevailed in five games (9-7 in the fifth) against a determined Leroy Louis. In the Overall Team Division it was the dominance of the Port Moresby women that secured the title with Port Moresby team winning on a count-back over Mt Hagen. It is likely that the event will return to Goroka again next year due to the success of the event. The organisers would like to acknowledge the The Bird of Paradise Hotel who supplied the venue free of charge as well as providing special accommodation rates to players. Farmset, PNG Coffee Exports and National No.1 Tea also chipped in with funds to help meet the cost of trophies and other costs of the event. PNG Squash Rackets Federation will use the event to select a training squad for the PNG Team to compete in the Oceania Cup in the Cook Islands in October. The upcoming PNG Squash International will be the final selection event for this team.. |
|
| 19 May 2005 | Squash Bonanza - 2005 PNG Intl Launch |
Squash Bonanza - 2005 PNG Intl Launch (A story from the Post Courier) 24 pros vie for K50,000 in PNG international event TWENTY
four players ranked among the top 120 professionals in the world will
vie for the $US15,000 (K50,000) prizemoney at the Steel Industries PNG
Squash International in August. |
|
| 03 May 2005 | Record Entries for SP Brewery POM Open |
Record entries for Port Moresby Brewery Port Moresby Open (Click here for full results) The 2005 SP Brewery Port Moresby Open Squash Championships were held over the weekend of 29 April to 1 May at the Port Moresby Squash Club at Taurama. The event, which was sponsored by SP Brewery, had a record number of entries. Over 100 players from as far away as Lae and Cairns contested the titles that had divisions that catered for all ages and standards of players. Port Moresby Squash Club President Paul Speedy said "it was great to see such a high turnout of players, particularly in the junior divisions". The event was boosted by the return of some of the country's top female players who are currently residing in Cairns. Imong Brooksbank, Ellie Webb and Olga O'Neill, who have all represented PNG, were present at the championships. Their hopes were also improved as current PNG & Oceania Champion; Naluge Guy has just recently become a mother and was not able to compete. Ellie Webb accounted for Olga O'Neill in the final of the Ladies A Grade to take the major prize. O'Neill had earlier accounted for PNG stalwart Imong Brooksbank in four games. In the Men's A Grade final it was a case of de ja vu with PNG Champion Derek Hunter once again going up against Damien Tam. Despite a tough effort put up by Tam, Hunter prevailed in three games. Tam was stretched to the limit the previous day by Leroy Louis. Louis held the upper hand against Tam when he was leading 2 games to nil and 7-2 up in the third game. However he was not able to capitalise on the situation and Tam fought back to win in five games. The B Grade events in both Men's and Ladies were hijacked by visitors to Port Moresby. In the Men's event Moreiana Wei of Lae defeated Charles Able of Lae, while in the Women's event Rosita Lung of Cairns defeated local junior Elma Suari. There was a good turnout of juniors who competed in both the junior and senior events. Lokes Brooksbank of Cairns took out the Under 19 boys from Madako Suari Junior. Suari was entitled to play in the Under 15 age group but opted for the better competition in the higher age group. He also managed to win the A Grade plate event to ensure his trophy cabinet remains fully stocked. Vanessa Nagul won the Under 19 girls with long time rival Elma Suari coming in 2nd place. Lydia Carruthers took out the Under 15 girls event and Tony Pryke was winner of the Under 15 boys event. Full results are available on the PNG Squash Rackets Federation website at www.pngsquash.com.pg. The focus for players will now be on the next event which is the Federation Cup in Goroka over the weekend of 10 - 13th June. Players who performed well over the past weekend will be selected to represent the Port Moresby team in Goroka. |
|
| 30 Mar 2005 | Lae open takes place over Easter Weekend |
Lae Open takes place over Easter Weekend (courtesy of Matt Sims in Lae)
Overall the event turned out very well with some excellent squash
played by over forty players from Lae, Port Moresby, Alotau, Goroka
and Mt. Hagen. As always the young players from Mt Hagen played some
excellent squash coming away either winners or runners up in several
of the main and plate events.
The semi finals in the Open event were played out Michael
Rucklinger vs Glenn Cabasug and Nathan Rakaba vs Michael Carruthers.
Michael Rucklinger and Nathan Rakaba went on to an all Mt Hagen Final
where PNG # 3 ranked Michael went on to post a reasonably comfortable
victory over Nathan.
The Open Plate Semi finals were played out Tiani Leahy vs
Mark Hobden and Chris Williams vs Rahul Kaula. Both semi finals
were closely contested affairs with Mark and Chris eventually going on
to the final where Chris Williams from Goroka defeated Mark Hobden
from Lae.
In the Womens Open semi final were Wendie Evans vs Liz Hebei and
Naomi Kepu vs Vanessa Hebei. Wendie and Naomi played well to go
through to the final where Wendie from Port Moresby showed her
experience to defeat Naomi.
The Womens Open Plate semi finals saw Melody Timbi lining up against
Joyce Gulluman and Nadia Wilson playing against Lae new-comer Shirley
Torracampo. Joyce and Daniella advanced through to the finals where
Joyce proved too strong for Daniella, coming home with the plate prize
money.
Getting through to the semi finals in B Grade were Gamoga Oa vs
Siegmund Pelgen and Matt Sims vs Liam Leahy. Gamoga and Liam went on
to play in a B grade final where the standard of play would not
have disappointed many A grade players, Mt Hagen junior Liam
proving too strong for Gamoga in the end.
B Grade Plate games showed that age is no obstacle with 67
year old Chris Abel from Alotau coming up triumphant in the final
against John Schmidt. The semi finals of the B Grade plate event
also saw Ben Davis and Nadia Wilson playing against Chris and
John respectively but unable to make it through.
The C Grade finals saw some extremely entertaining play with a lot of
vocal support coming from the crowd. In the semi we saw Tony Pryke up
against Daniella Shiers and Russell Green vs Marisha Kapun in a
physical match. Tony and Russell went on to play in the final where
Tony managed to come back from behind to defeat the more experienced
Russell.
The C Grade plate games were an all lady affair with Judy Abaijah
against Hacy Abel and Shirley Torrecampo competing against Ysenda
Grahame. Judith and Shirley played for the money with Shirley proving
too strong and making up for her loss in the Open Plate semi.
Overall there was a very high standard of squash played with a good
turnout of supporters to cheer on their favourites. Lae Squash would
like to thank everyone involved especially the players who came from
out of town, and would like to remind any one wanting to play in the
Lae mid year comp that comp nominations are coming up soon. All new
players are welcome to join in.
|
|
| 13 Feb 2005 | Federation Cup to be revived in 2005 |
Federation Cup to be revived in 2005 (2005 Rules) The Federation Cup is a Teams Event played between the provinces of Papua New Guinea. The event was last played in 2002. The Federation Cup is to be revived in 2005 and will be the stepping stone to international representation at the Oceania Cup in the Cooks Islands in October 2005. The event is played between teams of 3 men and 3 women from each province. Historically there has only been a title for the winning province on an overall basis. In 2005 there will be a title awarded for the winning Men's Team and Women's Team as well as the overall title. New rules have also been introduced regarding the eligibility for which province a player can represent. These rules allow a player to represent where they 'currently reside', their 'normal place of residence' or their 'ars-ples'. The specific definitions are set out in the 2005 Rules. The PNGSRF will be providing travel supplements to teams to help with the cost of travel. The event will be the primary event used to determine the initial training squad to the Oceania Cup. A full PNG ranking list will be announced at the conclusion of the event. |
|
| 16 Nov 2004 | Squash Rocks Madang |
A Wrap Up of the Successful Madang Open by Jason Moriarty (Results and Photos) “Let’s get ready to rumble!” is the phrase most used to open some of the best bone crushing sporting events. Such was the case for the Madang Squash Open held at the Madang Country Club this past weekend. Competitors came from Bouganville, Port Moresby, Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae and Madang to compete in what turned out to be an earth shattering event. Starting on Friday morning, the squash juniors ripped the courts up with terrifying speed and agility. Junior squashies such as Junior and Elma Madako from Port Moresby took on junior squashies from Hagen and Madang. Junior Madako squared off with Liam Leahy of Mt. Hagen in the final battle on Sunday afternoon. The battle was not easily won but Jr. Madako finished the task by taking out Liam in three games and is now the Junior Madang Squash Champion 2004. Finishing in the plate event was Stephan Rucklinger. Moving on to the bigger event Nathan Rakara of Mt. Hagen stepped into the ring with Eddie Matane from Port Moresby on Sunday evening and went on to win the Madang Open event for men, taking home K400 for first place. Nathan, together with his youth and altitude training, served him good as he finished off Eddie in four hard games. Eddie finishing second has said that he might move to a more relaxing yet more frustrating career in golf. Congratulations to Nathan who is the Madang Squash Open 2004 Men’s winner. In the plate event, Liam Leahy, a fifteen year old from Hagen, finished off with relative ease the man called Snek. Congratulations Liam. In the Ladies event, Jenny Matane took on Tina Yansom in the Ladies Open. In true form, Tina finished off Jenny in a battle that is only reserved for super heros. Tina took home the first place prize of K300. In the plate event (3rd place), Hine-Moale Sullivan won also taking home some good prize money. In the mixed B Grade division, Jr. Madako once again strutted his stuff revealing once more that he is the man to watch. Junior, who is only thirteen, took on Tina Yansom in the final and finished it off in true style. This 40 kilo squash wonder knocked out players twice and three times his age, delivering some bone crushing blows the egos of many in the process. Junior took home the B Grade title and also K300. Not too bad mate for a guy who just finished his grade eight exams! In the plate event, Kristine Seko from Madang won the match and took home some good cash winnings too. In the mixed C Grade division, the Madako family was once again in the spotlight. Elma Madako took home the C Grade title along with the winnings by removing Laurant Bertin, in a long and hard battle. She has style and finesse and will be the one to watch in the up coming years. For the plate, Tiani Leahy cleaned up. Overall, the weekend was a huge success. The event finished up on Sunday evening with the giving of awards and some nice goodies provided by the sponsors of the event. All the competitors really enjoyed the event and many said Madang was too HOT. Maybe this is true, but you ain’t seen nothing yet! See you in 2005. The organizers of the Madang Open would once again like to thank the sponsors who made the Madang Open 2004 possible. Thank you then to: Annie’s Pottery, Lae Builders, Dunlop, The Madang Butchery, Coca Cola, Ela Enterprises, Ela Motors, Pioneer Bible Translators, Coasties Hotel, Guard Dog Security, Taubmans, Tam Yan, RD Tuna, Brian Bell, Cassell Agencies, and Spice Tech. |
|
| 16 Nov 2004 | Federation elects new Executive Committee |
Federation elects new Executive Committee The PNG Squash Rackets Federation held its Annual General Meeting during Madang Open at the Madang Country Club during the weekend of 13th-14th November. Representatives from Port Moresby, Lae, Mt Hagen and Madang, Goroka and Bouganville attended the meeting. The new executive committee was elected as follows:
President - Derek Hunter (Port Moresby) Vice President - Chris Williams (Goroka) Secretary - Paul Speedy (Port Moresby) Treasurer - David Whitehead (Port Moresby) Lae Representative - Murray Fletcher Mt Hagen Representative - Andrew Rucklinger Madang Representative - Jason Moriarty Bouganville Representative - Hine Sullivan
The primary objective of the committee for 2005 is to revive the Federation Cup. A number of changes to the format and selection criteria have been developed and these will be advised to clubs and players shortly. Other objectives include increasing attendance at regional tournaments by creating awareness of the events, continuing junior development throughout the country, sending a team to defend the Oceania Cup in the Cook Islands and hosting a bigger and better Trukai PNG Squash International. |
|
| 03 Oct 2004 | Up to date World Squash News available |
Up to date World Squash News available on the PNG Squash Website Visitors to the PNG Squash Website are now able to read breaking squash stories from around the world courtesy of a new feature that has been supplied by the World Squash Federation. Click here to read the World Squash News |
|
| 22 July 2004 | Trukai Squash International a huge success |
Organisers of the Trukai Squash International claim the event as a huge success The PNG Squash Rackets Federation is ecstatic at the success of the inaugural Trukai PNG Squash International. The event which combined a 1 star PSA World Men's Tour Event with a local event attracted players from 22 in the world up to 150 in the world. The local event attracted over 100 players from around Papua New Guinea and Queensland. The international event was won by Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia. He triumphed in a 91 minute five game match over Cameron Pilley of Australia. The organisers have confirmed that the event will be back even bigger and better next year. The would particularly like to acknowledge the support of the sponsors listed below: Official Sponsor - Trukai Industries Gold Sponsors - Steel Industries, Arnott's, TNT Air Cargo, Western Tug & Barge, Holiday Inn, EM TV, Brian Bell & Sharp, Air Niugini Silver Sponsors - Boroko Motors, Deloitte, Fletcher Morobe, Head Australia, House of Gemini, Monian Group, Moore Printing, PBC, RH Hypermart, Sports Inn, Taubmans |
|
| 03 May 2004 | Air Niugini to fly in World Class Referee |
Air Niugini to fly in World Class Referee for PNG Squash International The PNG Squash Rackets Federation has confirmed that Air Niugini will come on board as a Gold Sponsor of the 2004 Trukai PNG Squash International. Air Niugini representative, Nori Maniana confirmed the sponsorship arrangement. Air Niugini will fly an International Referee up from Australia for the event. The tournament organisers are required to provide an Internationally Qualified referee for the event. Squash is a game that requires a lot of subjective refereeing decisions due to the fact that there are two players in a confined space both hitting the ball in excess of 250 kilometres per hour. The International Referee will be responsible for refereeing the semi-finals and finals as well as making rulings on any controversial circumstances that may arise during earlier rounds that will be refereed by the international players and qualified local players. The International Referee that will be travelling to Port Moresby is Chris Sinclair of Sydney. Sinclair is the on board of the World International Squash Referees Association and is one of only nine referees qualified to referee a World Open Final. While in PNG, Sinclair will also be holding a referee clinic for the local players to help them come to terms with the changes in the rules that were brought in recently. Accommodation for Sinclair will be provided by another of the Gold Sponsors, the Holiday Inn, where the main event will be played. Air Niugini will also provide a return trip for two to be raffled during the event. In addition to this discounted fares with conditions waived will be provided to competitors travelling in from other ports in PNG and from overseas. Tournament Director Derek Hunter has welcomed Air Niugini as a sponsor of the event, saying their contribution is vital to the success of the event. |
|
| 26 Apr 2004 | Squash champs overcome rivals in POM Open |
Squash champs overcome rivals - A story from the National newspaper - Results The Port
Moresby Squash Open championship yesterday ended with no major
surprises. It was the same old bounces with two pre-match favorites and
SP Gold medal winners Naluge Guy and Derek Hunter re-claiming their
titles without any major hurdles. |
|
| 14 Apr 2004 | Change of Date for Trukai Squash International |
Change of Date for Trukai Squash International The
2004 Trukai PNG Squash International will now be held on the following
dates: 15
– 18 July 2004 The change in date has been done to avoid clashing with the Hong Kong Open which is one of the premier events on the World Tour. The Hong Kong Open has prize money of US$120,000 and attracts 56 of the worlds best players. The Hong Kong Open has just returned to the world circuit after a break of two years primarily due to effects of SARS. |
|
| 1 Apr 2004 | SP Brewery to sponsor Port Moresby Open |
2004 SP Brewery Port Moresby Open The Port Moresby Squash Club will host the 2004 Port Moresby Open Squash Championships over the weekend of 23rd-25th April. The club is proud to announce that SP Brewery will be the major sponsor of the event. SP Brewery have contributed K3,000 to the event which will cover trophies, prizes, court hire and balls. An official launch for the event will be held at the Port Moresby Squash Club on Wednesday 21st April at the 7:30pm. SP will provide complimentary SP to invited guests and entrants in the tournament. Entries for the event close on Monday 19th April. |
|
| 17 Mar 2004 | 2004 Trukai PNG Squash International Launch |
Press Release - Launch of the 2004 Trukai PNG Squash International The Papua New Guinea Squash Rackets Federation will be hosting the Ultimate Squash Event in Port Moresby in August, The 2004 Trukai PNG Squash International. The event will focus on an officially sanctioned Professional Men’s World Tour Event that will attract 16 ranked world class players competing for a prize pool in excess of USD$10,000 and points that contribute towards their world ranking. The event will surpass any squash event that has previously been held in Papua New Guinea. The prize pool on offer makes the event the premier event on the World Tour for the Oceania Region inclusive of Australia and New Zealand. Players competing in the event are expected to be ranked from 15 to 100 in the world. The World Tour Event will be held in conjunction with the PNG Open, which caters for all playing levels and ages, for men, women and juniors, and is expected to attract over 180 entries from around PNG, the Pacific and northern Australia. The World Tour Event will be played at the Holiday Inn Sports Club over the period 26th to 29th August. All other events will be played at the Port Moresby Squash Club over the weekend of 27th to 29th August. The event has had tremendous support from sponsors. The sponsors to date are listed below: Official
Sponsor: Trukai Industries Gold
Sponsors: Steel Industries, Arnott’s Biscuits, TNT, Western Tug &
Barge, Sharp, Holiday Inn, EM TV |
|
| 19 Dec 2003 | PNGSRF announces new committee |
PNGSRF announces new executive committee The PNG Squash Rackets Federation held the Annual General Meeting at the Port Moresby Squash Club last weekend. Representatives from Port Moresby, Lae, Mt Hagen and Madang attended the meeting. The new executive committee was elected as follows: President - Derek Hunter Vice President - Murray Fletcher Secretary - Paul Speedy Treasurer - Grant Hoffmeister The committee has undertaken to promote the participation and development of juniors as their main priorities. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions the committee would like to hear from you. Contact details are available by clicking here |
|