From Friday 7 August to Sunday 9 August, the TGS Premier Squash teams competed at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Squash Nationals, with both teams putting in strong performances across the weekend.

The Premier Girls started the tournament strongly, defeating Marlborough Girls 2 5–0 in their opening qualifier, with all five matches won 3–0. They then faced Whangārei Girls High School, going down 4–1 before finishing the day with a hard-fought 3–2 win over St Paul’s.

Saturday brought a number of closely contested matches. The girls narrowly lost 3–2 to fourth seeds Kāpiti College, followed by another 3–2 loss to Macleans College. They then faced Wairarapa, going down 4–1 before finishing the tournament on a high with a 3–2 victory over Southland.

A huge congratulations to Anna Signal and Dola Wang, who both only started squash this year and showed fantastic commitment and determination throughout the tournament. Special congratulations also go to Anna, who received the Good Sport Award, voted for by the teams TGS played during the tournament.

The Premier Boys entered the tournament as the 23rd seed, determined to show they deserved to be higher in the draw. After a tough opening-round loss to Marlborough Boys, the team bounced back strongly with a 4–1 victory over St Bede’s Red.

Round three saw the boys involved in a very competitive contest against St Paul’s Collegiate. Despite several close matches, they narrowly went down 3–2. The team responded brilliantly, finishing the tournament with back-to-back 4–1 victories over Macleans College and Bayfield College.

The final result secured the boys 21st place overall, two places higher than their original seeding — a great achievement in a highly competitive national tournament.

Congratulations to all our squash players for their effort, sportsmanship and commitment throughout the weekend. A special mention to Uri Mayer, Toby Melhuish and Artemii Chikurov, who competed at their first-ever national tournament. A fantastic experience and one they can all be proud of!

Article added: Monday 17 August 2026