The Kawaroa Park Squash Club in New Plymouth was the venue for the 2017 Masters Nationals Championships, comprising of both the individual and inter-district team championships spread over five gruelling days.  

The individual competition saw success for a number of the team members, with Lisa Ashton (45+), Gary Duberly (50+), and Mark Waldin (65+) taking out their age group titles, while Sue Kim and Juli Voykovic managed runner-up distinctions.  Fellow Aucklanders Neil Rossin (35+) and Kaye Jackson (70+) also claimed individual age group titles.  

Auckland were seeded top for the teams event, however perennial challengers and second seeds Canterbury were keen to get their hands back on the trophy.  The six-team competition meant two pool matches for the team, and first up was Southland where they ran out 8-3 winners.  That meant a second pool match against BOP for a spot in the final the following day.   A 7-4 victory in that fixture set up a final showdown against Canterbury.  With plenty of close matches that had the potential to go either way, the Auckland team took out the title for the second consecutive year by the narrowest of margin winning six matches to five.

Congratulations to the team, along with all the other Auckland age group champions and players that travelled down from Auckland for the event.  Bay of Plenty will be the hosts for the 2018 Masters Nationals, with the host club to be confirmed in the coming weeks.