Close to a hundred people from the Auckland squash community were on hand Saturday evening at the Alexandra Park Raceway for the presentation of the 2018 Squash Auckland Excellence Awards.  After the crowd was warmed up by MC Cedric Charlton from the Papakura club and the successes of Auckland players both nationally and internationally this season were recognised, the winners of the sixteen Excellence Awards were announced from the short-list of finalists.  All of the finalists would have been deserving winners in their own right, however at the end of the night there could only be one for each category.  Congratulations once again to the following award receipients;

Most Improved Junior Boy - Jaeswan Kwan (Remuera)
Most Improved Junior Girl - Anne Leakey (Red Beach)
Most Improved Male - Brad Martin (Panmure)
Most Improved Female - Crystal Cairns (Panmure)
Coach of the Year - Manu Yam (Belmont Park)
Grassroots Coach of the Year - Jude Fernandes (Squash Auckland)
Master of the Year - Graham Ashworth (Shepherds Park)
Administrator of the Year - Paul Cornish (Shepherds Park)
Personality of the Year - Mark Foster (Royal Oak)
Team of the Year - Harcourts Eden Epsom Premier Men's Team
Young Sportsman of the Year - Gabe Yam (Belmont Park)
Young Sportswoman of the Year - Natalie Sayes (Belmont Park)
Sportsman of the Year - Matthew Lucente (Belmont Park)
Sportswoman of the Year - Abbie Palmer (North Shore)
Volunteer of the Year - Tony Forde (Silverdale)
Club of the Year - Belmont Park Racquets Club

There were also a number of prize draws done on the night.  Thanks to Flight Centre Newmarket there was a $1,000 travel voucher up for grabs - every Auckland interclub match (Senior & Masters) played during the season gave players one entry into the draw.  The winner of the 2018 prize draw was Paul Raynes from Herne Bay.

The winners of the Online Club Referee Exam incentive for a brand new HEAD racquet were also drawn from the names of those who completed and passed the exam between 1 January and 30 September 2018.  The winners were;
Mannanan O'Connell (Henderson)
Mathew Kay (Henderson)
Simon Clearwater (Harcourts Eden Epsom)

Article added: Monday 12 November 2018