An enjoyable evening was had by all at the recently-held 2022 Squash Excellence Awards at the Herne Bay Ponsonby Rackets Club. Henderson Squash Club had a stellar evening picking up six awards including the prestigious Club of the Year award.

Elijah Thomas won the Sportsman of the Year award for the third year in a row whilst Lana Harrison claimed her third Sportswoman of the Year award in the last 5 years.

Glen Wilson claimed his first Performance Coach of the Year award to go with the Maori Sports Coach of the Year gong he picked up on the same night.

There was long overdue recognition for Auckland's all-conquering Masters team who having claimed their sixth national championships in a row took out the newly-minted District Team of the Year award over the Auckland Senior and Junior teams (who also claimed national titles in 2022).

Manurewa's Terry Manuatu picked his sixth Referee of the Year award to reflect his outstanding service to the sport and Waiuku's Paul Gardiner was awarded the Administrator of the Year award for his tremendous work in growing the recently-reaffiliated club.

A huge thanks to John Savage and the team at the club for all their support, to our MC Dave Worsley for making it fun and keeping us on track, to Kaye Jackson for her help on the night and to Carol Owens for her insightful and entertaining live Q&A.

The full list of award winners:

Most Improved Junior Male - Ashwin Gupte (Titirangi)

Most Improved Junior Female - Lexie Jeffries (Henderson)

Most Improved Male Player - Ben Karl (Eden Epsom)

Most Improved Female Player - Georgia Jackson (Henderson)

Referee of the Year - Terry Manuatu (Manurewa)

Club & School Coach of the Year - Jude Fernandes (Panmure)

Administrator of the Year - Paul Gardiner (Waiuku)

Personality of the Year - Ernie Chen (Shepherds Park)

Volunteer of the Year - Neil Rossin (Henderson)

Club Team of the Year - Henderson E Grade Ladies

District Team of the Year - Auckland Masters Team

Masters Player of the Year - Paul Tuffin (North Shore)

Performance Coach of the Year - Glen Wilson (Howick)

Young Sportsman of the Year - Apa Fatialofa Jnr (Henderson)

Young Sportswoman of the Year - Ella Lash (Belmont Park)

Sportsman of the Year - Elijah Thomas (Eden Epsom)

Sportswoman of the Year - Lana Harrison (Remuera)

Club of the Year - Henderson

Article added: 7th December 2022