The club that rolls its sleeves up and gets things done
“We have got a good committee and good volunteers. You can’t do it on your own and we’ve got a good team."
For a little club, Squash City does big things.
The Invercargill sports club is known for rolling up its sleeves and delivering for both its members, and the wider city for that matter.
It’s previously proved itself as a host when it put on Southern PSA events that attracted professional players to Invercargill.
This month, the club made up of a group of dedicated volunteers, will host the third test of New Zealand-Australia masters teams test series on Thursday October 13.
That will be followed by the New Zealand Masters individual championships which will also include Australian players.
But it won’t finish there.
On October 16 and 17, the club also plays host to the New Zealand masters teams championships.
Over 200 players are expected to converge on Invercargill for an event that won’t just be another boost for the sport of squash but the city in general.
To cater for it all, matches will be played at the Squash City and ILT Stadium Southland courts, with a third venue also likely to be needed to ensure there are enough courts.
Squash City club captain Simon Flett said they were approached to host the New Zealand Masters and they always liked to jump at taking on those types of opportunities.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Flett said.
“We’ve done a few other big events before, but numbers-wise this is the biggest we’ve had during my time here.”
Given the nature of the event, people won’t just visit Invercargill for a day.
“A lot of them will be here from the Wednesday before that test match and will stay through to the following Wednesday before they leave.
“It’s massive for the city. They are probably in that age-group where they’re not shy of going out and about and spending some money.”
Flett said the key factor behind a community club, such as Squash City, taking on such big events, was down to the people involved.
“We have got a good committee and good volunteers. You can’t do it on your own and we’ve got a good team.
“We’ve had a pretty good team around for quite a while. The members are happy to help out.”
Flett said they were sitting at around the 230-240 members mark at the moment which is healthy for a community club.