Big names mixture at tourney

There will be some big names competing at the start of the Central Juniors squash tournament tonight, which is a mixed blessing for the Wanganui organisers.

Around 30 players will be taking part in the tournament at the Wanganui courts, competing in five age grades from Under 11 to Under 19.

However, organiser Alastair White said with some very good players having thrown their names into the hat, it may have proved discouraging to the wider participant numbers.

Still, some grades have some depth to them.

There are six competitors in the Under 15 boys, including Wanganui's James van Kerkhoff who is named as second seed.

The Under 19 boys has seven entrants.

White said a number of the players travel to interzone squash tournaments.

It has been a while since Wanganui hosted a Central Juniors events and the result will count towards the top players representing Central at the national championships later this year.

The majority of those taking part tonight and tomorrow are from Palmerston North.

Therefore, in several grades where players would have up to three games, a number of this evening's matches are being held in Dannevirke and Palmerston North to accommodate local versus local contests.

Games will then continue tomorrow morning at the Wanganui Squash Club, with the prizegiving in the afternoon.