Around 100 of the best men’s squash athletes in the world have been welcomed to New Zealand with a pōwhiri at Te Whetū o te Rangi Marae in Tauranga.

The athletes are in New Zealand for the WSF World Men’s Teams Championship, to be held in Tauranga from December 11 – 17.

The championship features four athletes from each of 24 nations, with the draw including eight of the top ten male athletes in the world.

Commonwealth Games Singles & Mixed Doubles Champion Paul Coll headlines the New Zealand team, joined by brothers Temwa and Lwamba Chileshe, as well as young Auckland bolter Elijah Thomas.

Lwamba says he enjoyed sharing the pōwhiri with his international athlete whānau. 

“It’s great to embrace our awesome culture and it was pretty special to share it with all these athletes from all around the world,” says Lwamba.

Tournament Director Wayne Werder thanked te hapū o Ngā Pōtiki, Ngāti Pūkenga who led the pōwhiri.

“It’s nice to have all these international visitors welcomed appropriately and I’d like to acknowledge and thank Ngāti Pūkenga and te hapū o Ngā Pōtiki for a fantastic pōwhiri,” says Wayne.

“We’re really pleased with how the New Zealand Open is going and we’re looking forward to more phenomenal squash as the WSF World Men’s Teams Championship gets underway.”

Coverage of the WSF World Men’s Teams Championship is available on Sky.

Tickets for the 2023 Festival of Squash are on sale with more information available at www.festivalofsquash.co.nz

About the New Zealand Festival of Squash

The New Zealand festival of Squash will see more than 500 matches played across three major tournaments.

The festival is made up of the NZ Squash Open to be contested December 5 – 10, the Oceania Junior Championships December 5 - 7 and the WSF Men’s World Teams Championships December 11 – 17.

With more than 400 athletes competing from across 30 nations, the event is being billed as a fantastic celebration of sport and competition.

Tickets for the 2023 Festival of Squash are on sale with more information available at www.festivalofsquash.co.nz

The Lucino Vanities Men’s NZ Open draw and schedule is available here.

The Barfoot and Thompson Women’s NZ Open draw and schedule is available here.

The nations for the WSF Men’s World Team Championship are available here.

About Squash New Zealand Poipātū Aotearoa

Squash New Zealand Poipātū Aotearoa is the national governing body for squash in New Zealand.

Squash has a proud history in New Zealand and it is estimated that more than 90,000 people in New Zealand play or try squash each year, in more than 300 clubs and other facilities with squash courts around the country.

At the heart of everything we do together is our unrelenting drive to get more people on court more often, to succeed on the world stage and to help squash communities thrive.