Desmond Te Mokomoko Edwards

JUST want to take this opportunity to graciously thank you all for the encouragement and effort that was put in to send us to the F Grade Squash Nationals in the deep south of Invercargill. It will remain in our memories as a great trip.

Having Stacey Carter and Walter Rika with us was awesome. We personally enjoyed (I’m guessing everyone in the team) Stacey’s cooking and Walter’s guidance, before and during our matches.

I think we only missed Sam Howe not being there as our cheerleader.

“Give it a rest man” – as he would say.

Thanks also to Mel Shaw for helping us improve our skills with training sessions and being with us for the support.

It was great to see whānau Nigel-Kas-Ali, especially the Gage whānau to support us. From day one through to Saturday, they were present to support us at our games, which meant a lot to us.

We all put in our best in the games with a couple of exciting matches, namely the Haimona, William and Desmond win against Te Awamutu. We came third for the Bay of Plenty region, and our hometown of Ōpōtiki. We are so proud of ourselves.

It’s not the best outcome we hoped for, however, we enjoyed the experience, exposure and will also have to learn from our mistakes and work on them for the future.

From our team, Desmond Te Mokomoko Edwards, Simon Edwards, Haimona Edwards, William White Shaw and Praveen Kumar, a big ngā mihi to our supporters and also to our sponsors Robert Monk Transport, JC- Mr CP li & M, St John Street Caltex Ōpōtiki, Twaddle Dental Group, Ōpōtiki Primary School, Thompson Horticulture, Bridge Street Automotive Ōpōtiki, Waiotahi Contractors and Ōpōtiki New World. Thank you Dan and Anne Rolls, ngā mihi to your whānau. And special thanks to our Ōpōtiki Squash Club; thank you ladies and gentlemen for showing your support.

We couldn’t ask for a more loving, caring club.

If you love squash, don’t be shy come to Ōpōtiki Squash Club on Wednesdays at 5pm