The 43rd Heaphy Shield was hosted by Marlborough Squash Club on July 7 & 8. The Heaphy has a proud history, contested annually between Nelson Bays, Marlborough, and West Coast regions. Representing Nelson/Tasman, the mens team comprised of Mark Kerr (captain), Nick Burns, Tristan Palmer, and Brendon Whitley, all of Waimea Squash Club. The ladies team comprised Maree Smith of Motueka, Christine Palmer and Jodie Backhouse (captain) of Waimea, and Keren Barcas of Motueka.
There were four rounds during the weekend, all very intense as expected at this top level of competiton. But going into the final round on Sunday morning the favourites, Marlborough, had a commanding lead. As defending champions it came down to Tasman Bay needing to win every match and Marlborough to lose every match, to retain the shield. West Coast, at this point, could not win.
Round four started well. With the pressure on, Nick, Tristan, and Brendon all fought hard and posted good wins in their matches for the men (3-0, 3-0, 3-1). Christine and Keren also had strong wins for the ladies (3/1, 3/0), but despite huge efforts Jodie and Maree couldn’t do the same (0-3, 0-3). It didn’t matter in the end as Marlborough only dropped one game in the final round, and with the shield outcome certain Mark didn’t need to play his last match.
Tristan, at no. 3, was the stand-out player of the weekend, winnning all four matches without dropping a single game. Final Result; Marlborough 25 matches, Nelson Bays 16, and West Coast 7.