WHAT WENT ON July 17 - 18

Mercantile Squash
Another fantastic Athletic Mercantile Squash season came to a close with an exciting night of finals, followed by prizegiving and a shared meal to celebrate another successful competition. Congratulations to Smithy Motorcycles, who were crowned the 2026 Athletic Mercantile Squash Champions after a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Emergency Smash Services. The final showcased some quality squash, with both teams battling hard in every match. Smithy Motorcycles proved just that little bit too strong on the night, earning the title after a fantastic season. 

The battle to avoid the Wooden Spoon was one of the closest contests of the evening. The Wishing Stars and Racquet Squad All Hui couldn't be separated on matches, finishing with a 3-3 draw. It all came down to points, where Racquet Squad edged ahead by just six points to claim the narrow countback victory. That meant The Wishing Stars officially took home this year's Wooden Spoon after a spirited effort from both teams.

Following the matches, everyone enjoyed prizegiving and a shared meal, a great way to celebrate another enjoyable Mercantile season and catch up with teammates and opponents alike. Congratulations to Luke Graves, who took home the raffle prize on finals night.

A special congratulations to Jenny McCracken, who was presented with the Kevin Vette Cup for Most Dedicated to Mercantile Squash. This award recognises Jenny's outstanding commitment, enthusiasm, and contribution to the competition throughout the season, and it is thoroughly deserved.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the competition such a success:

• The Squash Committee for organising another great season.
• Alyssa Deam for cooking delicious meals each week.
• All of our players and teams for their enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and commitment throughout the season.
• Mionny Enterprises for sponsoring the tournament.
• Okare Station and Cricklewood Station for their continued support as squash code sponsors.
• Our generous prize sponsors: QRS, Fulton Hogan, Pickering Cabinet Makers, Wairoa Fire Brigade, Farmlands, AFFCO, Oslers, and Smithy Motorcycles.

While the Mercantile season has wrapped up, there's still plenty of squash to look forward to. Leagues get underway this week, and our Club Championships will be held from 17-21 August. We look forward to seeing everyone back on court for more great squash!

Results of the final round:
Farmlands bt. Pickering Cabinet Makers 12 - 6
Pensioners bt. Slort Sports 12 - 6
Racket Squad All Hui bt. The Wishing Stars 10 - 9 (on countback)
Smithy Motorcycles bt. Emergency Smash Services 12 - 6

There was no Junior Rugby last weekend due to school holidays. Senior Netball had a fun cross-over round before heading into the finals this weekend.

Senior Football
​Saturday's match against Shockers Gold was one to forget for the men in black. QRS Athletic Football traveled up to Awapuni Stadium in Gisborne only to forget how to play Footy. Shockers Gold were simply too sharp on the day, capitalising on every mistake and not missing any attempts at goal, managing to get 11 goals. Athletic did manage to get on the board with 1 goal through the boot of Tom Rowley-Westwood. Plenty to work on and hopefully we get a few players back from injury this weekend as we host top-of-the-table Thistle Bobcats. Player of the day: Will Taylor who was able to fill in. Goal scorer: Tom Rowley-Westwood.