Simon Vs Susan On Bayfair Glass Court

Simon Vs Susan On Bayfair Glass Court to Kick Off A1 Homes Festival Of Squash

MP for Tauranga Simon Bridges will take on one of New Zealand’s sporting greats, four-time world squash champion Dame Susan Devoy, in full public view when he tries out Bayfair’s specially-built glass squash court on Wednesday (12 August).

Bayfair is hosting the first New Zealand Women’s Squash Open since 1993 in the middle of the shopping centre as part of the Mount Maunganui Festival of Squash next week. The glass court is open to the public, so all shoppers can see some of the world’s best squash players including the top New Zealanders in action from every angle. The open runs from Tuesday 11 August to Sunday 16 August.

The specially-built glass-walled court took three days and 15 people to erect, and is made up of 42 solid glass panels. During the course of the week around 18,000 spectators are expected to descend on Bayfair to witness a piece of the fast-paced action.

To test out the court and commemorate this significant event for the Bay of Plenty, eight-time New Zealand Women’s Open champion and Tauranga local Dame Susan Devoy will challenge rookie MP Simon Bridges to a match on Wednesday at 12pm.

Mr Bridges, who plays the occasional game and considers himself ‘not too bad’ on the squash court, couldn’t say no to the opportunity to challenge New Zealand’s greatest player.

"It's not exactly every day that I get to play a former world champion and an absolute legend of the game,” says Bridges. “I think winning will be impossible, but if I can hit a few back that will at least be something.

“The Bay of Plenty is a great place to host the A1 Homes NZ Women’s Open, showcasing a first class shopping centre, city, and some amazing squash (except when I am playing) to a wide audience,” he says.

Some of the world’s top female squash players will be coming to the Bay to compete, including seven of the world’s top 10 ranked players from the USA, Netherlands, England, Egypt, Ireland, France, Denmark, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. The players will compete against New Zealand’s top-ranking women players, including world number 10 Shelley Kitchen and number 16 Jaclyn Hawkes, for a total prize pool of $NZ 82,000 ($US55,000).

The A1 Homes New Zealand Women's Open and New Zealand's Men's Classic are part of the Mount Maunganui Festival of Squash, which also includes a domestic tournament at several squash clubs in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.

Bayfair Centre Manager Andrew Wadsworth says: “We are delighted to be hosting such a milestone event for the Bay of Plenty at Bayfair and giving the public a chance to check out some of the world’s best squash players in action.

“Bayfair is the first shopping centre in New Zealand to erect a glass squash court in its centre, though Simon is possibly the first politician in the world to try his luck against a world champ, playing in a shopping centre in full public view.”

If spectators can’t get a spot centre court, two big screens will be set up in front of Farmers and in the centre’s waste-free food court so everyone can get in on the action. The hottest demands for seats will be for the semi-final that will take place on Saturday 15 August and the finals on Sunday 16 August

ENDS

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