Men's squash team in, women's team no funding
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 24
For the second consecutive WSF World Teams Squash Championship a women's team from New Zealand will be missing.
Squash NZ will have a men's team at the event in Korea in December, however the women's team featuring Joelle King, Kaitlyn Watts and Ella Lash, all top 100 ranked players will not attend due to financial constraints.
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The men's team of Paul Coll, Oli Dunbar and Ellijah Thomas will still play.
Squash New Zealand put out a statement this week citing the reason for the lack of a women's team. It should be recognised that neither team played in the last tournament in Hong Kong two years ago, again due to financial considerations.
The statement from Squash NZ said the following;
"While we had initially aimed to send both a men’s and women’s team to the event, recent changes to funding have meant that all campaigns would need to be fully self-funded. Over recent months, we have worked closely with both playing groups to explore what might be achievable within those constraints."
"Following this process, the decision has been made to send a New Zealand men’s team to compete at the championships. The men’s group has successfully developed a campaign supported by exhibition matches and other initiatives, making their participation financially viable.
"We also worked in partnership with our women’s players to assess potential fundraising opportunities. However, given the demands of their professional playing schedules, the options available were not considered manageable or likely to generate sufficient funding within the required timeframe," SNZ explained the only other option was not suitable.
"The alternative would have relied heavily on individual fundraising and significant personal commitment. We recognise that many of our women athletes are already balancing considerable financial and time pressures in sustaining their professional careers, and we respect their decision to prioritise those commitments.
We acknowledge that it has been too long since New Zealand last sent a women’s team to the World Team Championships. Not having a women’s team competing this year is not the outcome we had hoped for, and we appreciate this will be disappointing for many across our squash community.
It said that Squash New Zealand is committed to ensuring changes and they are planning for a fully funded women’s campaign for the next World Team Championships in 2028.
"We will take a proactive and structured approach to ensure our female athletes are well-supported and well-prepared to compete at the highest level. There is strong and growing depth in the women’s game in New Zealand, and it is important that future campaigns reflect that."
The current PSA women's world rankings have King at 65, Watts 78 and Lash 85. The next New Zealander is Jena Gregory at 151st.
In the men's world rankings. Coll is No 2, Dunbar 108, Thomas 119 and Lwamba Chileshe 129.
