IN the 50 year history of the Cootamundra Squash Association, only four people have been
afforded the honour of Life Membership.
Saturday night’s Anniversary Dinner was the perfect time to add to that list - and there were no more deserving recipients than Ted and Meg Smith and Kerry Malone.
The announcement that the
tireless trio would join John and Judy Finkle, Graeme McDonald and Barb Coombe on the elite list of Life Members was the highlight of an evening that saw more than 130 past, present and future stars join together to celebrate five decades of squash in this town.
Master of Ceremonies Clarrie Power, himself a former player of much renown, had the honour of reading the citations of the three inductees.
“You can’t have one without the other - they are a team,” Clarrie said of Ted and Meg.
“Ted, until recently, has been actively involved in the coaching of the juniors on a Friday afternoon for many years and is always happy to offer his help whenever and wherever Meg volunteers him.
“Meg was asked to help out in the kiosk by Judy Finkle more than 30 years ago and, as they say ‘the rest is history’.
“She has fed and looked after her Thursday night boys for as long as anyone can remember.”
Ted and Meg were also heavily involved in the planning of the 50 year reunion, however their
greatest achievement is perhaps the fact they have dedicated more time to assisting the Cootamundra Squash Association than actually playing the game.
Kerry is affectionately known in local squash circles as ‘The King’.
He began playing in 1979, around the same time the glass-backed court four was built.
It took him very little time to become involved in the running of the association, joining the
committee and becoming secretary in the 1980s, while for many years he was the club’s publicity officer.
“This was a very demanding position back in the hey day of squash,” Power said.
“He had to collect all the score sheets each week and compile the results and match reports for the Coota Herald.
“This was in a time when squash was played four nights a week and more than 120 members playing.
“He also compiled very detailed articles of the Club Championships and the Wattle Time Tournament, with his
signature of KM on all his articles.”
While not on the current
committee, Kerry was another driving force behind the weekend’s celebrations and is still actively involved in the coaching of the club’s juniors each Friday.
Saturday night’s dinner included brief talks by four guest speakers, Neil Macaulay, George Sullivan, John Fisher and Kerry McKenzie.
Macaulay spoke of the early years and the characters that helped mould the foundations of what would prove to be a thriving
sporting body.
Sullivan recalled the intensity, commaraderie and fellowship of the 1970s and early 80s, attributing the abundance of work
opportunities in the town through the local abattoir, railway and other industries to the peak in the sport’s popularity.
Fisher, a 10-time Club Champion, spoke of the quality of players who have adorned the courts over the years and how
privileged he felt to be a part of the club’s history.
McKenzie, representing the ‘modern day’ player hinted that no matter how hard a player wanted to win or how competitive he or she may be, the beauty of squash in Cootamundra is that once that last point is won or lost, the weary
warriors immediately became mates again.
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