Have you heard? The World Junior Squash Championships are being hosted by Tauranga City from 19 to 29 July 2017.
 
Around 250 athletes under 19 years representing approximately 35 nations will embark on Tauranga for the World Squash Championships. It is expected 8,000 fans and supporters will be watching the action courtside, with thousands more tuning into the livestreaming to watch from afar. The No.1 ranked World U/19 players Mohammed Alsarraj (Jordan) and Satomi Watanabe (Japan) have confirmed their attendance, so the field will be strong.  The New Zealand team will be announced shortly. 

Three Bay of Plenty Squash Clubs are working together to co-host the event: Devoy Squash & Fitness Centre (Tauranga), Te Puke Squash Club and Mt Maunganui Squash Club. Many others of the 16 clubs in the Bay of Plenty are lending their support through volunteers to make this the best World Junior Squash Championships ever.  A transportable glass squash court is being erected in the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre in Tauranga, adding to the spectacle of the event and providing an eye catching staging for the games.

Key dates

• 18 July: opening ceremony at Baycourt
• 19 to 24 July: individual Junior Men and Women Championships (school holidays). Entries for the Individual Championships close 1 June
• 25 to 29 July: Junior Women's Teams Championships, Junior Men's Teams Test Series (week 1, Term 3)

 
The list of nations competing in the Junior Women’s Teams event has been announced.  The following nations will attend:  USA, Australia, India, Ireland, England, Hong Kong, Korea, Egypt, Germany, Canada, France, Malaysia, South Africa, New Zealand. More nations will be represented in the individual championships, with entries for this closing 1 June.
 
The organisers have around 1,400 year five and six students participating in the KiwiSquash School Legacy Programme with four weeks squash coaching in schools, adopt-a-nation, design-a-mascot, plus a fun day to come and watch the live squash. Each of the participating primary schools has been given a nation to ‘adopt’. The students are learning about the nation through activities in social studies, maths, language, art, wellbeing, history and other topics.
 
“It’s a great way to build a fan-base and have support for our visitors”, says Char Niles, the Championship’s Marketing and Communications Manager. “Please promote the event to your communities via newsletters and social media.  It's not often we get to stage a world event in our backyard, so we're looking for the community to be great ambassadors for squash as well showcasing the Bay of Plenty as a tourist destination.” 
 
Entry is free to the squash clubs, with a gold coin donation for entry to the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, so there's no excuse not to come and check out the action.
 
Check out the Championship promo here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-xWxSwSAkk&t=5s
Website   www.wsfworldjuniors.com
Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/WSFWorldJuniors2017/
Instagram   #wsfworldjuniors2017

During the Historic Village's 12 Days of Christmas events starting on 13 December 2016, Multicultural Tauranga is holding it's fifth exhibition. It will be open to the public on 13, 14 and 15 December from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Different types of artwork produced by local ethnic artists will be on display at the Multicultural Centre.

When:
Wednesday, 26 October 2016, 7:00 to 9:00pm
Where:
Village Hall at Historic Village on 17th Avenue
How much:
Free entry. Donations to Multicultural Tauranga are appreciated.
Everybody is welcome. Bring a plate of food to share.
More information:
Multicultural Tauranga, phone 571 6419 or e-mail enquiries@trmc.co.nz