Squash loses a loyal servant

Squash Central lost Life Member and loyal servant Andrew Doig after a long battle with cancer. Andrew passed away peacefully on Saturday 19 December, 2015 at his home in Taupo. His contribution to squash touched almost every level of the game, as a player rising to B grade, a team manager, becoming a National Referee and officiating at World Championships thru to administrating the game at all levels. But it was as an administrator that he will long be remembered rising to the very top.

From 1976 – 1982 as a district delegate Andrew was a part of the NZSRA Management Committee and went on to become Vice President, 1982-1983, and then President of the NZSRA from 1984 – 1985. It was during his term that squash rose to fame with Susan Devoy winning an historic British Open title in April 1984 and then in 1985 going on to become New Zealand’s first World Squash Champion. Squash boomed and was in the news as much as any sport, rivalling Rugby at times for media attention, certainly when New Zealand had dual Men’s and Women’s World Champions Ross Norman and Susan Devoy.

He served a further two years on the NZSRA management committee from 1987 – 1989 and then went international and was the New Zealand representative to the International Squash Rackets Federation from 1986 – 1988. In total he served 12 years on the NZSRA Management Committee.

He was a Life Member of the Palmerston North club and Central Squash, Andrew took an active role in the activities and affairs of the Association having been its President, a member of the 40^th Jubilee Committee and a Trustee of the Central Squash Trust. The Central Men’s Championship is currently played for the ‘Andrew Doig Cup’. He was also a member of the steering committee in 2008 that led to the formation of the New Zealand Squash Hall of Fame. He spent most of his business life within the Manawatu Whanganui area as a chartered accountant, and only in the last decade after retirement, moved to Taupo.

Our sympathies go out to his wife Sally and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. His funeral is in Taupo on Wednesday at 1.30pm.