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Bermuda's 'golden oldies' are heading to New Zealand to take on some of the world's most seasoned squash players in the Masters Squash Championship.

The tournament has attracted 763 players, including some former greats of the game, from 39 countries with age-group competitions ranging from 35-99.

Liz Martin (45-49), Denise Kyme (55-59) Don Mackenzie (45-49), John Stout (55-59) and Eugene Bothello (35-39) form the Bermuda team that heads out for the tournament on October 19.

Martin, still one of Bermuda's best female players at any level, said this would be the biggest tournament she had competed in.

And she said the team had been putting themselves through a training regime that would put players half their age to shame.

"We've been training like crazy - doing stuff in the gym, sprint training and playing a lot of practice matches."

Martin's own regime was hampered by a hamstring injury which curtailed the amount of gym work she could do.

"I'm doing a lot of serious court work and game practice now. The Rubis tournament next week will be a good chance for all of us to get some competitive matches."

Martin and Kyme are old friends and rivals having contested more Bermuda Open finals over the years than either cares to remember.

"Denise and I are still among the top players on the island. I won the national championship two years ago and we both play for the national squad.

"The last big tournament was the Island Games in Shetland and before that the Pan Ams in Mexico."

Patrick Foster, national development coach, backed the team to perform in New Zealand.

"I think they will do really well. All of them have been training really hard, in some cases much harder than our juniors are training.

"They've been here early in the mornings for double lessons with me, working in the gym and doing sprints on the court. We're expecting them to have a great time and get some good results for Bermuda."

Foster said it was essential to have good programmes for older players.

"It's no good bringing kids into the sport if you don't have adults playing. Development is important but it's also a big part of our job to find programmes and competitions for all age groups."

He said the club would be getting updates on the tournament and posting results on their website at www.bermudasquash.com.

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