IMMORTALS
This elite Award was instituted in 2022 and is the highest honour awarded by Squash Australia. The Immortals Award is for Australian Squash players against whom other players cannot be compared. These players stand above other Hall of Fame members, and their performances and records are unlikely to be equalled. These players will have influenced the sport and will have had an impact beyond their own playing career.
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Geoff Hunt
Geoff Hunt, without doubt Australia’s most prolific male squash athlete, won every major international tournament during a glittering career. He blazed the global squash scene winning three World Amateur Championships in 1967, 69 and 71 and won the inaugural World Open in 1976 before collecting three further World Open titles, in 1977, 79 and 80. He went on to represent Australia three times as an athlete at the World Teams Championships in 1967, 69 and 71, then as a manager/coach. He won the Australian Open eight times - in 1971, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80 and 81. Hunt, who won 178 of the 215 tournaments he contested, has been honoured by the World Squash Federation, being inducted into the WSF Hall of Fame as well as the Squash Australia Hall of Fame as a “Legend”. He has also been inducted into the Australian Sport Hall of Fame. Hunt began playing squash at the age of 12 and won his first State championship, the 1962 Victorian junior title, at the age of 15. The following year he won the Australian Junior Championship and his first open event, the Victorian State Championship. In 1965, at 18, he became the youngest player in history to win the Australian national title. His services to squash and sport have been acknowledged by the Australian Government on two occasions when he received the decorations of the MBE and AM. Since retiring from competition in 1982, Hunt has channeled his expertise into coaching other athletes on the world stage and was made head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) squash unit when it opened in 1985. He was then the High Performance Manager of Squash Australia and a consultant to the AIS Squash Program. |
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Heather McKay
Heather McKay is considered Australia’s greatest ever sportswoman. Heather’s dominance in women’s squash is a matter of historical record, winning 16 consecutive British Opens from 1962 to 1977 - an absolutely incredible feat - and 14 straight Australian Amateur Championships from 1960 to 1973. Neither of these successes have been equalled or surpassed. In 1976 Heather won the first but unofficial World Women’s Open held in Australia and went on to win the first official Open in 1979 in England. Heather continued on in competitive squash at international Masters level winning four World Championships in 1987 (45), 1990 (45), 1993 (50) and 1995 (50). The Australian public has acknowledged Heather’s significant contribution to Australian sport with Heather being inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame as a “Legend”. She is also a member of the World Squash Federation Hall of Fame. Heather’s dedication and performance in sport has been recognised by the Australian Government by her being awarded the decorations of the Member of the British Empire (MBE) and the Australian Medal (AM). Chronology: 1960 - 1973 Winner of the Australian Amateur Championships |
