25/05/2021
PSA Event News
Manchester Open Moved to August 9-13
The Manchester Open, PSA World Tour Silver event - which had been
scheduled for June 7-13 - has been moved to August 9-13 due to the
continued impact of COVID-19 on international travel into the UK.
Under the UK Government National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace
system, athletes travelling internationally to compete at an elite
sports event in England are still at risk of being notified of ‘close
contact’ with a person travelling on their plane who has gone on to test
positive for COVID-19. Any players affected by this would then have to
self-isolate for 10 days, meaning that they would be forced to withdraw
from the tournament.
Following guidance from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS),
the PSA and Manchester City Council have made the decision to push the
tournament back to August in the hope that the track and trace
restrictions will have eased by this time.
The PSA will continue to work with DCMS to monitor the requirements of
the test and trace system and explore possible exemptions to ensure that
the Manchester Open can be staged safely in August.
“This decision has not been taken lightly and we understand it will be
disappointing for all involved, including our players and fans who were
looking forward to seeing top class squash return to Manchester,” said
PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough.
“However, for the health and wellbeing of all of our players, as well as
the integrity of the tournament, we feel there is no other choice at
this stage in order to protect all involved.
“We remain confident that the tournament will go ahead as planned in
August, while we are also hopeful that we will be able to welcome back
spectators to a UK event for the first time since March 2020. With the
Allam British Open also set to take place that month, August promises to
be an exciting month for squash fans around the world.”
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