19/12/2016
Allam British Open News
Equal Prize Money Confirmed For 2017 Allam British
Open
Female players will earn the same prize money as their male
counterparts for the first time in the history of the prestigious
Allam British Open when the 2017 iteration of squash's oldest and
most established tournament gets underway next March.
Taking place at the Airco Arena, Hull from March 19-26 the iconic
'Wimbledon of Squash', which in 2017 will be co-promoted between
England Squash and the Professional Squash Association, will bring
together over 120 of the best male and female players from around
the world to compete for the sought after title - which has been
contested since the 1920s.
The move to equal prize money, with $150,000 on offer in both the
men's and women's draws, sees the Allam British Open become the
first major British squash tournament ever to offer financial parity
to competitors. While it becomes the fourth tournament on the PSA
World Series, after the U.S. Open (2013) Windy City Open (2015) and
Tournament of Champions (2016) to reach parity.
“Squash is one of only a few sports in which women and men compete
in the same event at the same time, under the same rules, scoring
system and size of playing surface,” said England Squash CEO Keir
Worth.
"We’re extremely proud that the 2017 Allam British Open is going to
be a showcase for equality in sport as well as for world class
squash.”
Professional Squash Association Chief Executive Alex Gough said;
"Across the PSA Word Tour we have made great strides towards
increasing gender equality since integrating the Women's Tour in
2015 and today's announcement further underlines our commitment to
achieving parity.
"Since the U.S. Open became the first major PSA World Series
tournament to achieve parity in 2013 we have been steadily working
towards levelling the playing field between men and women. To see
the British Open join the U.S. Open, Windy City Open, Tournament of
Champions and PSA World Series Finals in offering equal prize money
is a great moment for the sport.
"With the 2017 Men's and Women's World Championships, taking place
in Manchester In December 2017, also committing to equal prize money
we hope these steps will also demonstrate to young girls and
aspiring players who want a career in sport that squash offers a
genuine opportunity to compete and earn on a level playing field
with men."
Steve Forster commented: “On behalf of Dr Allam and the Allam
family, we are honoured to continue our sponsorship of the event and
we are proud that our legacy of the event is that men and women will
be rewarded equally. Dr Allam believes that this sets the bar for
other tournaments around the world.”
The 2017 Allam British Open will take place at the Airco Arena, Hull
from March 19-26. Ticket details will be confirmed in January via
englandsquash.com and psaworldtour.com
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