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05/09/2008
TOC NEWS
Tournament Of Champions Boasts New Sponsor & Increased Prize Fund
Tournament Of
Champions Boasts New Sponsor & Increased Prize Fund
J.P. Morgan, a
global financial services company, is the new title sponsor of the Tournament
of Champions, the USA’s largest professional squash event. The J.P.
Morgan Tournament of Champions will be played from 23-29 January 2009 in
Grand Central Terminal in New York.
“With
J.P.Morgan as our title sponsor and a 50% increase in prize money, the
Tournament of Champions continues its long tradition as one of the world’s
premier squash championships,” announced John Nimick, Tournament Director
and President of Event Engine, Inc. “We’re very fortunate to have J.P. Morgan
continue the sponsorship Bear Stearns spearheaded for the past five years.”
Now
in its 12th year as Grand Central’s only annual sporting event, the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions will once again showcase the speed, skill and fitness of
the world’s best squash players in the sport’s most exciting venue.
“The
four walled glass court in Grand Central Terminal provides a venue like no other
on the PSA Tour,” says Nimick. “The combination of the perennial sold-out
stadium seating and the public viewing available on the front wall by what is
expected to be 150,000 Grand Central commuters during tournament week makes the
J.P.Morgan Tournament of Champions the largest squash spectator event in the
world.”
With
J.P. Morgan as the title sponsor and the addition of four new silver sponsors -
American Express, Lexington Partners, Frank Crystal & Company and
MarketAxess - prize money for the 2009 men’s championship will increase to
$115,000 USD. Individual tickets go on sale October 10 at
www.tocsquash.com.
Patron packages are available now by contacting the Box Office at
+1.718.569.0594 or
tickets@tocsquash.com
The
championship debuted as the US Professional Championship in 1930 and was renamed
the Tournament of Champions in 1993 when it was presented in the third of its
four years at the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center. The tournament
then moved to Grand Central Terminal in 1995, where its annual presence since
has been interrupted only by the Terminal’s renovation from 1996-1998. The
Tournament of Champions has truly lived up to its name - all but two of the
titleholders have either been #1 in the world rankings or the winner of the
annual World Open championship, the most prestigious tournament in squash.
A
PSA Super Series Gold event for the men, the 2009 J.P. Morgan Tournament of
Champions features a 32-player main draw and a 32-player qualification
tournament. The world’s best players from more than 20 countries will compete
in the Tournament of Champions and the field will include the USA's best-ever
international touring pro Julian Illingworth, current world #37. The
Vanderbilt Hall championship presentation will have gallery seating for 500, as
well as free viewing for the public.
Shortlisted by the International Olympic Committee for consideration as an
Olympic sport beginning in 2016, Squash is contested in all the major
international multi-sport regional games and has been rated by Forbes magazine
as the #1 healthiest sport based on cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular
strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, calories burned and risk of injury.
The sport was first played in England more than 100 years ago and is now popular
in more than 120 countries. There are 15 million squash players worldwide and
400,000 in the United States.
The
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions is supported by Dunlop and Big
Brothers Big Sisters of NYC and its official charities are the urban youth
enrichment programs StreetSquash and CitySquash. The J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions is operated by Squash Engine, Inc. an affiliate
of long-time management company Event Engine, Inc., the largest commercial
squash promotional company in the world. Event Engine, Inc. also produces major
squash championships in Toronto and Boston, as well as unique charitable events
such as METROSquash with Sue at the Field Museum in Chicago.
Official Website:
www.tocsquash.com
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