23-Jun-04
World Opens Combine As Hong Kong Heralds Biggest Ever Squash Event

The biggest ever single event in World Squash will take place in Hong Kong at the end of the year when the Men's and Women's World Open Championships will be staged jointly for the first time.

The event, full details of which will be announced by the hosts in September, will be held in Hong Kong from 29 November to 4 December.

The staging of this unique event has required close collaboration between the WSF, the PSA and WISPA - and a major reorganisation of the international calendar.

The men's Saudi International will now move, from the slot required for the World Opens, to 16-20 December. This follows the fixed points of the Qatar Classic from 22-27 November and the Men's World Team Championship from 8-14 December.

A special provision has been made to hold the qualification tournament for the Saudi event in the UK in November, to minimise player travel disruption in the intensive late December period when airlines are busy.

"To reach this point has required superb co-operation between WSF, WISPA, PSA, Hong Kong Squash and the Saudi authorities - particularly the latter, who went the extra mile to ensure that December becomes the greatest month ever in professional squash," said PSA Chief Executive Gawain Briars.

"The path to releasing and adjusting dates at the back end of the season has tested co-operation to the full. All parties have worked hard to adjust and secure final dates to suit both circuits, and I am particularly grateful to Ziad A. Al-Turki, our new promoter in Saudi Arabia, for his gracious co-operation in adjusting his own times for the exciting new Al-Khobar Open now to be held in mid December as a Super Series Platinum event.

WISPA Executive Director Andrew Shelley is also delighted with the news: "WISPA enjoyed a fantastic World Open in Hong Kong in 2003 and all the players will relish returning there to compete in our premier event. Not only will our competition be intense, but we will enjoy watching the destiny of the men's title unfold too. Hong Kong Squash and their sponsors have surpassed themselves again."
 

2003 Women's World Open
in Hong Kong

How we broke the
news on 4th June ...

"The WSF has worked closely with PSA and WISPA to help bring about a re-shuffle that suits us all, and I thank them warmly for their co-operation. "I believe that the Hong Kong Squash will stage an extraordinary showcase for two World Opens which all fans and media, as well as the players, can really look forward to. The venue details and plans, to be finally confirmed, will provide a memorable occasion as well as creating an iconic location to promote the best professional squash has to offer." Christian Leighton WSF Chief Executive

Chan Kin-wa
South China Morning Post

Two major sponsors stepped forward yesterday to all but ensure Hong Kong will host the prestigious men's and women's World Open for the first time in December.

Securing funding for the tournament was the last remaining obstacle to staging the event.

It is understood that Credit Suisse Privilege and Cathay Pacific have together agreed to a sponsorship deal worth $1.8 million for the event.

The government is expected to match the private-sector sponsorship, a process understood to be little more than a formality.

'We are delighted that we have secured commercial sponsorship for the event and it is now very likely that the world's top men's and women's players will come to Hong Kong this December,' said David Mui Ying-yuen, chairman of Hong Kong Squash.

Hong Kong has twice hosted the World Open for women (1995 and 2003) but it will be the first time that the world event for both categories will be held at the same time.

Mui said the next step for Hong Kong Squash would be to ask the Major Sports Event Committee (MSEC) of the government to provide a matching grant.

'The MSEC provides support on a dollar-for-dollar basis to local major international events which have secured commercial sponsorship. The World Open is a top-class event featuring the best players from all over the world. Hong Kong players will gain international exposure against these top competitors and improve their standard. The event can also attract spectators from the region such as Malaysia, Japan and South Korea and help raise the image of Hong Kong as Asia's world city.

'I am confident that they [MSEC] will provide us with the matching grant,' said Mui.

An official from the government said it had yet to receive an application from Hong Kong Squash for the matching grant, but judging from the level, size and impact of the event, he agreed that the World Open would likely fulfil the MSEC's requirements.

'We have a fair and open formula to calculate whether an event has enough points to meet the requirements for the grant,' said the official. 'We need to closely examine the proposal from Hong Kong Squash before we can draw a conclusion but I would say they are likely to make it.'

Mui said prize money of $2 million would be on offer to the players and the budget for the event would be in the region of $4 million.

With major roadworks underway in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mui said Hong Kong Squash was not sure if it could stage the event at the Cultural Centre, as originally planned.

'A four-sided glass court was set up for the women's World Open in 2003 with the harbour as a stunning backdrop. The venue at the Cultural Centre won praise from the players and overseas visitors and obviously we don't want to move the event to another area. However, we still do not know whether the renovation works in Tsim Sha Tsui will be completed in time for the event. If not, we may consider moving it to Victoria Park,' he said.

He said staging the event on the football pitches at Victoria Park could turn it into a carnival day. 'We can have other fun-filled events, for example as a sports clinic, at the same time and that will give the fans more to enjoy,' said Mui.

'The event will definitely benefit the sport and the players. As the organiser, we have the right to give out wild cards to local players to compete in the qualifying rounds. It will be great experience for our juniors to take part in such a big competition and learn from such great players.'
 

2003 Women's World Open
in Hong Kong

www.scmp.com

Rebecca Chui, 2003