ROWE Motor Oil has confirmed its sponsorship of the British Grand Prix Squash Championship for the second successive year.
A major event on the Professional Squash Association World Tour, the 2010 ROWE British Grand Prix Squash Championship attracted a high quality field, from which Egypt’s then world number one Ramy Ashour emerged as champion.
The ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2011 will take place at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from 19-25 September
The $100,000 sponsorship marks the third year of an association between ROWE Motor Oil and event promoters internationalSPORTgroup, following the leading German brand’s backing of the British Open Squash Championships in 2009.
“I was very pleased with the result of the first ROWE British Grand Prix in 2010,” said Michael Zehe, CEO and founder of ROWE Motor Oil. “Especially the TV coverage in the far east countries was very impressive.
“This year’s tournament needed to be elevated to the new PSA criteria, which means a higher prize fund and a bigger TV contribution,” added Zehe. “It was a pleasure to take our responsibility as title sponsor to secure the ROWE British Grand Prix in the circle of the ten leading squash events world-wide.”
Paul Walters, CEO of internationalSPORTgroup, is also delighted to be renewing his association with ROWE Motor Oil. “Michael and his company have been very pro-active sponsors and we look forward to further growing the British Grand Prix with ROWE Motor Oil this year.”
The ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2011, the second event of a pioneering three-year agreement between Manchester City Council and internationalSPORTgroup, will boast the largest prize money offered by any PSA World Tour ranking event in Europe this year.
The championship builds upon a successful partnership between Manchester and internationalSPORTgroup which has flourished since first staging the British Grand Prix at the National Squash Centre in 2004, and ensures that a leading international squash championship will remain in the city alongside the British National Championships which Manchester have hosted for the past fifteen years.
The ROWE British Grand Prix reinforces Manchester’s ambition to be recognised as one of the world’s leading squash destinations, alongside; New York, Mumbai, Cairo, Canberra, Hong Kong, Kuwait City, Doha, and Saudi Arabia.
Eamonn O’Rourke, Head of Leisure, Manchester City Council, said: “We’re delighted to again be hosting the ROWE British Grand Prix and we look forward to welcoming the world’s finest squash players to Manchester for such a prestigious tournament which will attract thousands of sports fans to the city.
"Since the highly successful 2002 XVII Commonwealth Games, Manchester has developed a reputation for hosting world class events. The ROWE British Grand Prix, alongside the National Championships which have found a home in Manchester for the past fifteen years, will play a pivotal role in showcasing the city’s unrivalled squash development programme and further cement our position as a world class sporting destination. In addition, this event will support our plans to once again bring the World Squash Championships to the City.”