Hi-Tec Sports To Sponsor 2008 World Open Championships In Manchester

Hi-Tec Sports has been confirmed as title sponsor of the Hi-Tec World Open Championships which will take place in Manchester in October 2008.

The championships, the first in the UK to combine both the Men's and Women's World Opens, will be held at the world-renowned National Squash Centre at Sportcity in Manchester, from 11-19 October 2008

Hi-Tec will work in partnership with Manchester City Council, England Squash, UK Sport, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Dunlop Sport, the Manchester Evening News and Sportdiscount.com to deliver the nine-day event - which is expected to attract the world's top sixty-four players in the Men's Championship and the leading thirty-two players in the Women's Championship, with representation from around forty countries.

"Squash has experienced a welcome resurgence in recent years and, with six British players in both the men's and women's top twenty world rankings, the opportunity for Manchester to host this prestigious event will go a long way in ensuring the continuing visibility and growth of the sport in Great Britain," said England Squash Chief Executive Nick Rider.

Event title sponsor Hi-Tec has a proud heritage of sponsoring top-class sporting events and boasts a broad portfolio which includes golf and badminton events as well as the British National Championships, the British Open and now the World Open.

Hi-Tec's original success grew from the breakthrough design and development of the first ever shoe designed for the sport. Launched in 1974 the HI-TEC Squash has gone on to sell over 18 million pairs worldwide.

Their new collection, backed by the latest in independent biomechanical research and development, sees the brand launch the best Squash performance shoes in the world which will coincide with the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships - Manchester 2008.

Frank van Wezel, Chairman of Hi-Tec Sports and Life Vice President of England Squash, commented on the sponsorship announcement: "In 1974, Hi-Tec produced the world's first ever sports shoe designed specifically for the game of squash. In the 32 years since the HI-TEC Squash was born, Hi-Tec has been at the forefront of the game both in terms of product innovation and sponsorship of the game from the grass roots through to the professional game. I am extremely proud that Hi-Tec is the title sponsor of the 2008 World Championships and I believe that Manchester will provide a tournament which will make the squash world proud."

The National Squash Centre, which hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games squash action, houses six traditional glass-backed courts on which qualifying rounds will be played before the attention switches to the all-glass championship court for the latter stages.

Manchester will expect to host the most competitive field ever for a World Open Championships - which is likely to include British number one James Willstrop and reigning world number one Amr Shabana from Egypt.