Stars take centre stage on International Women’s Day
By ALAN THATCHER
Next week’s Canary Wharf Classic will mark the 2018 International Women’s Day on Thursday (March 8) by hosting a challenge match featuring English duo Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters before the tournament’s semi-final matches at London’s spectacular East Wintergarden venue.
International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe and this year’s theme is #PressforProgress, which is a call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity.
Perry, the World No.8 from Birmingham who reached the Windy City Open semi-finals earlier this week, and London-born Waters, ranked No.10 in the world, will go head-to-head in the Rackets Cubed Cup at 17:15 local time (GMT), with the semi-finals of the Canary Wharf Classic – a PSA M100 tournament – set to follow at 18:30.
The challenge match will be shown live on SQUASHTV.
“Canary Wharf is always a favourite event among the men, so I’m really looking forward to playing in such a fantastic venue,” said Perry.
“Squash is a sport that is pushing equality, particularly in the professional game, which makes it even more fitting that we will be showcasing women’s squash on International Women’s Day.”
Waters said: “I’m really looking forward to playing the challenge match with SJ at Canary Wharf this year to coincide with International Women’s Day. It’s an amazing location and it’s always a fantastic event, so I’m excited to be a part of it this year.
“Thank you to Rackets Cubed, who are supporting our challenge match. It should be a great evening of squash.”
As well as sponsoring the challenge match, Rackets Cubed have been named as the tournament’s Official Charity for the second year running and will run a clinic throughout the day on Wednesday March 7 for children from the Sacred Heart school in Roehampton.
Rackets Cubed are a UK-registered charity and provide inner-city children with significant extra-curricular support through an integrated sports, educational and nutrition programme and are partnered with both the PSA Foundation – the charitable arm of the Professional Squash Association – and England Squash in enhancing grassroots participation in squash throughout the United Kingdom.
“Alison has been a great patron and role model for the children and we are delighted to see that SJ has joined her in supporting this fantastic cause,” said Rackets Cubed Founder and Chairman Michael Hill.
“The women’s tour has never been stronger. Seeing elite women’s squash not only inspires the next generation of female players, but also brings all of the health benefits associated with the game.”
Tournament Director Tim Garner, of Eventis Sports Marketing, said: “Rackets Cubed are a fantastic charity which do a lot of good for children in deprived areas and we are pleased to feature them as the tournament’s Official Partner once more.
“Their clinic at last year’s Canary Wharf Classic was a complete success and provided children from the Sacred Heart School in Roehampton with an unforgettable experience.”
The 2018 Canary Wharf Classic takes place between March 5-9 and features stars such as World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy, World No.3 Ali Farag, three-time World Champion Nick Matthew and four-time winner James Willstrop.
This year’s instalment will become the first ranking PSA World Tour event to be played using a best-of-three games scoring format up until the semi-finals and final, where it will revert to the traditional best-of-five scoring.
Live coverage from the tournament will be shown on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only), while the semi-finals and final will also be shown live on mainstream broadcasters such as BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia, Astro and more.
Tickets for the 2018 Canary Wharf Classic are sold out, but squash fans can join the waiting list here: [email protected]
More information on the tournament can be found on the Canary Wharf Classic website: www.canarywharfsquash.com
About Rackets Cubed
Rackets Cubed is a UK-registered charity providing an after-school enrichment program running at the Roehampton Club in South West London. Founded in late 2016, Rackets Cubed currently serves 60 primary school children from Sacred Heart School and strives to provide them with significant extra-curricular support through an integrated sports, educational and nutrition programme. Further information on Rackets Cubed can be located here: www.racketscubed.com
Pictures courtesy of PSA and STEVE LINE (www.squashpics.com)