Draw size and prize money will be same for women at Grand Central in 2016
By BETH RASIN
The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, the world’s largest squash spectator event, announced that the total purse and size of the draw for the women will equal that of the men’s.
Total player compensation will reach $300,000 USD, ranking the championship as one of the top four in the world for 2016.
“We are thrilled that the ToC, as befits its status as one of the world’s major championships, has achieved our goal of gender parity by increasing the women’s main draw from 16 to 32 players, and providing equal prize money,” John Nimick, President of Event Engine, Inc., the tournament promoter.
“The support and commitment to gender parity of our title sponsor, J.P. Morgan, has been instrumental in our achieving this milestone.”
The 2016 championships will be played January 7-14, 2016 in Grand Central Terminal where the ToC will celebrate its 19th anniversary presenting the top players in one of the world’s most demanding sports.
The spectacular Vanderbilt Hall setting, the sell-out crowds and the excitement of showcasing their sport for the more than 200,000 Grand Central commuters expected to pass by the four-walled glass court during tournament week, has made the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions a “must-play” championship for all the world’s best professional squash athletes. The world’s best known squash championship will celebrate its 20th anniversary in Grand Central next year.
J.P Morgan, a global financial services company, is returning as the Platinum title sponsor of the tournament for the eighth year. Supporting the tournament for its 17th consecutive year, eight of those as a Gold sponsor, is Lexington Partners.
Tickets range in price from $8 to $170 and will be available for purchase on October 1, 2015 at www.tocsquash.com.
Squash is contested in all the major international multi-sport regional games and has been rated by Forbes magazine as the 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 140 years ago and is now popular in 185 countries, with nearly 50,000 squash courts worldwide. There are more than 16 million squash players around the world and 800,000 in the United States.