Canolfan Brailsford at Bangor University will be hosting its first ever professional women’s squash tournament this summer. The event will be the first of its kind in Wales and the only Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour event to be held in North Wales to date.
The event is attracting players from all over the world with some making the trip from as far as Brazil. Regulars from the PSA World Tour make up the draw with the first day of competition taking place on the 20th June.
Holding the competition in Wales is allowing up and coming squash players locally to compete against some of the most competitive players from around the world. Lisa Aitken from Scotland, the number 1 seed in the tournament has been ranked at 38 in the world, currently number 60. Also competing is world number 66 Enora Villard from France, current European Junior Champion Lucy Turmel and Cheshire girl Rachel Chadwick. Players from 9 different countries including Spain, Colombia, and Egypt will make the journey to Bangor giving the event a real international flavor.
There is great Welsh interest in the event, with 12 of the country’s best players hoping to keep the inaugural trophy in Wales. North Wales girls Lowri Roberts and Elin Harlow who recently just competed in the Welsh senior women’s team in Poland will be competing to keep try and keep the title in Wales.
Richard Bennett Bangor University sports director is looking forward to welcoming the event to Bangor. He said. “We are delighted to welcoming the PSA Karakal competition event here at Bangor University, I’m sure the event will provide some exciting, competitive action over the week.
At Bangor University we are committed to promoting women in sport and inparticular our local Welsh athletes. We offer scholarships at Bangor University to help athletes combine their academic studies with a combing career in squash and this event is an excellent way of showcasing the facilities and support we can offer to elite athletes.”
Tournament promoter Tesni Evans, current Welsh number 1, Commonwealth bronze medalist and a regular on the PSA world who trains out of Canolfan Brailsford and spoke to us about how excited she is to be running the event. “It’s great to have a women’s PSA event come to the area. It’s a real goal of mine to promote women’s sport in Wales especially squash!
“This tournament couldn’t be a better way to do it. We weren’t expecting as much international interest as we’ve had but is exciting to see and looking at the draw it’s going to be a great event.”
The event organizer would like to say a massive thank you to Karakal, Haystack Dryers, Bangor University and all the private anonymous sponsors, without them the event wouldn’t be possible.
Tickets are only £5 for a child and £10 for an adult with week passes available at a discounted rate. To buy tickets or for further information about scholarships contact Brailsford on 01248 382 571 or by email brailsford@bangor.ac.uk
