BSPA Boston Open returns

The BSPA Boston Open will return this Friday, with more top class players visiting Boston for the 13th consecutive year. The club is preparing to welcome a whole host of world and nationally ranked players, headed by men's world #33 Tom Richards, and women's world #18 Tania Bailey.

The tournament, which consists of a prize pot of £4,500, will be staged from the 11th-13th December 2009. It is the longest running event on the British Squash Professionals Association tour.

The club has finished preparations for the event. The courts have been cleaned, microphones fixed, table tennis equipment erected and changing rooms redecorated.

In the men's draw, England top 15 player Scott Handley is the second seed. The 3/4 seeds are Irish #2 John Rooney and Welsh #1 Rob Sutherland, while the 5/8 seeds include Cape Town-born Shaun le Roux, last year's winner Joel Hinds, Jethro Binns, and Arthur Gaskin.

In the women's draw, second seed Kimberley Hay will be looking to cause an upset by preventing Lincolnshire's Tania Bailey from successfully defending her title.

Full draws of both the men's and women's events complete with times can be downloaded from the 'Boston Open' page now. Everyone is welcome to attend, and entry is free all weekend. Our warm and welcoming bar, which overlooks the two glass back courts, will be open for the duration of the competition. The junior tournaments will be held on Sunday this year, alongside the senior finals. The women's final will begin at 3pm, followed immediately by the men's final.

Media coverage for the event is expected to include preview articles in the Boston Standard and the Boston Target, while the club also hopes to secure air time on various local radio stations. LIVE updates will be available at bostonsquash.blogspot.com for the duration of the tournament, along with photos and regularly updated versions on the draw. Video footage of the finals will be available on the club's YouTube channel after the event.