Australian Open Squash Championships are pleased to announce CSR Viridian (formerly Pilkington and DMS Glass) as the major sponsor for the 2010 World Tour event that is staged in Canberra from 10th to 15th August.
The Viridian Australian Open will showcase world class squash, with more than a hundred of the best men and women competing to be the champion of this historic and prestigious title.
An all-glass squash court in the Royal Theatre will allows spectators to see all the action through the glass walls while innovative glass technology ensures the players only see the walls as solid and opaque.
Gary Hampson, Tournament Director explained, "Our partnership with Viridian as Australia's leading glass innovator is a natural fit and our objective is to further improve the spectator experience and television coverage,"
"We have only recently imported the new Centre Court from the United States. This year will be a test year for us with an unmodified court ensuring compliance with tour standards.
“Over the next year we will work with Viridian to improve the court and set new standards for all-glass showcases for the game."
Viridian is a manufacturer of residential and commercial glass within Australia and an operating division of CSR, the building products company. Lachlan Austin, General Manager Marketing and himself a squash player, sees real value in the partnership.
"Squash is the one major sport that now relies heavily on glass technology, so it is a natural fit for us,” Lachlan said. “The current glass court technology has been around for a decade, yet advances in glass technology generally are occurring every week.
“We think it is time to apply some of our technical expertise to build a better court."
The ACT Squash Association is looking to extend the partnership to include the use of a wide range of CSR building materials in the construction of two new squash centres in the region.
"The wide range of innovative building materials from CSR and Viridian will allow us to construct quality, energy efficient, low cost, low maintenance and environmentally friendly squash centres to meet the growing demands from players in the Canberra region,” said Gary Hampson. “We are planning that at least one new centre will have a permanent glass court and ten traditional courts to cater for the large, participation tournaments that attract 600-800 players."
