Ashaway Confirmed As ROWE British Grand Prix Squash Championships Official String

Event promoters internationalSPORTgroup have announced Ashaway as the Official String Partner of the ROWE British Grand Prix Squash Championships to be staged in Manchester, England from the 15th to 20th September.

Ashaway is the world’s largest and oldest racket string manufacturer and producers of performance string for many of the world’s leading players including former World No.1 and two time World Champion David Palmer.

Paul Smith, Partner at Goode Sport, UK distributors for Ashaway said: “We are proud to be associated with the most prestigious tournament in the UK this year. The event offers us the perfect opportunity to launch UltraNick 18® as used by England’s World No.9, Daryl Selby and with the championships being televised and well covered by the media it offers maximum exposure to Ashaway strings which will be on show in many of the worlds top players rackets.”

Paul Walters of internationalSPORTgroup added: "The ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010 promises to be one of the most exciting and eagerly contested events on the PSA World Tour and we are very grateful for the support of Goode Sport, who as well as stringing rackets for all players competing in the championships, will also offer spectators exclusive Ashaway string promotions to add to their overall event experience.”

The ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010, one of only ten Professional Squash Association (PSA) Super Series events in 2010, and the only PSA Super Series ranking event to be staged in the UK this year, will include a star-studded field led by newly crowned World No.1 Nick Matthew of England.

Tickets for the ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010 can now be booked online at www.isportgroup.com/ticketing or by telephone on 0844 870 0000. For further information visit www.isportgroup.com or email info@isportgroup.com

Ashaway Sign Daryl Selby

Ashaway Racket Strings has announced the signing of rising squash pro Daryl Selby to a three-year sponsorship agreement. While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, Selby, who is currently ranked #9 by PSA, has long played with Ashaway's PowerNick® 18 and recently switched to Ashaway's new Zyex-based UltraNick® 18.

"We're delighted to have a rising young star like Daryl join the Ashaway team," said Steve Crandall, Ashaway Vice President of Marketing. "Daryl exemplifies the values we like to see in top players: dedicated, hard-working, family-oriented. Daryl is the kind of guy you just want to see win. It also helps that he's been playing with Ashaway string for years," Crandall added.

Selby joined the PSA Tour in 2004 and rose steadily through the ranks until last year when a string of victories propelled him from 33 into the top ten. Described as "a worker" and known for his grit and determination, Selby ascribes his breakthrough rise to, "a new-found confidence in my own game; a settled home life with my fiancée; [and] having my family around me."

"It is a pleasure for me to sign with Ashaway," Selby said. "I have been using the strings for a long time and they are in my opinion without doubt the best strings in squash." A longtime PowerNick user, Selby recently switched to Ashaway's newly introduced UltraNick 18, one of a new line of strings utilizing Zyex® multifilament core technology.

"The PowerNick is a great string that feels more solid and generates slightly more power, in my opinion," he said, but, "the UltraNick has just added a touch more feel to my front court game." And while he said he breaks more of the new strings, "the UltraNick feels slightly softer, and I can get a bit more slice and cut on the ball." But, he added, "I honestly don't mind
playing with either."

And Ashaway, said Crandall, hopes Daryl Selby continues to play with Ashaway for a long time. "We think Daryl has really hit his stride as a pro. We expect to see great things from him in the coming years and we're happy to help him along."

Ashaway Racket Strings are made by Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co., the only U.S. manufacturer of string for squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton. Operated by the Crandall family since 1824, Ashaway has been making racquet strings since 1949, and is responsible for several important technical innovations. Ashaway is the Official String of USA Racquetball and the Women's International Squash Players Association. Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co. also makes braided products for medical and industrial applications.

Ashaway Edgbaston Priory Adult Graded Tournament 2010

On 26th and 27th June, Edgbaston Priory Club hosted its second Adult Graded Squash Tournament, supported by Black Knight Squash and Ashaway Racket Strings. Players travelled from all over Great Britain to take part in the event which proved to be a huge success. The players competed in mixed events from intermediate club standard right up to PSA World Professionals. This year’s top seed in an extremely strong A Event draw was Chris Ryder, world number 36.

All players, played in extreme heat due to the weather, but had some great matches which made for an enjoyable weekend.

All finals were competitive and we saw some great squash, especially in grade A event where world top 40 player Chris Ryder took on British U23 champion Joel Hinds.

Both Joel and Chris are based at EPC full time and know each other very well, they knew, especially in the heat, that it was going to be a tough final! Joel went 1-0 down, but battled back and came through with a 3-1 victory, playing at a high intensity.

Pictured – Joel Hinds, Grade A Winner and Chris Ryder, Grade A runner up

Joel and Chris both use Ashaway PowerNick 18.

Joel quotes: "Really pleased to win this weekend, especially being based here now and as the draw was very strong for a graded event!"

"Thanks to the Priory for staging the tournament which was enjoyed by all"

The event was run by EPC's Head Coach, Mike Edwards. Many thanks to Mike for running a fantastic event.

Congratualtions this year champion, Joel Hinds and the rest of the players who took part. We look forward to another very strong entry next year.