Ashaway to Sponsor US Junior Open Squash Tournament

Ashaway Racket Strings has announced it will join racquet maker Black Knight to sponsor the US Junior Open Squash Tournament, December 14-17, 2013, at Yale University in New Haven, CT. With as many as 900 players expected from 24 different countries, the US Junior Open is the world's largest individual squash tournament. The event will encompass four venues, 39 courts, and nearly 2,000 matches over 10 divisions. Black Knight will act as Lead Sponsor and Ashaway as Presenting Sponsor for the event.

Junior squash is a rapidly expanding demographic in the United States, with thousands of juniors participating in tournaments, leagues and programs right across the nation. The US Junior Open is accredited by US Squash and is considered a WSF World Junior Circuit Tier 2 Level Tournament. The junior programs run by US Squash support one of the association's core missions of providing access to the sport to children of all ages.

"Ashaway is thrilled to be able to continue our long tradition of support for junior squash," said Steve Crandall, Vice President of Ashaway, "and to join Black Knight and our old friend David Palmer in sponsoring the US Junior Open. Ashaway has been making squash string since 1950, and we know very well how important the junior circuit is to the future of the sport."

Ashaway's record of innovation in squash string is also significant, Crandall added. The company introduced the first multifilament strings in the 1950s and '60s, and developed the first braided multifilament concept, SuperNick® XL, in the '70s and '80s. Over the last 20 years, Ashaway's work with space age Zyex® polymers has produced a new generation of squash strings. The Zyex monofilament line, PowerNick®, was introduced in the '90s, and the multifilament UltraNick® line in the early 2000s. Ashaway's line also includes the first ever 19 gauge squash string, PowerNick 19. As part of its Presenting Sponsor program, Ashaway will give each participant a set of its most popular brand string, SuperNick XL.

Black Knight has also been first to market with many key developments in squash, such as full graphite shafts; true one-piece graphite racquets; wide body frames; inverted racquet heads; graphite/aluminum hybrids; TurboFlex shafts; and high tension frames. Black Knight also represents Ashaway for racquet strings and continues to offer more and more models pre-strung with Ashaway string.

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 has been the Official String of USA Racquetball for more than ten years. Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co. also makes braided products for medical and industrial applications. For more information visit www.ashawayusa.com. Zyex is a registered trademark of Zyex Ltd.