LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a groundbreaking initiative for the sport of squash in North America, five world-class professional tournaments, including the Evergreen Oregon Open hosted by the renowned Multnomah Athletic Club ("MAC") in Portland, Oregon, has formed the Players Cup Squash Circuit in 2008, with $370,000 in total prize money.
The Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions held at the Grand Central Station in New York earlier this month successfully kicked off the five circuit tournaments, which build qualifying points toward the Players Cup Final in Boston, March 4-7, 2008. The Final provides a winner's purse of $25,000, the largest first-place prize in North American squash history.
West Coast Bank's Chief Financial Officer Anders Giltvedt said, "West Coast Bank is thrilled to present the Portland link of the Players Cup Squash Circuit. The Evergreen Oregon Open will feature the 2002 and 2004 World Champions David Palmer from Australia and Thierre Lincou from France. MAC's own Julian Illingworth, the current three-peat US National Champion and the highest ranked US born player ever, along with a host of other world-class athletes will test their squash savvy against Palmer and Lincou. We consider this the perfect opportunity to bring an exciting and memorable spectator event to the Portland community while helping a well-deserving beneficiary."
Proceeds from the Evergreen Oregon Open Championships will benefit the Association for Retarded Citizens (Arc) in Multnomah and Clackamas counties. "The Arc President & CEO Robert Shook said, "The Arc is very grateful to West Coast Bank and Evergreen Aviation Museum for helping us serve individuals with developmental disabilities in the Portland area."
For more information or tickets, go to http://www.psaoregonopen.com/.
West Coast Bancorp , one of Oregon Business Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For, is a Northwest bank holding company with $2.6 billion in assets and 63 locations in Oregon and Washington. The company combines the sophisticated products and expertise of larger banks with the local decision making, market knowledge and customer service of a community bank. For more information, visit the Company web site at http://www.wcb.com/.
