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| Sports |
| Stanbic Open tourney slated for Oct 15-17 |
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by
Oris Chimenya, 28 September 2004
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20:40:06
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After their successful sponsorship of golf, netball and chess, Stanbic Bank Malawi were back on the sports scene on Monday when they launched the 2004 Stanbic Bank Open squash tournament to the tune of $4,000.
The showcase, to be played during the weekend of October 15-17, is expected to be the hottest squash battle this year.
The tournament, which was introduced last year, will attract the participation of Kenyan defending champion Prince Makuka, who beat Malawi’s national champion Aubrey Taulo 3-1 last year, professional coach Fred Chisimba from Zambia and other US-based players.
The bank’s public relations manager Margaret Kubwalo described the launch as another milestone in the history of the game and Stanbic Bank.
“We have sponsored this tournament in order to help improve the standards of squash so that our young men and women are kept busy.
“This year’s sponsorship has been trebled from last year’s [$1,200 to $4,000] and we have made it international because we want to bring together our customers as we interact with them through sports,” said Kubwalo.
She said during the tournament the bank will have a sales desk where any prospective customer who opens an account with it will win an instant give away.
Squash Malawi president Gordon Benbow praised the bank for its continued commitment to sponsoring various sporting disciplines.
“This is the second time Stanbic Bank are sponsoring an international tournament and we are very thankful to them. This year, we shall have three divisions, A, B and C plus a women’s category. The women are, however, free to join any division,” he said.
He said the tournament will be played at Blantyre Sports Club, Country Club Limbe and the St. Andrews International High School because those centres have squash facilities.
However, Benbow warned the Malawi players to tighten their belts because of the tough opposition from the other participating countries.
In the A Division, the champion stands to get $500, position two $ 300 while position three winner will get US $200.
In the B Division, the champion will get K10,000 while the Division C champion will get K8,000. The ladies champion will go away with K4,000.
The bank has been sponsoring squash since 2001 but the tournament went international only last year.
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