Qualifying ages held as World Masters heads to 33-court Hasta La Vista in Poland

By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

The 2020 World Masters, scheduled to take place in August this year, has been moved back 12 months and will now take place at the world’s biggest squash club in 2021.

The World Squash Federation (WSF) today confirmed that the World Masters Championships, originally postponed from August 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, have been rescheduled to take place from August 15-21, 2021.

Additionally, the WSF has approved the qualifying age for the postponed event, which will remain as per the original start date of the event on 23 August 2020. This ensures that those who entered this year’s event still qualify for the same age group on the new dates.

The world’s biggest squash club, Hasta la Vista, will host the world’s leading Masters players, with a wide range of nationalities represented throughout all draws, which range from over-35 to over-80s.

Hasta la Vista, in the beautiful and historic Polish city of Wroclaw, has 33 courts including two all-glass courts, plus impressive facilities including a restaurant, spacious gym, plus fitness and physio facilities in a total area of over 10,000 square metres.

The Hasta La Vista Club has built a reputation as a premier squash venue and has hosted prestigious squash championships before, including the 2013 World Junior Championships, the 2017 World Games and the European Masters Championships and European Team Championships in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

“The World Masters Squash Championships is a highly-anticipated tournament on the global squash calendar,” said WSF Chief Executive William Louis-Marie.

“While we are naturally disappointed that the challenges arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic have prevented us from holding the championships on its intended date, we have worked hard to ensure that we still have an opportunity to welcome players from around the world to Wroclaw next summer.

“I would like to thank the Hasta La Vista Club for their help in ensuring that this top-class tournament can still go ahead, while I’d also like to thank all players involved for their patience and cooperation while we have sought to find alternative dates for the tournament.”

Hasta La Vista Club owner Zenon Waniak said: “Squash is one of the most exciting sports in the world, full of positive emotions and energy, and creates opportunities to make new friends through playing on the court.

“Masters Championships are known to take advantage of this like no other event; hence I invite all players from all continents to participate in the WSF World Masters Championships 2021 and to be a part of its prestigious and unique atmosphere.”

For more information on the World Masters Squash Championships, visit the tournament website or follow the championships on Facebook.

Picture courtesy of WSF