UCT to raise cancer awareness via international squash tournament

The tournament will bring together 20 participants from over 10 countries, as well as 11 men and women ranked among the top 20 in South Africa.

The UCT tournament is named after Keith Grainger, a former UCT student who died from cancer. His contribution to squash at UCT between 1999 and 2001 was immense, despite his reliance on a prosthetic leg. He died in September 2001 during his third year.

This year's Keith Grainger Memorial UCT Open Championships, the eighth event of its kind, will again aim to raise funds for and awareness around cancer prevention.

Kerr Rogers, sports coordinator at UCT, said: "The UCT Squash Club has encouraged the local community to get involved and support the event on and off the court. Spectators will be guaranteed plenty of drama on the court, with SA's best players matching their skills against players ranked among the top 100 in the world. All donations received will be handed over to the Cancer Association of South Africa at the prize-giving on 4 May."

Results from the event will also be used by Western Province Squash to help select its provincial teams for the South African inter-provincial tournament, the Jarvis/Kaplan Cup.

Background

Keith Grainger was diagnosed with bone cancer in the knee during his matric year at St Andrew's College, Grahamstown. He was an outstanding young squash player and won the U-13 SA Schools Championships.

At UCT he devoted much of his time and energy towards developing the game. He helped beginners to improve their technique and was central to organising the first UCT Squash Tour to the USA in December 2000.

The UCT Squash Committee honoured Keith in 2002 by naming the UCT tournament after him. Grainger's family also lend their support to this tournament. Keith's sister, Natalie, a former World No 1 squash player, previously attended the tournament and helped to raise funds for prize money.

The Grainger family continue to help raise funds and have attracted sponsorships from Blue Orchard Capital, Harrow and the Pan-African Private Equity Fund.

Keith's parents, Chris and Jean, a former British Open squash champion, also play an active role in squash in Johannesburg.

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