New England

Connecticut open brings on new tournament partners

August 03, 2018


CONNECTICUT OPEN STEPS UP ITS MISSION TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY BY FOCUSING ON CHARITY GIVING WITH NEW TOURNAMENT PARTNERS

WTA Premier event leverages world class women’s tennis to give back to local causes


NEW HAVEN, Conn., August 2, 2018- The Connecticut Open, a women’s professional tennis tournament, that is part of the US Open series, announced plans today to step up its charity mission by partnering with new tournament sponsors to create initiatives that give back to the local community. A long-term goal of the WTA Premier event that takes place August 17-25 has been to leverage the excitement of world-class women’s tennis to raise millions of dollars for those in need in New Haven and surrounding communities.

 

“After celebrating our 20th anniversary of women’s tennis in New Haven last year, we want 2018 to be the year where we give back even more to the community that has supported us on this incredible journey,” said Tournament Director Anne Worcester. “We have worked to partner with new partners and sponsors, all of whom take our mission to heart and we are creating new exciting initiatives to raise funds and awareness for local causes while having fun with our fans at the same time.”

 

The tournament, a not-for-profit organization, will continue to focus on women, youth and military causes. 2017 highlights include raising more than $15,000 for breast cancer research at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven, assisting the Connecticut Food Bank in providing more than 16,000 meals, partnering with Yale University to raise more than $1.3 million for Yale-based community programs, and collecting 915 pounds of shoes to be refurbished and distributed across the world as part of Soles4Souls.

 

This year, the Connecticut Open will be focusing on the following initiatives:

 

Smilow Breast Cancer Research


The Connecticut Open fundraises for Breast Cancer research at Smilow Cancer Hospital in several ways and has raised more than $125,000 since 2011. 100% of all funds raised are earmarked for the Lion Heart Fund at Smilow Breast Center which funds international cutting-edge research to find a cure for breast cancer. Tournament sponsors, partners and Board Members make donations for Smilow Cancer Hospital. Fans can also make donations via http://lionheart.everydayhero.do/


This year’s inaugural Connecticut Open Beer Fest, to be held on Saturday, August 25th, will donate a portion of ticket proceeds to Smilow, while new Silver sponsor, Stewart’s All-American Restaurants, will be donating 50 per cent of every dollar raised from selling their famous Root Beer Floats. Lastly, on Friday, August 24, spectators may visit the new Cornerstone Sponsor Connecticut Magazine/Hearst Media Group booth and contribute directly to Smilow's Lion Heart Fund. Donors may also opt to have their photographs taken, which could appear on ConnecticutMag.com, NHRegister.com and associated publication sites.


Connecticut Food Bank


Connecticut Open partners with Platinum Sponsor ShopRite around its Partners in Caring Food Drive, an initiative to help fight hunger. Fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item all week long and the collected items will be donated to the Connecticut Food Bank. Connecticut Food Bank ambassadors will also be throughout the grounds accepting monetary donations to help raise funds.


Bombas


Connecticut Open sponsor Bombas Socks is generously donating 500 pairs of socks to two Connecticut Homeless Shelters; Interval House Hartford and Columbus House.  Interval House is the largest domestic violence agency in the state of Connecticut.  Columbus House is a 501c3 non-profit organization that has been providing solutions to homelessness since 1982.

 

Military Appreciation Day presented by WWE
 
The Connecticut Open and WWE are honored to invite all military service members and veterans to attend the finals on Saturday, August 25 with a guest.  In addition to complimentary tickets, Military Appreciation Day presented by WWE will feature a Military Outpost providing light refreshments in an air-conditioned hospitality suite.  For more information, visit: www.ctopen.org/Tickets/military_appreciation
 
50/50 PROJECT


The 50-50 Project help supports the Connecticut Open’s non-profit mission by allowing area non-profits the opportunity to raise funds through the tournament.  Non-profits that join the program receive an exclusive promo code for 25% savings on tickets to the tournament.  After the tournament, organizations will receive a check for all of the net profits generated from sales with their code.  For a complete list of non-profits participating in the 50/50 Project visit: http://www.ctopen.org/TicketsAndTravel/5050_project/?intloc=headernavsub
 
Autism Awareness


The Connecticut
Open, in conjunction with partners ASD Fitness, Chapel Haven and Clifford Beers Clinic celebrates Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday, August 22 in order to raise awareness around Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It will be a fun-filled afternoon featuring arts and crafts, adaptive tennis, interactive fitness clinics with complimentary food and drink available in an air-conditioned sensory-friendly area overlooking Stadium Court.
Connecticut Open Summer Reading Program

The Connecticut Open Summer Reading Program is part of the tournament’s efforts to support area youth.  Students who read 5 books over the summer will receive a free ticket to any day session at the tournament, including Kids Day on Sunday, August 19 and Family Day (featuring the women’s semifinal at 3 p.m.) on August 24.  Registration forms were distributed at 150 public libraries across the state and are available at the Connecticut Open Box Office.
 
New HYTEs


New Haven Youth Tennis & Education (New HYTEs) was created in 2004 as a partnership among the Connecticut Open, New Haven Parks & Rec, New Haven Public Schools, Yale Athletics and the US Tennis Association.  The mission of New HYTEs is to enrich the lives and positively affect the futures of New Haven's economically disadvantaged youth through a program that incorporates life skills curriculum and academic supports, and promotes both character building and the health benefits of participation in athletics through tennis.
In addition to playing host to year-round tennis, education and mentoring programs (TEaM), New HYTEs youth participate in tournament activities such as the Draw Ceremony, Opening Night Ceremony as well as serving as ballpersons.  

 

Tickets for the 2018 Connecticut Open are available at CTOpen.org/Tickets or by calling the box office at 1-855-464-8366.  Individual session tickets start at $25 for adults and $15 for children 14 and younger.  Multi-session packages are available online or through the box office and offer up to 24% savings including:
•       AFTER HOURS (all evening sessions and Saturday’s final)
•       PICK 4 (four sessions of your choice from Sunday through Thursday)
•       FINAL 4 (the last four sessions including Thursday night’s quarterfinal and men’s legends, Friday’s semifinals and men’s legends and Saturday’s finals).
Weeklong box seats, which offer more than 45% savings versus individual session prices, may be purchased through the box office only.  Tickets for Beer Fest at the Connecticut Open on Saturday, August 25 are available at bit.ly/BeerFestatCTO
 
About Connecticut Open
The Connecticut Open is a WTA tournament held at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale featuring a 30-player singles main draw, a 48-player qualifying draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $799,000. The 2017 title was won by Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, who collected her maiden WTA trophy as the tournament celebrated 20 years of women’s tennis in New Haven. Past champions include Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport (2 titles), Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams (4), Justine Henin, Caroline Wozniacki (4) and Petra Kvitova (3). As a not-for-profit 501c3 charitable organization, the Connecticut Open’s mission is to leverage the excitement of world-class women’s tennis to benefit the local community and maximize support for women’s, youth and other causes. The tournament also generates $10+ million in regional economic impact. The Connecticut Open is prominently featured domestically through 50+ hours on ESPN2 and ESPN3 and is also broadcast internationally by WTA Media in 158 countries. In 2017, the global audience reached nearly 12 million viewers. For more details and tickets, visit www.ctopen.org or call 1-855-464-8366

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