P1-M JVC Open largest badminton tournament ever

Prizes worth more than P1-million in cash and kind will be up for grabs in the JVC Open Badminton Championships, making the fourth staging of the annual event the biggest and grandest not only in terms of awards but also in participation with a record field expected to compete.

Slated July 18-25 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City, the event will stake P30,000 each in the men’s and ladies singles of the elite category with the winners getting P15,000 each plus gift items. The men’s and ladies doubles and mixed doubles will offer a combined purse of P102,000 with the winners each receiving P20,000 plus merchandises.

Other events on tap are the juniors 16-under, veterans, corporate and celebrity with the sponsoring electronics giant JVC putting up a separate tournament for the collegiate level with the top eight schools invited to the two-week long championships.

Winners in the juniors and veteran divisions (all-events) will get P6,000 each while the corporate category will offer a total prize pot of P70,000 with the champion getting P30,000.

A total of P120,000 will be up for grabs in the celebrity tournament with the champions in three classes (men’s and ladies doubles and mixed doubles) receiving P20,000 each. In the school competitions, the winning men’s and women’s squads will get P10,000 each.

To top it all, a Technomarine watch worth P25,000 will be raffled off among players competing in the event backed by Colours, Alaska, Rudy Project, Accel, Ayala Center, The STAR, Tokyo Tokyo, Lactacyd, 103.5 K-lite, Toby’s Sports, IBC 13, Pinoy Exchange.Com, Pioneer Life, Gosen and Victorinox Orginal Swiss Army Knives. Technomarine is the official timepiece of the JVC Open.

Winners in the singles (both events) of the elite and junior divisions will also receive a Technomarine watch each with the champions in the elite category getting fabulous gift from JVC. Pension plans, courtesy of Pioneer Life, will be given to the winners in the veteran category. Champions in the corporate division will receive a Victorinox Original Swiss Army Knife each.

Close to 2,000 participants are expected to see action in the event, which prides itself as the very tournament that sparked the badminton boom in the country. In fact, the organizing IMG has lined up a series of qualifying rounds to accommodate the expected big number of entries and ensure its smooth staging.

The elims will be held July 11-17 at Powermash with deadline for registration set June 30. For details, call up/text Joann at 0918-5094845 or Agnes at 0919-8353689; Nelson Asuncion (725-2568 or 0917-528-8970) or IMG at 751-6751/52, 845-0162 (telefax) or email at [email protected] or visit the event’s website at www.jvcbadminton.com. Registration forms are available at the website.