La Banque Nationale : a partner for the future

July 18, 2005

Last March, La Banque Nationale earned a place of honour within tennis’s great family by becoming the presenting sponsor of the Rogers Cup’s Montreal edition until 2009.

But the commitment of the bank, whose involvement in sports in Quebec aims to encourage excellence and determination as well as the training and development of both athletes and people, extends well beyond the Rogers Cup. In fact, it also has become the main sponsor of a brand-new development circuit made up of six new professional tournaments in Quebec – four men’s Futures events with $10,000 (U.S.) purses, and two women’s Challenger tournaments with $25,000 (U.S.) purses. These tournaments will be played in outlying areas beginning this fall.

The Futures and Challenger tournaments are the professional tour’s entry-level competitions. They allow promising hopefuls to earn valuable world ranking points so they can move up through the ranks, and later earn the right to participate in the major tournaments.

Prior to Banque Nationale’s arrival, too few of these tournaments took place in this country. Our players constantly had to travel far and wide, for weeks at a time, to « earn their stripes » abroad.

This new circuit won’t benefit only the players. Tennis fans in areas far removed from Montreal and Quebec City will have an opportunity to see high-level tennis in their corner of the world.

In addition to the development circuit, the Banque Nationals also has set up a special fund that will distribute $50,000 annually to young Quebec athletes setting out on the international circuit. The recipients will be announced shortly.

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