Festive April 6-8 Portland, Oregon, Drops and Hops Event Seeking Final Open & Amateur Players March 26, 2018
Drops & Hops
Some things just go great together. Think movies and popcorn, rainy
days with grilled cheese and tomato soup, or coffee and having to get
out of bed.
Ask MAC Squash Pro Ashley Read, though, and you’ll get a different
spin. “Beer and Squash,” he says. “They really go together.” To put it
another way, Drops & Hops make for a tasty pairing.
Read should know. Since 2014, he’s spearheaded MAC’s Squash program,
overseeing a yearly tournament that brought in top-tier talent and
helped to knit together a growing local community. In that time, he’s
seen what works and what doesn’t, and has applied those insights to
what he hopes will be a marquee event for years to come.
From April 6-8, MAC will host some of the top amateur players from up
and down the West Coast during the Drops & Hops Squash Tournament,
sponsored by Legacy Health Urgent Care. The event is made up of Men’s
and Women’s 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 division action, plus an Open category with $2,000 in prize money going to the top four finishers.
Just in case they’re a little thirstier, too, Read has partnered with
Barley Brown’s to create the perfect brew to wash down all that Squash.
A bottle of Drops & Hops IPA comes with each entry to the
tournament, and there will be cold kegs of the draught on-hand all
weekend long.
“Even if you don’t like beer, you can’t say no thought went into it,”
he says, laughing. “People want to see value for their money, and our
hope is that we’ve packed this event so full of it that it will evolve
into something with a life of its own.”
In addition to the custom IPA, registrants receive a drink ticket and
meal at a big Saturday night party at sponsoring luxury spot The Mark
Spencer Hotel, and refreshments throughout the weekend. Each
participant is guaranteed two matches. Cost to enter is $95, and
players can register at ussquash.com.
For more information, contact Ashley Read at aread@themac.com
