13 October 2011 | Tennis Queensland

Two new perpetual trophies, for the Brisbane International men’s and women’s champions were unveiled today as part of the 2012 official launch.

The new trophies were designed by R-Co who also designed the original Brisbane International logo. The trophies’ inspiration was based on a modern interpretation of the iconic Brisbane River and sunshine.

Brisbane International Tournament Director Cameron Pearson said it was time to invest in two new trophies that will be representative of the event and will historically record every winner’s name.

“With the upgrade of the event, we felt that it was time to create perpetual trophies that will be around for the foreseeable future,” Pearson said.

“The existing trophies provided a purpose, however, it was time to modernise them and have two trophies that were representative of the event, Brisbane and Queensland.

“With the players that have been announced today it will be interesting to see who will be the first names engraved on the trophies next year,” Pearson said.

To celebrate the new perpetual Brisbane International trophies, a trophy tour will be taking place from the 16 October until 9 December.

The tour will see the trophies travel to tennis clubs and schools across the state promoting the sport in each region of Queensland.

“The Brisbane International trophy tour has been designed so that all tennis fans around Queensland can feel like they are a part of the Brisbane International even if they cannot travel to the event itself,” Pearson said.

“Our hope is that they may help inspire the next generation of tennis fans and stars who may one day get the chance to hold the Brisbane International trophies aloft like the stars of today.”

The Brisbane International trophies will be travelling through the Darling Downs and South West Queensland before heading up to the far north where the trophies will be on show in various locations including Port Douglas, Cairns, Charters Towers and Townsville.

They will then make the journey further south through the heart of central Queensland including Mackay, followed by the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast. The trophies will then reach Brisbane in the lead up to the 2012 event.

Manufactured by Charlwood, the Brisbane International trophies were designed over a three-month process, from initial hand-drawn sketches to the final technical documentation and computer rendered imagery.

The manufacturing process was done in three parts, to enable a high finish both inside and out as well as to create one seamless trophy.

The men’s and women’s perpetual trophies, and those awarded to the individual winners, will contain a separate colour inset for distinction and the perpetual trophy will be mounted onto a plinth that will contain the winner’s names over time.