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Maui Jim helps officials at W&S Open

August 7, 2014

Lahaina, HI — Focused on improving visibility during sports and outdoor activities, Maui Jim, the fastest growing manufacturer of premium polarized sunglasses, will be outfitting officials and line judges in high-performance sunglasses for the Western & Southern Open, many of whom may choose to wear the on the courts from August 9 to 17. This is Maui Jim’s first appearance at the Open as a guest of Sunglass Hut. Coming off of several years of fitting officials at tournaments around the world, this is the first tournament in the United States that will feature Maui Jim.

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The use of Maui Jim sunglasses by officials in major tournaments started in 2011 when line judges at the Valencia 500 reported improved definition and depth perception to help them spot balls and make calls. At that tournament, statistics indicated that line judges were correct on nearly 75 percent of the occasions when a player called for Hawkeye to confirm if the balls were in or out.

Since then, other tournaments have discovered the benefits of the company’s PolarizedPlus2® lens technology that cuts 99.9 percent of glare and eliminates 100 percent of all UV rays on both sides of each lens to reduce eye strain. A distinguishing feature of all Maui Jim lenses is the rich and vibrant color that you see. This is the result of using three rare earth elements and other treatments to white-balance Maui Jim’s lenses, so colors remain pure and true. Additional sun protection is provided by the patented bi-gradient mirrors that are darker at the top and bottom of each lens, so the lenses essentially squint for the wearer. Maui Jim lenses offer scratch-resistant protection and use waterproof and oleophobic coatings to shed water and repel grease and smudges. All Maui Jim sunglasses have been awarded the Seal of Recommendation from The Skin Cancer Foundation, recognition that the lenses provide safe and effective sun protection and are an important part of an effective defense program against skin cancers of the eye and eyelids.

Maui Jim offers more than 112 different styles of sunglasses with specific features and benefits for a wide range of outdoor activities. They manufacture four different lens materials that offer different benefits and levels of durability, depending on the performance required of specific outdoor sports. They also offer different lens colors that enhance the details you can see in different light conditions.

“Maui Jim is a company whose technology was invented to combat the harsh rays of the sun on the beaches of Maui,” said Jay Black, Vice President of Global Marketing at Maui Jim. “We are now one of the only eyewear companies to receive the Seal of Recommendation from The Skin Cancer Foundation in recognition of the protection that our sunglasses provide from UV rays. Since these officials are spending long days in the sun, we are proud to provide them with protection that can take the heat.”

In addition to officials who may choose to wear their Maui Jims during the tournament, several of the company’s tennis Ambassadors will be playing in the tournament, including David Ferrer (ATP No. 7), Philipp Kolschreiber (ATP No. 28) and Martina Hingis (WTA Doubles No. 43).

The Western & Southern Open is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, 20 miles north of Cincinnati in Mason, OH. The tournament is one of the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 events on the men’s tour and a Premier 5 event for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), making it one of only five events in the world outside of the grand slams with events of that caliber occurring during the same week at the same venue. The tournament is also one of the last stops on the Emirates Airline US Open Series before the US Open in New York. Since 1974, the tournament has contributed more than $9 million directly to its beneficiaries: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Barrett Cancer Center and Tennis for City Youth.

Maui Jim has been voted favorite sunglasses company and best sunglasses by optical retailers and many of the top health, fitness and outdoor sports media around the world. For more information, visit MauiJim.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @OfficialMauiJim.