The Man Behind the Tournament of Champions Magic: Event Engine's John Nimick

January 11, 2013 - 11:19am

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If you have ever attended Tournament of Champions matches, you have no doubt seen a sharply dressed man running the show. If you're in the squash know, you may be able to identify him as John Nimick, but it's possible you may not know his management ability off the court was equaled by his playing ability on it. John grew up playing squash at the Merion Cricket Club and Episcopal Academy in Pennsylvania. He enrolled at Princeton University and, in 1981, became the first Princeton player in ten years to win a national championship.

He was not only recognized for his playing ability in winning a title, but also won the Skilman Trophy, presented for leadership and sportsmanship. One year later, he established himself as the best player in the United States by winning a national title, and then turned professional on the hardball World Professional Squash Tour. He won several key titles during this time and achieved a world ranking of number 2. He also recounted several interesting airline conversations during this time. "No, really, it's a sport. I'm not a competitive agronomist."

After his pro career in 1988, John managed the World Professional Squash Association, and continued to manage it when the WPSA merged with the IPSA to form the organization known today as the PSA. He left the PSA in 1999 to form Event Engine, the company that for the last 15 years has managed several high profile sport and concert events, including the highly celebrated Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions ran in the World Financial Center for several years before a conversation prompted John to approach the Metropolitan Transportation Authority with an a request to stage a squash tournament in a venue that had prior been a commuter waiting room.

"That was 1994 and the space wasn't being used for much. I went to Metro-North, pitched the idea, and God bless them, they said yes." So successful was the move to Grand Central that the event has moved beyond squash to become (according to a must-read Yahoo Rivals blog post) one of the most iconic destinations in sports.

John's acumen for leadership was realized when he achieved the nearly impossible feat of not only shepherding the event through the seemingly overnight loss of a major sponsor (when Bear Stearns collapsed in June of 2008) but was also able to grow the event by attracting major sponsors, including American Express and eventually current sponsors JP Morgan, Lexington Partners, Comcast|NBC Universal, and Dunlop Sports.

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