Pauls opening dinner will take place on Thursday 6 March 2008,

Tickets are now available from the club shop priced at £35 for dining and £10 for non - dining.

To reserve tickets please email Paul directly on paulhightontestimonial@hotmail.co.uk or phone the club shop on 0161 736 6564.

Tickets will also be available from Shorley Bradshaw before and after the game in the Willows on Friday night

Salford University exercise and health students put the Salford City Reds first team through their paces this morning when the players dropped into the University’s high-tech human performance labs for a gruelling fitness testing session. As the Reds geared up for the new season, students from the Faculty of Health & Social Care analysed the team’s levels of strength, flexibility, endurance, speed, agility and body fat – using cutting-edge laser technology. It was the second time the students had got to grips with the players, and heralded a new community partnership between the University and the club – about to be launched at Friday’s home game against Swinton Lions. The University’s Sports Science and Partnership Manager, Chris Bamber said: “The fitness testing session couldn’t have gone better.  The players really benefited from understanding more about their fitness levels and hopefully we’ve helped them train smarter and win more matches. “The students also benefited enormously from this hands-on experience working with some of the best rugby league players in the country.  It’s all part of the University’s mission to make learning more relevant and practical.” Some of the assessments involved a ‘speed gun’ which fires laser beams to measure how fast the players can sprint, a ‘power mat’ which gauges how high they can jump, and a ‘dynometer’ machine which uses air resistance to calculate strength.The results will be translated by the University into reports which Reds coaches can use to plan training strategy.  Head Coach, Shaun McRae, said: “It’s a great partnership.  We’re seeing some real benefits from working with Salford University and I’m confident their work will help boost our performance this season.” The University’s state-of-the-art human performance labs are among the best in the UK, and students studying exercise and health have regular access to the facilities.  For more information on the facilities and the courses, go to www.chssc.salford.ac.uk/exerciseandhealth

A world record attempt for the greatest number of consecutive passes of a rugby league ball is being made on 29 February to launch Salford University’s Community Partnership with Salford City Reds - and local people are being asked to help out. The University and the Reds want 300 local people to help beat the current record of 280 consecutive 5m passes in one hour - and earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records. The attempt, which will take place before the game against Swinton Lions, is to officially announce a community link-up between the Reds and the University. The partnership has already seen the University team receive coaching and kit and the Reds receive advice on sports psychology and the use of state-of-the-art fitness testing facilities. People who want to get involved should come along to the ground for 6.00pm. Chris Bamber who is employed by the University and the club to co-ordinate the new partnership said: “With the world record attempt and the excitement of a rugby league game, this should be a great night. “We want as many people as possible to come along and get involved in what promises to be a great night.”

Salford City Reds today officially launches its new club blog, a new service that will give staff and players the opportunity to post articles on a regular basis, that will also be used as a method of providing extra newsworthy content for the Reds website.

Blogging is seen as a major part of the future of the internet and the club hope to tune into this technology to enable them to interact with their fans more efficiently.

Reds Marketing Manager, Paul McNally said “We see the blogs as an important part of the natural evolution of Reds.co.uk.  The system we have in place is world class and it allows two way communication between the club and its most important asset – its supporters.”

With the National media now using blogging as an innovative marketing tool the Reds have now shown that they are once again at the forefront of online technology.

McNally Continued  “Fans can apply to become bloggers.  What we are looking for are people with interesting observations about the club, be they from the modern era or stretching back into the past.  We want the blogs to become an interactive record of our hundred plus years at the Willows on the cusp of a new era.”