The women's event was held in October.
It was competed on indoor carpet courts and was a WTA Tier II event prior to being removed from the tour.
The men's event was held on outdoor American green clay courts at the West Hants Tennis Club in Bournemouth from 1996 to 1999, and in Brighton, on indoor hard courts in 2000.
[1] Steffi Graf won the tournament a record 6 times.
The only British winners were Sue Barker, who defeated Mima Jaušovec in 1981; and in the men's, Tim Henman, who beat Dominik Hrbatý in the final year of play.