By Frank van Loon, World Squash Federation, Vice-President
No, I don’t mean Hannibal Barkas. Although his genial tactics were admired from Napoleon to the Duke of Wellington to more recent General Schwarzkopf and we could surely hope our tactics will deliver Squash a spot on the Olympic theater in 2016 as it delivered Hannibal many victories including traveling the Pyrenees and Alps with war elephants.
Don’t mean Hannibal Lecter either. Sir Anthony Hopkins’ character as most memorable villain would probably inform us of the desired talks to talk to our esteemed IOC members so that they vote for Squash, but the price we need to pay…
I mean Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith [George Peppard], leader of the fictive A-team televised in the 80’s. His phrase “I love it when a plan comes together” is the one we can start preparing for.
An illustrious group came together in the midst of January. Members of the Global Squash Society, representing WSF, WISPA, PSA and various knowledgeable others, completed a flight plan and sent it flying. We’re not “on the jazz” any longer. We have a plan.
Te be clear on this; a plan is as a ladder. A number of sports that together make the ladder. We need to take all the sports to reach the top. All of them. This is a massive task. Although nicely staffed, the bid team could still use your donations. The better we can perform, the better our result will be.
What anthem will be played when the squash athletes climb the podium?
It’s way too early to start other needed plans but no harm in mentioning a few:
What about coaches/trainers? Are there enough of them around? Are they sufficiently trained to work with the 12-16 year olds of today, preparing them for the Olympics of 2016? Is there enough out there to promote squash to the wide group of current “non-Squash youngsters” in which among them also could be the first Olympic Gold Medalists? Staffing the National bodies with professionals who’ll create tournaments and leagues, making sure the competition element is around…
We used “Anyone, Any Time, Any Place” as our slogan for a presentation to the IOC in December. Any suggestion on other usable slogans we would love to receive via olympics@worldsquash.org.
The Plan Will Come Together.
