Publishers Note Shortlisted…again

By Jay D. Prince

Just under two years ago, in September 2009, the sport of squash had it’s Olympic hopes snuffed out for 2016—just four years after experiencing the elation of being included for 2012 only to be knocked out when the final vote by the IOC was made a few hours later.

So now, with an eye toward 2020, the International Olympic Committee has once again put Squash on a “short list” of sports to be considered for inclusion in the Olympic Games. Also shortlisted are baseball, softball, karate, roller sports, sports climbing, wake-board and wushu. That last one sounds like something I’d eat for dinner to me, but it’s another martial art.

The easy response is to shrug our shoulders, shake our heads, and just say, “What’s the point?” Making that knee-jerk conclusion even simpler is the fact that a current sport on the Olympic program would have to be eliminated since there are already 28 sports on the docket—the maximum number allowed by the IOC.

But the reality is that, in the United States anyway, squash would benefit in a major way if it were to finally be included on the Olympic Program. Today, our National Governing Body (U.S. SQUASH) receives very little funding from the U.S. Olympic Committee, and our athletes rarely have the opportunity to use USOC training resources. Our athletes are on the outside looking in.

As a medal sport, however, the cash infusion by the USOC to U.S. SQUASH would likely be somewhere in the $200K- $300K range. Our athletes would gain access to Olympic training centers. And most importantly, the sport would benefit from a higher-level of awareness that would trickle down in terms of sponsorship, growth of the game and membership in our Association. We’re talking about a huge plus for the sport of squash.

Given the challenges facing our sport, as well as the other seven, it seems unlikely that we would gain gold medal status in 2020. The IOC won’t even know where the 2020 Games are being staged until 2013, during the same meetings that will determine the fate of squash. But before you assume that baseball and softball are probably shoe-ins, keep in mind that those are two separate sports; they are not both under the umbrella of a single game played on a diamond. So even if one sport were dropped for 2020, there would still be only one spot up for grabs.

From an American perspective, 2020 seems like a “golden” opportunity. By then, our junior girls of today, who are expected to be competing for a podium position at this month’s Junior World Championships, will be in their mid-20’s—the prime of their playing lives.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, being a part of the Olympics would just be very cool! As I’ve said before, one of the best weeks of my life was taking in the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010. The vibe throughout Vancouver was fabulous. The excitement of being up close and personal, while watching every athlete give it their all—after a lifetime of training—was inspiring. You could feel the heartbreak when a Dutch speedskater rounded the first corner of the long-track 500 speedskating prelims crashed and slid nearly 50 meters into the padded walls. And the elation of the Australian woman who won the Half-pipe gold medal gave me chills.

Say what you want about the politics of the Olympics. It’s hard to argue with you. But sports are big business, and there are few big businesses that aren’t full of politics. So it’s up to the World Squash Federation to jump through hoops and present the best possible case for Squash. While the cost to chase the Olympic dream is big, the payoff would be off the charts.

Let’s just hope that one day, whether 2020, 2024 or 2028, we will be able to watch Jahangir Khan or Sarah Fitz-Gerald take part in the Olympic Torch Relay!