Squash-Olympic boost offers squash springboard for bright future

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By Mark Gleeson

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -Inclusion in the Los Angeles Games has ensured a major boost for squash, which now hopes to use the opportunity to develop the sport and become a regular Olympic feature, World Squash president Zena Wooldridge said on Friday.

Squash was among five sports added to the programme for the 2028 Games as the International Olympic Committee looked to tap into new global audiences, ending decades of previously unsuccessful bids for inclusion in the Olympic programme.

“In many ways it’s been a real boost and a springboard for the sport. We instantly saw a huge surge in the motivation of players and we’ve seen an increase in funding into the sport for many, if not most, nations,” she said on the eve of World Squash Day on Saturday, which this year focuses on increasing grassroots participation.

“Suddenly, funding streams have opened that were previously not available to squash, whether that’s through National Olympic Committees or sports ministries, or access to things like Olympic Solidarity funding. There is also a greater ability to attract sponsorship as well and just a general surge and increase in profile because it’s now an Olympic sport.

“It’s just changed the whole circumstances in which we’re now managing the sport and opened new doors,” she told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Squash will be hoping to make a strong visual impact at the LA Games, with the competition hosted on a single glass court at Universal Studios.

It will be played in the evenings with a 16-player field in men’s and women’s singles competitions.

Wooldridge said they had been hoping for a 32-person draw in each competition but this was cut by budgetary considerations, which ironically might work to squash’s long-term benefit.

“Every cloud has a silver lining. We probably need a maximum of six officials as well for the whole event, so we’re a very small footprint in terms of numbers. We’re low cost in terms of both athletes and in terms of infrastructure,” she said.

“We’re only one court. We play on one court, and we have one practice court in the athletes’ village. And we will bring the courts with us, so that’s not a cost to the organising committee either.”

This, she hopes, will ensure longevity at the Games.

“We believe it will help us in terms of the economics and trying to stay in and trying to stay in the Olympics for Brisbane (2032) because we’re low footprint and low cost.”

“We need to squeeze as much value out of being an Olympic sport as we possibly can,” she added.

“We hope that in the middle of that process between now and LA, we can convince Brisbane to keep us in, and that will be a further impetus on top of that.”

(Editing by xx)