SQUASH BIDS FOR A PLACE ON THE OLYMPIC PROGRAMME IN 2016
Since 1986
the World Squash Federation has been working with the
International Olympic Committee towards the target of
Squash becoming an Olympic Sport.
The benefits
to Squash of being on the programme are enormous: We would
attract increased media coverage; make the sport accessible to a
new generation of players; generate new development revenue; and
bring more nations into the Squash family as National Olympic
Committees recognise the attributes of the sport and the
opportunity for Olympic medals.
The Bid for
2012
Following a
detailed review process by the IOC in 2005, two sports, Baseball
and Softball were voted off the programme for 2012. This allowed
IOC members to vote on the inclusion of two new sports to make
the maximum of 28 sports. Five "non-Olympic" sports – Squash,
Roller Sports, Golf, Karate and Rugby Sevens - had been studied
by the Olympic Programme Commission as part of its two-year
analysis. From these five "non-Olympic" sports, the IOC members
selected Squash and then Karate as the two sports which could
potentially be chosen to join the Olympic programme for London
2012. For such a selection to be endorsed, however, a
two-thirds majority was needed, since any "non-Olympic" sport
must become an Olympic sport and listed as such in the Olympic
Charter under Rule 46. Ultimately, neither Squash nor Karate
obtained this two thirds majority and will therefore not be
included for London 2012.
Forward To
2016
The IOC has
now confirmed the format for a new Review of the Programme, to
take effect at the Olympic Games 2016. A shortlist announced in
April 2008 lists Baseball, Golf, Karate, Roller Sports, Rugby,
Softball and Squash as the candidate sports. Following a change
to the Olympic Charter, the two thirds majority needed for
Olympic Sport recognition has been reduced to a simple majority.
THE BID
PROCESS AND TIME SCALE
October 2008
·
IOC Observers Sir Craig Reedie and Pierre Ducrey at the World
Championships
November
2008
·
All candidate sports present to the Olympic Programme Commission
in
Lausanne
December
2008 – March 2009
·
Detailed questionnaire to be completed
April 2009
·
Olympic Programme Commission report preparation
June
2009
·
Presentation of the Olympic Programme Commission report to IOC
Executive Board
·
Presentation by selected IFs to the IOC Executive Board;
October 2009
·
Executive Board proposal submitted to IOC session in Copenhagen
THE RULES OF
THE BID
·
The Rules of Conduct must be respected by the WSF and any person
or organisation acting on their behalf
·
Promotional materials may be sent to IOC Members until September
2009
·NO
visits to IOC Members by the WSF or anyone acting on their
behalf or supporting them
·NO
receptions for IOC Members
·NO
payment of travel or accommodation costs
·NO
gifts
·
All invitations to be cleared through the IOC Sports Department
·NO
acts or statements that comment negatively on other sports
WSF
OBJECTIVES
·To
achieve a positive report from the Manchester
observation programme
·To
present an irresistible and memorable case to the Olympic
Programme Commission
·To
achieve endorsement of our Bid at the Executive Board
presentation
·To
convince 107 IOC members that they should vote for squash at the
IOC session in Copenhagen,
October 2009
Squash
Presents A Compelling Case For Inclusion On The Olympic
Programme, After Experiencing Significant Global Growth Since
Being Voted The Number One Sport At The 2005 IOC Session In
Singapore
The Olympic
Dream:
An Olympic medal would be the most important prize in a Squash
player’s career and the Olympic Games would be the most
important event in the sport. Every top player in the world
would guarantee to play in the Olympics.
Universality:
Squash is played by an estimated 15 million people in over 155
countries - with more than a quarter of a million registered
athletes and over 600 professional athletes.
Spread of
Medals:
19 countries are represented in the top 32 of the Men’s and
Women’s World Rankings. A 32 draw Olympic event would be of the
highest standard of play.
Squash For
All:
Squash is first and foremost a ‘participant sport’; the vast
majority of people associated with it actually play. Squash is a
perfect way to combat inactivity, lack of fitness and obesity
and has real health and recreational benefits for society.
Youth:
One of the key Olympic objectives is to engage with youth.
Juniors are an area of rapid growth in Squash, both at
recreational level and elite levels. The 2008 World Men's
Junior Championships in Switzerland boasted a record entry and
World Junior Championships for girls and boys will now be held
annually due to demand from WSF Member nations. A new Junior
global ranking system is being instituted. The flourishing
European Junior Circuit featured 21 tournaments in 17 different
countries in the 2007/08 season, with a record number of
entries.
Elite Squash:
Squash has flourishing, world-wide professional tours for Men
and Women with prize money of over $5 million in 2008. World
Championships have been held annually for over 40 years for Men
and Women at Individual, National Team, Junior, Masters and
players with hearing disabilities levels.
Gender
Balance:
Women account for 30% of all recreational players and 37% of
professional athletes. The WSF board has led the way
internationally by having a 60/40 male/female breakdown since
1991.
Major Games:
Squash is played in over 20 Multi-Sport Games including the
World Games, All-Africa Games, Asian Games, Pan-American Games,
Commonwealth Games (in which it has been named as a 'core
sport'), World University Championships and World Masters Games
and is bidding for inclusion in the Mediterranean Games 2013. In
1991 it was played in only two Multi-Sport Games.
Doping:
Squash has a strong anti-doping culture and dope testing
programme. The number of positive tests in the past decade has
been negligible.
The Olympic
Event:
Squash in the Olympic Games would feature 32-draw Men’s &
Women’s events. It would be played on all-glass, demountable
courts which are inexpensive for the Host City and leave no
‘white elephant facility’ problems.
Television:
Aided by the all-glass court, TV production technology has
developed positively in the past few years - and Squash is now
regularly featured on TV in more than 125 countries across all
continents
Web
Streaming: Squash was
in the vanguard of web-streaming and in the past three years has
attracted large audiences. The last two World Championships
each reached audiences in over 75 countries while PSALIVE.tv
features Men’s and Women’s Tour events and has over 30,000 paid
subscribers.
Athleticism:
The most important feature of Squash. Squash is supremely
athletic - a dynamic, competitive, skilful and physically
challenging sport with one-against-one matches decided on
objective results. There is no place to hide on a Squash court.
