The Olympics

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Squash, Olympics, sponsorship, TV?


 I will try to cover some of the external factors involved in the Squash arena and hopefully give you enough to consider so that you may wish to reply to me with comments, suggestions or personal opinions of your own - that’s the beauty of the Internet. 
Indeed please sign the partition later in this article for squash in the Olympics. I read in the paper last week that our good friend Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch wants to stay in his position as President of the International Olympic Committee through to the next century. I asked myself if this was good for the chances of Squash getting into the Olympics as a demonstration sport in Sydney 2000. Reluctantly I am unable to convince myself that this is the case - Squash does not have the money or resources to shower the Committee members that choose which SPORT makes the grade
or not.

 Do you think that there is too much politics in sport ? Or too much Sport in politics ? 
Am I cynical when I question how come some so called ‘sports’ have made it ? I’m sorry but hitting the floor and dancing around in practiced circles does not do it for me, balancing apples on your head isn’t an Olympic sport yet, but in 2000 Ballroom dancing will be. Is this a sport? Perhaps riding cross-country on a bike is a little more demanding, but why is it that running with the handbrake on, for the 50km walk, and every other racket sport is in, and Squash is not?

 Is there anyone out there who floats around in the water waving their arms and legs in the air, in time with the music, for fun? 

' Citius, altius, fortius '

Faster, Higher, Stronger............. is the Olympic motto. 

I believe it is the greatest occasion that a sportsperson could ever wish to be part of.

Commonwealth Games doubles medalists - why not the Olympics? 
GOLD - Mark Chaloner/Paul Johnson (Eng) 
Bronze - Mark Cairns/Chris Walker (Eng)

As an avid sports fan, I loved every second of the Atlanta Games, and all that went with it..... the time zone stagger that saw me, and most of Britain, up at 2.30am to watch the awesome speed of Michael Johnson, the unrelenting Michelle Smith in the swimming, the reflexes and ball skills of Andre Agassi in the Tennis, the teamwork of Redgrave and Pinsent as they powered to victory in the Rowing, and the grace of Merlene Ottey and Carl Lewis. All of these and more in the pursuit of excellence in their chosen field.

The fastest, fittest, and strongest athletes in the world.

There is no doubt that they have all put themselves on the rack, time and again, and then some. The dedication, sacrifice and commitment needed to attain Gold medal status, I believe, is seriously under estimated by a majority of people. The public does not see the trial and error, the blood and sweat, the ‘perfect practice’ that makes perfect, the injury and rehabilitation, the ones that didn’t make it, the ones that couldn’t handle it. It does not see the pain, only the glory. Money does not enter the equation at this point. The public just sees the final product.

Refer to the definitions below when considering some of the Olympic sports:

Sport n.. I. Amusement, diversion, game(s), especially of athletic or open-air character;
athlete n.. One who competes or excels in physical exercises.

The power to introduce a sport into the greatest arena the world has to offer lies in the hands of just a few people. If they decided to judge a sport on how physically demanding it was, how athletic it was, and NOT ‘how much money is in it’ then I believe Squash would have been there by now.

By definition, Squash is a sport of the highest athletic quality, excellence only achieved with a subtle blend of many ingredients - which other sports may need only one of ...... Speed, Strength, Stamina, timing, cunning. Adapting the words of a great British commentator, ‘there’s a lot of chess in Squash’.

The sad thing is that sport and politics are still feeding from each other, and Squash is not politically correct. If it were purely a case of being a sport considered under the Olympic ideal, how could there possibly be any argument?

Will the consciences be won over before snooker becomes the new demonstration sport of the 2000 Olympics? At the biggest sporting celebration on our planet, alongside the events we know so well and together with all the other racket sports........

I wonder...... Squash, Olympics, will we ever? Does Mr. Samaraunch?

Sponsorship & Television?

Outside of the Olympics in the other big arena for the World, Television, it seems Squash is somewhere between Tiddly-winks and Tennis. That abyss full of many many great games that don’t quite fit the bill - that haven’t quite got the correct recipe for television’s mass audience.

Demand and supply.

I am convinced that TV is the secret to unlocking doors of sponsorship, Olympic representation and new levels in the participation and intrigue for any sport.

Squash is threatening to break out of the quagmire of sports in that abyss. The exciting new product that we have to make Squash more appealing is the Perspex court..... see my home page with the court at the pyramids.
The Perspex court presents squash that is viewable from every angle. Spectators are able to watch a squash court, in essence, like a boxing ring. The walls are one-way transparent using an ingenious system on the wall called ‘contra-dot’ so spectators can see in but the players can’t see out.

The Perspex court is also extremely versatile and portable. It has been erected at the foot of the Great Pyramids of Giza (where one of Mike Tyson’s fights was refused), a circus ring in Paris, a shopping center in England, a cricket pitch in Mombai, a hotel lobby in Holland and even in Grand Central Station, New York.

At the moment a Squash tournament represents incredible value for money to a sponsor and it is only a matter of time before we see more events springing up around the world in other unusual places; gardens, airport terminals, city centers and perhaps even a function hall !

 

By Chris Walker                                                                                             
(England Squash Team Captain)

 

 

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