PSA Delighted By IOC 2020 Shortlist Announcement by Howard Harding
July 5, 2011-
News that Squash has been shortlisted by the IOC for consideration for
the 2020 Olympic Games has been greeted with enthusiasm by the
Professional Squash Association, organisers of the flourishing PSA
World Tour.
"We are delighted that Squash has been included on the IOC's shortlist
again," said PSA CEO Alex Gough. "We have already been working hard on
the feedback that we were given by the IOC during the last race for
inclusion. We have now filmed Squash in HD and are able to roll this
out across all of the World Series events.
"Presentation of events is now World Class and worthy of any Olympic
show. The whole squash community will be behind this bid for inclusion
as squash's athletes are amongst the fittest and most talented on the
planet. Their skills need to be showcased at the 2020 Olympics and that
is what we are planning towards."
The World Squash Federation has been leading the bid to have the sport
added to the Olympic programme. WSF President N Ramachandran, said: "We
are delighted to be given this new opportunity to be considered for
inclusion in the Olympic Sports Programme. I am confident that we will
be able to show the IOC Programme Commission, the Executive Board and
wider IOC membership that our case has become even stronger over recent
years.
"I truly believe that Squash would be a great Olympic sport. It fulfils
all the criteria for inclusion in the Games, has proven universality
and growth and we have an absolute commitment from all our top athletes
that an Olympic medal would be the pinnacle of their careers. We also
have high-profile world champions, exciting world championships for men
and women, massive participation from juniors to masters on all
continents and a healthy, thriving programme of youth development
worldwide.
"Squash has benefitted from some incredibly exciting technical
innovations in recent years, including courts that can be sited in
iconic settings such as the Pyramids and New York's Grand Central
Station, vastly-improved television coverage in HD with multiple camera
positions, and 'super slow-mo' replays. We are not a sport that stands
still. All this and the fact that Squash is a wonderful example of
one-on-one sporting gladiatorial competition, would make it a perfect
addition to the Games.
"Our campaign starts with new energy and vigour as of today and I am
delighted that we will have an opportunity to take our message to the
whole Olympic and sporting family over the next two years."
The world's leading players, led by Egypt's four-time world champion
Amr Shabana, recently pledged their support for the bid for Squash to
become an Olympic sport by signing a declaration that An Olympic Gold
Medal Would Be The Ultimate Prize In Squash.
The PSA has 500 members from 67 countries. The 2011 PSA World Tour -
boasting an anticipated prize-fund of more than three million US
dollars - is led by nine PSA World Series events, including the JP
Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York, the North American Open in
Virginia and the US Open in Philadelphia; the Australian Open in
Canberra; the ROWE British Grand Prix in Manchester; the Qatar Classic
in Doha; the Hong Kong Open; the Kuwait Open; and the Punj Lloyd PSA
Masters in India.