More on Nick's Need for More Technology by Nick-at-Will September 24, 2015
- Nick Matthew (current #1 professional squash player in the world)
wrote an article regarding the need for more technology in the game of
squash. This is what he (basically) said...
"In squash, we
have been using video replays for key lets and stroke decisions. That
has been in place for a number of years now and has definitely improved
the consistency of decisions."
However...word has it that the technology is already there! However, no
one can afford it! At the moment with three cameras, it costs a
tournament approximately $60,000 to have video reviews. To add video
reviews of pick-ups, etc. would take at least another three cameras.
Many tournaments have already said "no thanks" to the video reviews
because of the expense. As an example, the Australian Open was lost for
a couple of years because they couldn't raise the cash for this
"technology."
So the question is...where does the money come from? Well...the $60,000
has to come out of the tournament budget! It pays for the travel,
accommodations and meals of the crew, plus the transportation and/or
renting the equipment locally. It's not sure if the Tournament has to
pay wages to the crew as well (four people) during whatever event.
It's been reported that the crew demands single rooms in a five-star
hotel. It's also reported that Squash TV doesn't make much (if any)
money anyway, as they've never had enough subscribers to make it
profitable. "More technology for professional squash"...get out your
Gold cards guys!
