Squash Luminaries Back the Bid in Los Angeles by Nick Will June 26, 2013
- Squash Professional Barb Cooper of Toronto, host of Help My Squash
Game. com, co-chair of the 2015 Pan Am Games and author of "Double Up"
a book written to build mental strength and competitive readiness,
"Backs The Bid" for squash becoming an Olympic sport in 2020.
Kicking off a weekend business trip to LA, Barb attended a dinner in
her honor at the prestigious Los Angeles Athletic Club with friends Bob
Hanscom, retired LAAC Squash Professional, Debbie Brown and Orla
O'Doherty, Squash professionals up in Santa Barbara, squash players
Michael Cahill, TCW General Council, David Kaye, well known voice-over
actor, John Dewis, Harvard Crimson contributing writer/actor, attorney
Rene' Kern and Ed Brooks, real-estate investor and long-time patron of
squash.
Barb had this to say at the dinner: "Having been involved with squash
for over four decades, I have watched many sports be accepted into the
Olympics...over squash! It should be squash's time now! Forbes magazine
has said it is the healthiest sport on the planet - and as we are a
global sport with both genders playing, I see no reason why squash does
not merit entry. Having experienced World Championships as both a
player and a National Coach, I know the value of these world class
competitions - to the players, the sport organizations, the city of the
competition and the sport's future development. There can be no other
choice than to vote squash a spot in the 2020 Olympic Games - and I
look forward to seeing squash get the exposure and recognition it
deserves when this happens."
Left to right: John Dewis; Debbie Brown; Michael Cahill; Orla O'Doherty;
Barbara Cooper; Bob Hanscom; Ed Brooks; David Kaye; Rene' Kern
The main topic of discussion centered around the questions of why the
IOC should vote squash into the 2020 Summer Olympic Games - and what
the result of that happening would mean to the sport...world wide!
Ms. O'Doherty said: "For 30 years, maybe even more, (as far back as I
can remember since I picked up a racquet), I have longed for squash to
be an Olympic sport. Growing up representing Ireland throughout my
junior and early senior years, my team-mates and I supported each other
at home, international and World Open events. Then sitting in front of
the television every four years, glued to the Olympic Games, wondering
why on earth, our sport was not included. I think I've seen eight
Olympics with our beloved sport not included. Now, to hear that we are
short-listed as one of the top three, almost brings tears to my eyes,
wishing I were still young enough to compete at this level. What a joy
that would be! No doubt, if (and when!) it happens, I will most
certainly try to get tickets to the event to support my country of
birth - Ireland - as well as my new found home, the USA. I can't
wait for this to happen, to see our athletes finally recognized among
the worlds greatest ever."
Mr. Cahill said: "Getting squash into the Olympics will bring attention
to a sport that is widely played across the world in both the first and
emerging worlds. In fact, many of the best squash-players are from the
emerging world. This will highlight their athletic talent on the world
stage. The story of Jahangir Khan is an inspirational one of a
bare-footed boy from a northern Pakistan village who practiced in the
mid-day heat when the English officers shunned the courts. He rose to
become the king off squash. If squash makes the Olympic cut, it will
bring prominence and attention to the sport in colleges, sports clubs
and high schools across the world. This will mean more funding
for the sport for these institutions, more parent support to get
children playing and more corporate sponsor support for events, both
live and televised."
David "the voice" Kaye said: "Having the sport I love in the Olympics
would mean recognition long overdue. Many people have no idea of the
level of fitness and skill involved. I believe it represents the
Olympic ideal in many ways. GO SQUASH!!"
Ed Brooks said: "It's all about the money! For squash to be promoted
properly, (like any successful "business,") it takes money! Marketing
and promoting squash in a "business-like" way would result in greater
mass media exposure, especially when it comes to obtaining television
coverage. More effort needs to be put forth in attracting corporate,
foundation, and/or private financial support for the game. Promoting
squash in "this" way would result in greater mass media interest and
coverage. With that kind of exposure, perhaps the general public would
finally be able answer this question accurately: "Do you know what
SQUASH...the game is?" If squash were to become an Olympic sport, all
the above would become a reality."
Bob Hanscom said: "Even though modern pentathlon, taekwondo and
badminton were among those considered to be dropped from the 2020
Olympic Games program, surprisingly the core sport of wrestling was
omitted. Had one of the above-mentioned sports been eliminated, squash
would have had a better chance of being selected as the "new" 2020
Olympic Game sport. Most of the world believes wrestling belongs in the
Games...but so does squash! Let's hope that the IOC's General Assembly
will re-consider their decision, "re-instate" wrestling and allow a new
sport into the Games of 2020...SQUASH! It truly deserves to be there!
Attorney Kern said: Because no sport better embodies the ideals and the
spirt of the Olympics in matching physicality, dedication, passion,
intellect and strategy without pre-limiting as a result of heritage,
size or wealth. "The high emprise, the fine endeavor, the
splendid possibility of achievement" is the essence of what the passion
of squash is. The Olympics would make squash better, Squash would make
the Olympics better!"
In reference to why she thinks squash should become an Olympic sport -
and what it could mean for the game, Debbie Brown said, "I will no
longer be able to use the line "Hey, nobody's going to the Olympics
here..." in reference to keep it real people - it's a game!
Further to that, I would first like to say that it would mean a lot to
just put the game on the world stage so that it could be seen by those
that would not have otherwise had an opportunity to be exposed to it.
Having said that, as the sport is on the rise in the U.S., it would
mean the opportunity to grow in the same way tennis has been able to
grow over the years simply by exposure - which leads to usage. As the
Executive Director of an urban squash program, it would also mean not
having to explain that squash is not just a vegetable - but another
sport that has been added to the athletic departments at some of the
finest universities in our country - which means opportunity to play a
sport that is not already saturated by players vying for spots on other
teams. We would actually have the opportunity of adding the sport
to the athletic departments and to continue the growth of the game =
opportunity!"
And this is what John Dewis, Harvard Crimson contributing writer said
about why squash should be in the Olympics - and what the result could
be: "One way the game has changed over the past decade is that more and
more young people are playing the game, and from all regions and
backgrounds. It's a sport where the threshold to start playing is
not high-- you need some racquets and balls and a court and someone who
already knows how to play. The urban squash programs popping up all
over America are responding to a different kind of demand than before,
and are cultivating a new agenda for the sport. This is not just
a sport that professional elite or Ivy-league students play; it's a way
to get kids off the streets and into a regimen, give them a taste for
focus and achievement, and equip them with the confidence and community
that can and does transform their lives. For these kids, and the new
squash agenda, the sport is not just a past-time for the lucky few, but
a passion for an expanding, ambitious new crowd of athletes. This
means the stakes are much higher for getting squash into the Olympics:
those who stand to benefit the most are those who are just cutting
their teeth on the game, and for whom the legitimacy and recognition
that comes with Olympic excellence would mean that current ambitions
would be hitched up to a bigger dream. Those of us who love to
play, and for whom getting to play is already enough, owe it to those
who are coming next to tether an already world-class and world-beloved
game to the kind of dream that will foster the ambition, and dignify it
with highest stamp of approval available.
In conclusion, it was the consensus of these dedicated squash
aficionados - that if the IOC wants to follow their own"Fundamental
Principals of Olympism," which in part reads from their Charter:
"Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced
whole the qualities of body, will and mind, blending sport with culture
and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy
of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility
and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. The goal of
Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development
of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned
with the preservation of human dignity,"...then what better sport than
SQUASH deserves to be added to the Olympic Game program!
