Should squash even bother anymore? As the torch was snuffed
out in Brazil after the 31st Olympiad, I was irritably content to
see it was over. Anybody who knows anything about squash finds it annoyingly difficult
to fathom why squash fails time and time again to be a part of the Games.
Convincing the IOC is like arguing with an intractably pigheaded child that
swears water isn’t wet even though he’s moments away from drowning.
I watched the Olympics on and off for its duration, I tried
not to be overly interested and for much of the coverage I wasn’t. ‘Forced’ to
watch sports I would normally never
consider viewing such as archery, mountain biking, fencing just to name a few,
if I lasted more than 3 minutes before I found myself reaching for the remote
control, it was because it probably put me to sleep.
But alas, at times, I was magnetically drawn at the
immensity of the event as well. How one cannot
be seduced by certain athletes and their accomplishments doesn’t compute with
me. We all love to cheer for the underdog, but on many occasions I was dearly
hoping for the favorites to win and expand their already ridiculously rich
trophy cabinets even wider. I made an effort to watch the likes of Usain Bolt,
Michael Phelps, Mo Farrah (who fell during his race and still won the gold
medal!)… Watch and learn from the best, be inspired. What makes these people
superior athletes, able to perform under pressure and under the spotlights not
just once, but repeatedly? Traits we should all be emulating no doubt.
For all the extraordinary sporting stories the Olympics
offer, the Games offer more than that. Bringing people together from all around
the world, no barriers, no dogmatism, the athletes accepted one another as
brothers and sisters. A lot can also be learned from that, right? Everyone
appeared to understand that concept except for the Egyptian wrestler who
refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent. Reports also mentioned that
the Egyptian was contemplating not even turning up for the bout just hours
before the scheduled match was to take place. Rightly so, he was sent home. I
bring this up because – as squash players – we all know that squash lost out to
wrestling in the 2013 vote for inclusion. I guess nothing can embarrass the IOC
enough.
What I can’t quite make sense of however is the handful of
“athletes” that clearly didn’t belong – or deserve – to be there. The Philippine
divers for example. Not sure if they were there for comical relief? Or the
Ethiopian swimmer who finished the 100m dash over half a pool length behind
everyone else… and this gem
from the 2012 Olympics in the 400m “sprint”. Why the IOC allow this is beyond
me when the Olympics is supposed to be the best of the best of the best… is it
not?
Well, most of the time, yes. But not always. Look at golf.
(Again, another sport squash lost out to for inclusion). Many of the top men
opted out of Rio stating the Zika Virus as the excuse, but Rory McIlroy later
admitted in a statement that he didn’t really care for golf being in the
Olympics in the first place. It was hardly high on his priority list when
compared to competing in the majors. Look at soccer – do the best players in
the world play the Olympics? Err, no, they don’t. The Olympics certainly do not
replace the World Cup. Do you think the best baseball players in the world will
travel to Tokyo in 2020 – in the middle of the MLB season? Again, no. They will
not. (Squash also lost out to baseball for inclusion.) So why does the IOC
include sports where the best athletes don’t compete, and frankly, have no
interest?
How about the sports that require judges to establish
winners and losers? Equestrian, Gymnastics, Diving, Synchronized Swimming,
Trampoline, to a certain extent Boxing… leaving the result up to the opinion of
a few individuals rather than being able to definitively determine who won is a
little illogical is it not? You think even a hint of bias doesn’t exist? It’s
like when Miguel Cabrera is batting – everyone knows the strike zone gets a
little smaller for him when he steps up to the plate. Umpires will flatly deny
it, be he gets just about every border line call to go his way… (Go Tigers!)
Squash doesn’t have any of these issues. A winner and a
loser are clearly defined without a judge’s help, players respect each other more
than ever, and undoubtedly the best players in the world would sell their soul
to represent their country in the Olympics.
The 2020 Games are in Tokyo, Japan. Five sports were added
to that agenda: 1. Baseball / softball. Full of drug cheats, the best players
won’t go anyway. 2. Surfing. Winners are based on judges’ opinion. 3. Sport
Climbing. Involves three disciplines: sport, bouldering, and speed. 40
climbers (20 men and 20 women) will compete over four days, and the
medalists will be chosen based on the combined results of all three
disciplines. Even after googling this, I can’t figure out how somebody wins. 4.
Karate. Given the Games will be in Japan, this actually makes sense. But there
is already taekwondo and judo, do they really need another martial art? And 5. Skateboarding. This is the one that did
it for me. Firstly, I can’t even wrap my head around the fact it is even
considered a ‘sport’. In fact many people within the ‘sport’ itself don’t even
consider it to be so and reject being a part of the Olympics. Secondly, I can’t
find anywhere what type of disciplines will be involved on the Skateboarding
ticket come Tokyo. So, do mean to tell me, that the IOC included a ‘sport’ that
they have no idea how the competition will even look like? How did that
presentation go? “Errr, hey IOC dudes, we’ll just make some gnarly moves and
stuff and we’ll all have a wild time… Rad! Here, hold this little baggie for
me…” Considering Skateboarding and smoking marijuana virtually go hand in hand,
it will be interesting to see how the IOC tackle that little issue.
Given the IOC is openly moving towards making the Games more
about ‘attractions’ than actual sports, I fear squash has an even less of a chance
to reach its goal of inclusion. The beach volleyball was presented with more a
nightclub feel than a sport – is that the new Olympic spirit? Does squash need
laser shows and fog machines, score-women parading around in bikinis, midnight
matches with music blaring in the background?
I am at the point that I think squash should simply stop
trying. Stop wasting the money. Stop wasting the time. Stop the humiliation of
be passed up in favor of recreations. I cannot imagine what we would be looked
over for in 2020. Maybe the “Pokémon Go” competition? I recently read an
article from some scribe who listed some sports he thought would be a positive
inclusion. Amongst others (I kid you not): Croquet; Chess; Billiards… squash
nowhere to be seen. It seems we cannot even get onto this list!
The next opportunity for squash? The 2024 Games may be in
Los Angeles as they are one of five finalists to host. The other candidate
cities are Rome, Paris, Budapest (Hungary), and Hamburg (Germany). Since the
host city has a say in which (new) sports get added to the agenda, squash would
probably stand a better chance if Paris or L.A. got the nod. France is a strong
squash country and maybe would stand a fair hope of medaling, and USA have a
couple of strong women in the mix with Amanda Sohby and Olivia Blatchford –
both would be about 30 years old by then.
But don’t hold your breath. We all know squash should be in it. But if the IOC believe
that Skateboarding is more worthy, then should squash even want to be in it?
