Six months have passed since the last IOC session, held in Mumbai, India. A meeting of members of the Olympic body where the choice of additional sports for the Los Angeles 2028 Games was proposed and voted on. Among them, squash, surprise guest of a cast also made up of cricket, flag football , lacrosse and baseball/softball.
Six months is almost nothing for a sport and its international federation. But for World Squash, these two semesters have already changed a lot of things. The British Zeina Wooldridge, the president of the body, present at the beginning of April at SportAccord in Birmingham, explained this to FrancsJeux.
FrancsJeux : Do you already feel a Los Angeles 2028 effect on squash and the international federation?
Zena Wooldridge: We are already seeing a lot of changes. The first is the enthusiasm of the entire squash community, the players in particular. Enthusiasm all the stronger as we weren't really expected among the additional sports. Becoming an Olympian will provide additional motivation for them. And their impatience to discover the Games will increase over the next four years. The change is also felt in competitions, with increased interest from countries and squash venues in organizing tournaments. Participation is also on the rise. At the World Junior Championships, for example, we recorded the presence of players from four countries that had never before been represented in this competition. Finally, at the beginning of the year, we met people from the Dunlop brand, which represents approximately 90% of the global squash ball market. They told us that their sales are currently higher than before the start of the pandemic.
What will the Olympic tournament be like?
At this stage, it is only certain that it will have 32 men and 32 players, engaged in singles. The rest is under discussion. We are waiting to hear back on the sports schedule as it could determine what venue we will have in Los Angeles. With our glass court, we can install squash in a large number of locations, including the most iconic. Being an Olympic sport will accelerate the research and development of courts and the technology used for cameras, balls, courts and interactive walls.
How will you prepare for the entry of squash into the Olympic program between now and the LA 2028 Games?
We already had a strategy in place for the next four years. Entry into the Games program will not upset it, but it will certainly accelerate it. One of the foundations of this strategy is to work in partnership with other squash stakeholders. Firstly, the Professional Players Association (PSA) and the American federation (US Squash). This three-way agreement was already very strong during our candidacy campaign for Los Angeles 2028. It will become even stronger. It is also very important for us to be able to generate new sources of income, because we will have more to do, therefore more expenses, but without benefiting from the revenue linked to the status of an Olympic sport. We need new resources, not so much for professional players, but for the grassroots, the clubs, to have more coaches and more referees. In my opinion, the first beneficiaries of our entry into the program will be our national federations. Being able to say that squash is Olympic will facilitate their relations with the national Olympic committees and the sports movement's funding agencies.
What is the key to staying in the Games, like surfing and climbing, and not making a one-off appearance, like karate and breaking?
We are working on a long-term strategy, to remain on the program after LA 2028. The alliance that we have put in place with the PSA and US Squash, we will renew with Squash Australia. The first thing for us is to understand the Brisbane 2032 strategy. We are already talking with them. And we have people in our camp who know them very well. It is now up to us to build a proposal that is unique, attractive and relevant in terms of costs. We did it for LA 2028, we will be even better armed for Brisbane 2032. But the choice of additional sports will not be made, I believe, before the year 2027. Before the Los Angeles Games, therefore.
Do you have any other multi-sport events in mind?
The European Games in 2027. We discuss it with the new president of Squash Europe, Thomas Troedsson. We are also speaking with the Turkish federation, whose team has recently changed. We have already tried to enter the European Games, but without success. Being an additional sport at the Los Angeles 2028 Games gives us a new argument: integrating the European Games into the Olympic qualification process. We are also targeting the African Games in 2027. They will be organized in Cairo, Egypt, one of the major squash countries. I would be very surprised if we were not selected.
