Pros
- Squash is a participant sport, and can be played for a lifetime.
- Junior squash is growing rapidly, and the 2008 World Men's Junior Championships boasted a record number of entries.
- Squash is played on all continents, and excellent players are found across the globe. For example, all continents were represented among the top 6 teams at the 2007 World Men's Team Championships.
- The World Squash Federation includes 138 member nation federations, up from 125 in 2004.
- Women account for roughly 30% of the players, so the sport is not gender-specific.
- Squash facilities are not particularly expensive, and Olympic-class courts can be erected in a cost-effective and temporary manner.
- The technology for televising squash has improved, and the fast action of the ball can now be seen by TV viewers.
Cons
There are very few disadvantages to adding squash to the Olympics:- The refereeing can be difficult to understand, and the referees can have a profound influence on the outcome of a match.
- The typical clothes of squash players may not attract TV viewers in the same way as do the revealing outfits of beach volleyball players and track and field competitors.
Where it Stands
Following the unfortunate decision for squash at the 2005 IOC meeting in Singapore, the World Squash Federation, along with other federations, lobbied for a change in the Olympic charter to reduce the requirement for a 2/3 majority to a requirement for a simple majority. That change was passed at the IOC meeting in Guatemala in July, 2007.Squash is currently under consideration for inclusion at the 2016 Olympic Games, along with baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby, and softball. Leaders of those sports will make presentations to the IOC executive board in June, 2009, and then the IOC will vote in October 2009 to admit two sports to the 2016 Olympic Games.
Let's hope they make the right choice this time, remembering that golf already has well-established international competitions (and doesn't need the Olympics), that karate is primarily an Asian phenomenon, that roller sports have their own derby, and that baseball and softball are very far from being world-wide sports.