Squashing The IOC's Doubt
by Nick-at-Will

July 27, 2014 - If ever the IOC had a doubt regarding the popularity of squash, this photo taken at the 2014 Commonwealth Games...showing a full house should remove that doubt. This certainly comes under the heading of: "A picture is worth a thousand words!" And...this photo was taken only during the quarter-finals of the women's squash event!

To be sure, there will not be a seat to be found during the semi and finals of the women's and men's doubles, mixed doubles and singles squash events...that's for sure! Isn't this a good-enough reason for the IOC Executive Committee to re-consider their decision - and elect SQUASH to be the "new" sport at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo!?

Wait a minute! Perhaps this could actually happen! Quoting the latest (significant changes) report from Inside theGames...
Inside The Games

"Significant changes to the way in which sports events are selected for the Olympic program look to be on the way, following a wide-ranging Summit meeting at the International Olympic Committee (IOC's) lakeside headquarters.

The 16 key Olympic Movement stakeholders present came out in support of an initiative aimed at adopting "an event-based rather than a sport-based" approach to the program's composition while keeping the existing limit on the number of athletes participating.

The meeting also supported the establishment of an Olympic TV channel, paving the way for the IOC to develop the concept further with relevant stakeholders in coming months. The concept of allowing more flexibility for Olympic bid-cities also secured the group's backing, with candidate-cities urged to focus on local legacy "from the very beginning of the bid procedure".

The move comes against a backdrop of growing skepticism among citizens of potential bidders, particularly in western Europe, as to the benefits of staging the Games in their local area. Such attitudes risk leaving the IOC with less choice than it would ideally like when selecting its partner-cities.

On issues to do with the sporting calendar, Summit participants agreed on the creation of an online database to coordinate the scheduling of sports competitions at a global level. They agreed to a project to compile a "comprehensive universal spring calendar" of current events.

The Summit also underlined its continued full backing for the Olympic Agenda 2020 reform program set in motion by Thomas Bach, the IOC President. This process is set to conclude at an Extraordinary IOC Session in Monaco in December, when the final approval of IOC members will be sought.

More consultations on Olympic Agenda 2020 are scheduled for September when the deliberations of the Summit, together with the outcome of recent working group discussions will be presented to IOC Commissions. The refined proposals will then be discussed again at what is shaping to be a critical Executive Board meeting in October. From this...the detailed Monaco agenda is likely to emerge."

Really all...fingers crossed and stay tuned!









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