|NO SECOND CHANCE
the Rings had reported comments from a high-ranking IOC member
Friday night that the Executive Board would meet to consider
whether there was any way to re-consider the sports rejected on
"An IOC official says no such meeting will be called by President
But Rogge offered hope for 2016, suggesting that new sports should
"be treated the same way in terms of the number of votes needed."
In the Papers
IN THE PAPERS
what the press have to say ...
is very disappointing. We thought we had a great chance. It is
a missed opportunity. I am not just talking about squash. I
think the public wants to see a couple of other sports at the
"The Olympics would have been massive for us in terms of
exposure and media attention. It would have meant so much.
"The Olympics would have been the biggest thing in
squash. When the top guys from a sport don't go to the
Olympics, then it shouldn't be there – how much does the
Olympics mean to the top footballers? I think that it is wrong
for a sport to have Olympic status if the Olympics isn't its
"They are keeping a lot of sports that I believe the majority
of the public doesn't want to see as Olympics sports. It
angers me a bit."
to the Yorkshire Post
the heat of the moment, three thoughts come to mind:
1. For the last 10 years at least, France has always
systematically insisted on the importance of the Olympic
movement for squash. Progressively, our message got stronger,
and this year, the world of squash got involved as it never
had before, it had never used so many means, it never showed
so much enthusiasm.
2. In France, the Federation had developed all the actions it
could. On the 17th June 2005, we sent a final comprehensive
file to the French Members of the IOC.
It has to be said that the French results, by both individuals
and teams, were crucial in the support and in the reception
that our efforts received. We want to thank the CNOSF for
coming back to us every time they needed more information to
support our sport.
3. Since 1996, in every International Meeting, our leit motiv
has been the Olympics. In its first global mobilisation for
the Olympics, Squash failed by very little. We can only regret
that our mobilisation didn’t start earlier, for the 2000, 2004
and 2008 Games.
President FF Squash
really proud of our team, including our athletes and our
member nations, who have pulled together magnificently in
this whole process. The fact that we ultimately failed – so
narrowly, and after two sports were removed from the
programme – is devastating, but people have undoubtedly
recognised that our sport deserves this opportunity.”
has admirably led his team and Christian Leighton has worked
flat out since his recent appointment. Let us not forget all
the members of the WSF Management Committee who have pursued
the cause - as well as the unstinting efforts of Susie
Simcock, Ted Wallbutton and Lorraine Harding, all of whom
deserve our gratitude along with many other federation
“Squash has never come so close. Next time we really must
are a truly international sport which has deserved a
place. The battle has been lost but I am sure that we
will win the Olympic fight in the end.
“Our athletes would have been proud to be part of the
Games, and while it hasn’t happened yet, it must surely
be only a matter of time before we earn the right to
is enormously disappointing news. We have always believed –
and continue to do so - that squash can make a real
contribution to the Olympic movement and are puzzled by the
decision not to bring the number of sports back up to 28.
“The London bid and squash was a dream ticket for us – but
we will continue to work with the WSF to achieve our goal.
“Our hearty congratulations go to the London 2012 team –
yesterday’s terrible events in the capital put things into
perspective, but we all know that sport plays an important
part in bringing people together. London will put on a great
show in 2012 and we support them wholeheartedly.”
a player, one never gives up. We'll try again for 2016.
We'll get in one day.
"Obviously, I'd have liked to see my game there. But we'll
never give up."
| from the forum
What a shambles.
They organise a vote to see which sports stay on the program
for 2012, but somehow the losers remain "Olympic Sports".
Then they vote for new sports to be added to the 2012 program,
and accept two to replace the ones they dropped.
But - oops - the new ones aren't "Olympic Sports" yet so we'd
better vote on that.
No, sorry, you can't be "Olympic Sports", even though we
wanted you on the program for 2012.
It makes the Eurovision Song Contest voting look good!
Serves them right if they end up with synchronised belly-flop
or the egg and spoon race to make up the numbers.
SQUASH JUST MISSES OUT
SO CLOSE, SO CLOSE ...
on Howard Harding's WSF release
After being voted onto the
programme of the 2012 Olympic Games by achieving more than 50% of
the IOC members’ votes, Squash suffered a cruel blow today in
Singapore when the IOC decided against replacing the two sports
dropped earlier in the day from the London Games programme.
But World Squash Federation Chief Executive Christian Leighton
believes that the positive responses received by Squash in
Singapore will ultimately lead to realisation of the sport’s
Olympic dream: “We were so very, very, close – but I have no doubt
that we will get into the Olympic Games in the near future, and
that will continue to be our main drive.”
in the day, IOC members voted softball and baseball off the
2012 programme, leaving room for two successors to be chosen from
squash, rugby sevens, rollers sports, karate and golf – sports
which had been short-listed for consideration in an IOC
announcement last September.
With more than 50% of the votes in the first poll amongst IOC
members, Squash was immediately added to the 2012 programme
– later joined by karate.
However, when the vote came for each sport to be “recognised as an
Olympic sport” neither achieved the required two thirds majority.
IOC President Jacques Rogge had wanted this
final vote to be a simple 'show of hands', but the IOC delegates
insisted on a further round of secret voting.
So squash's long-held dream of Olympic recognition was dashed once
Squash’s Olympic campaign in Singapore has been led by WSF
President Jahangir Khan, the record ten-times British Open
champion who earlier conceded that an Olympic breakthrough would
rank as his proudest achievement in the sport.
Khan was joined in the final days of campaigning by Malaysia’s
Asian champion and world No3 Nicol David, together with
Christian Leighton and the Federation's Emeritus President
Thus, disappointingly, the racket sport which has its origins in
both Fleet Prison and Harrow School in London in the 1800s will
not make the hoped-for triumphant ‘return’ to the British capital
two centuries later.
whole squash community has done the sport proud, and I am
particularly grateful to the contribution made by all the
WSF member national federations, who provided
highly-effective face-to-face lobbying in many cases.
“We are also indebted to the efforts made by our leading
athletes, particularly Nicol David who has taken time out
from her preparations for next week’s World Games to be with
us here in Singapore.
“This is a continuing process and, whilst there will be
widespread disappointment within the squash community around
the world today, we must work on all the positive aspects on
what has been achieved over the past few years and continue
to gain more support from IOC members in the future.
“We were so very, very, close – but I have no doubt that we
will get into the Olympic Games in the near future, and that
will continue to be our main drive.”
sorry to say that this week will stay in my mind as one of the
darkest in my life…
So, yes, it started when Paris lost its bid for the Olympic Games.
I truly thought that Paris deserved to win. Then, there was my
aborted surgery, and for the most horrible of reasons, to give
“my” bed to somebody who survived the horror of a terror attack in
the city where I’ve now been living for 12 years.
And today, the cherry on the cake…
We oh so hoped after baseball and softball were dropped… And then
there was the first vote, we were in, boys, we were in…
Until we were out…
So, yes, today’s event is of such a small importance in the scale
of things, compared to what happened yesterday, it’s only sport,
no life has been lost, no blood was shed…
But I cannot help thinking about all those people, like Ted
Wallbutton and so many others, who for years and years worked
patiently, relentlessly, to raise Squash’s profile in the eyes of
the IOC members, to try and offer squash players the recognition
they deserve, the honour and the indescribable joy of standing on
the Olympic podium, and to listen to their national anthem, hand
on heart and tears in eyes…
And we got so close.
So, pardon me to repeat myself: what a bloody week…
has come from nowhere in Olympic terms to become the first
placed sport outside of the programme.
"It is an amazing
achievement and far from failing we should be proud that
we won the race, but failed to collect the prize."
Dumped Olympic sports may return AAP
The five sports denied a chance to feature in London's 2012
Olympics were offered a glimmer of hope for inclusion in future
Games on Saturday ...
Is squash really a better bet
Napa Valley Register The choices are golf (snore), rugby (I might watch),
squash (what?), karate (wax on, wax off), and roller sports --
summer's version of the triple axle ...
Plans for new sports left in tatters
Rogge's dreams of bringing new sports into the Olympics has been
left in tatters here ...
New sports on Games outer
AN apparent Arab-led movement to ditch the American sports of
baseball and softball from the Olympic program last night
triggered a bizarre counter-protest that made a farce of the
process of finding two sports to replace them ...
Farcical day in Singapore
In a farcical display of bureaucracy, IOC members went through
seven rounds of voting to decide which two of the five would-be
Olympic sports should be put up for a vote to give them Olympic
status. Having selected squash and karate, the members then
overwhelmingly rejected their bids to join the Olympic program
Squash, karate miss out
For 22 minutes, Jahangir Khan and Antonio Espinos were elated.
Squash and karate seemed certain additions to the 2012 Olympic
- Second Chance For New
(ATR) Around the Rings has learned the IOC may be asked a
second time to consider adding new sports to the 2012 Olympics
before the Singapore Session adjourns on Saturday. The IOC
rejected adding sports in a confusing series of votes Friday.
Sadly this report briefly raised false hopes ...
26 Sports In The 2012 Olympic Programme
This morning, the IOC Session reviewed the Olympic Programme. A
vote was carried out sport by sport according to the order that
the sports appear in rule 46 of the Olympic Charter, with members
voting to decide which sport should be included in the Olympic
Programme for 2012. IOC members chose to include 26 sports on the
programme for London 2012, with Baseball and Softball not being
selected for 2012.
The IOC website now makes no mention of the evening votes.