A Mystery Wrapped in a Riddle Surrounded by Five Rings!
Squash Mad posted an article this past week in which World Squash President Zena Woolridge stated that while the sport had been hoping for 32 men’s and women’s sized player draws in the LA28 Olympics, reduction to draws of 16 might work to squash’s long-term benefit and extend the sports stay on the Olympic roster for Brisbane32 and beyond. “ Every cloud has a silver lining” said Woolridge. “We probably need a maximum of six officials as well for the whole event, so we’re a very small footprint in terms of numbers, we’re low cost in terms of both athletes and in terms of infrastructure”.
While you may or may not be on board with that sentiment, the fact remains that draws of 16 seem to be set in Mount Olympus Stone and “going along to get along” seems to be the game plan adopted by the powers that be in the sport. Only time will tell if this was the prescient strategy, but meanwhile, what I think the entire squash community , players, coaches, and fans alike, can agree upon, is our frustration with the eye dropper like trickle of information that has been announced regarding Olympic qualification. I make it a point in every player interview I do on the Squash Radio Podcast ( subscribe & share) to ask if they have more information than the squash public does, seeing that, you know, it affects their life pretty dramatically and if switching what country you are going to represent for the rest of your life is important, just a modicum of insider intelligence would probably be appreciated. To a person, they have told me “no”, including this past week, when Olivia Weaver, the US #1 and currently a presumptive representative on the US team , was surprised when I told her the squash event will take place over ten days, news first reported publicly on the aforementioned Squash Radio podcast ( seriously, subscribe and share.) I picture Amina Orfi and Mo Zakaria landing in Doha next year expecting to be picked up in a limo and whisked to the nearest squash center, texting Jonathan Power asking where their ride is, only to receive a “new number, who dis?” reply.
Well, fear not squash fans, the Squash Podcast Network has come to the rescue with……well, somewhat….a little bit…..like an infinitesimal sum in the big picture, but still better than nothing “come to the rescue with” amount of information on how Olympic qualification will work for Squash in LA28. Please note, unlike many of the anecdotes I tell on Squash Radio ( I’m dead serious, subscribe and share) the below information is quantifiably true:
Qualifying
The qualifying process will involve a combination of world rankings and regional qualifying events such as Asian Games, Pan-American Games, and prospectively the European and African Games, although these are still to be confirmed. I am not certain what’s happening with Oceania , as that’s the 5th “region”. The European and African Games are both scheduled to take place in 2027, in Istanbul and Cairo respectively. Including squash in the African Games when it’s being held in Cairo seems like a “no-brainer”, even though it’s only featured once before (in 2003). Squash has never been part of the European Games but I’m told they are close to being added to the program for 2027.
The number of players per country has not been confirmed yet but I’m told the WSF/IOC are working on a system that allows up to 2 players per country to qualify as they want to maximize the number of top players in the draw but equally want to avoid the possibility of one country winning all 3 medals. Please note, there was only one “podium sweep” at the Paris 2024 Olympics – France won all 3 medals in the Men’s BMX Cycling. The previous Olympics had two in Tokyo 2020, one in Rio 2016 and three in London 2012.
World Squash are working closely with the IOC on all of this but I am told the final decision rests with the IOC and is expected to be confirmed in the first quarter of 2026. The Asian Games would then be the first qualifying event when it’s held in Japan next September.
LA 2028
The event will be held over 10 days with only evening sessions and 4 matches per session. Tickets go on sale next year with registration opening in January.
The event will be a knock-out format as exclusively revealed on Squash Radio, ( all kidding aside, subscribe & share) this past summer when rumors of round robins became pervasive! This means that the first round will take place over the first 4 days, so players who compete on Day 1 will get 3 rest days and won’t compete again until Day 5!
As told in the Squash Mad article, there will only be one glass court for the competition but the current plan is to have another glass court available for the players to practice on. They are looking to set this up in the Athlete’s Village (UCLA campus) and not at the competition site, but the actual location has yet to be confirmed
That is all the news the crack investigative department of SPN has been able to gather thus far. This info has been harder to come by than finding out who the next CEO of US Squash will be.
The tip line: squashpodcastnetwork@gmail.com, is open and all emails will be kept confidential. If a host accidently says your name on a future episode of Squash Radio ( don’t make me say it again), we will be sure to edit it out before the episode airs ( those who know, know)
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