Breaking with tradition
Climbing, skateboarding and surfing have already been confirmed for Tokyo 2020, while breakdancing was held at last year’s Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
Though squash has been held at the Commonwealth Games since 1998, it is now four times the sport has unsuccessfully campaigned for Olympic inclusion.
Coll, the world No 6, who is in Chicago in preparation for the world championships which start this weekend, couldn’t believe what he was waking up to, posting on Twitter: ‘‘Woke up to this news at 6am. It’s now 8:14am. And still can’t process what the f$&@ is going on!? #help’’
A 2024 Olympics could have been a real target for 26-year-old Coll, if perhaps a stretch too far for top Kiwi women’s player Joelle King, the 30-year-old who’s at No 3 in the world.
In a statement, the World Squash Federation and Professional Squash Association met news of their sport being overlooked ‘‘with great disappointment’’.
‘‘The proposed list of four sports only, of which three sports are already confirmed by the IOC on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic programme, Sure, Scott Robertson’s all the rage, but this is ridiculous.
Organisers of the 2024 Paris Olympics have revealed breakdancing is on their wishlist for ‘sports’ at the Games.
Climbing, surfing and skateboarding were also listed, but surprisingly there were no calls for Rubik’s Cube races, hacky sack competitions or Jazzercise routines.
The Crusaders coach is our most famous breakdancer. He’s 44.
Behind him it’s Joe Moana – the white-gloved, snake-hipped star of the video for the 1983 hit Poi E. After that – um, no one? That’s because breakdancing – bar Robertson’s triumphal displays – were last popular in the mid1980s. If you were in high school then – just hypothesising, of course – you had to be careful where you walked down corridors, less you trampled on some enthusiastic fourth-former’s head as he spun furiously on the slick floor.
Yet those entrusted with organising the XXXIII Olympiad feel it should re-emerge alongside the 100m sprint, 50m freestyle, heavyweight boxing, the gymnastics beam and the marathon.
Is there a breakdancing
leads to a belief that Paris 2024 and the IOC favoured sports already in the Olympic programme, leaving practically no opportunity for other sports,’’ it read.
In a separate statement, PSA chief executive Alex Gough explained the process that was gone through, and some frustration at the timelines of decisions.
Gough noted squash had made huge strides in areas such as innovation, equality, sustainability and youth engagement – all of which matched criteria required for Paris 2024 and the IOC. revolution on the streets of Paris that we don’t know about?
Will gyrating Parisiennes storm the barricades should the organisers not get their wish?
Climbing, surfing and skateboarding are also wanted – that trio should be easily accommodated as they’ve already been lined up for Tokyo 2020, while squash has been . . . well, squashed, again.
Before this column is met with an ‘Old Man Shouts at Cloud’ meme, it votes for continuing changes and re-assessment of the Olympic programme to keep pace with the world.
There is no longer the standing high jump, tug-of-war and croquet at the Games – mostly for sound reasons (but you kinda wish to watch a standing high jump comp, right?). At the 1964 Olympics, the longest athletics distance race for women was the 800m.
So Esports should be the next major addition to the Olympic programme. It has massive participation numbers that are still rapidly expanding, keeps the Olympic movement relevant with youth and will prove to be a huge audience driver.
But, vive la difference for now, as we prepare to cheer on b-boys Scott and Joe as they stabbed windmill and toprock in pursuit of the podium.
‘‘We truly believe squash could seamlessly integrate into the Olympic programme with minimal costs and an optimised pool of participants,’’ the WSF/PSA statement read.
‘‘Our unique interactive glass court would allow squash to bring a lot of additional excitement and spectacular action to any iconic monument of the host city or shed a new light on less known urban areas, while also helping to engage young people in the sport from day one of the preparations and well beyond the Olympic Games.’’