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As the 2020-21 Squash World Championships get underway today, I'm struck by the absence of the sport on the Olympic program. One wonders what sin squash must have committed to result not being included ever. It's not like the sport hasn't recently tried. The World Squash Federation (WSF)'s bids for inclusion were unsuccessful for the Games in 2012, 2016, 2020, and now 2024. It certainly is a head-scratcher, as there are so many boxes checked for what fits as an Olympic sport. So, here's my pitch: History Similar to its racket sport cousin badminton, squash has its origins in the British mid-1800s. The first national association for squash, now U.S. Squash, was formed in 1904, and the oldest squash tournament, the British Open Squash Championships, were first held in 1929. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Championships separated from the British Open as a stand-alone event in 1976, and is now considered the crowning event to the seasonal PSA World Tour. Diversity It's truly a global sport. The WSF counts 50,000 courts worldwide, and a membership of almost 150 nations. The top 10 seeds for the World Championships across both men's and women's fields represent eight different nations and all six continental regions: Africa (Egypt), Asia (India), Europe (France, Great Britain), North America (United States), Oceania (New Zealand), and South America (Colombia, Peru). Players from Switzerland, Latvia, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Hong Kong, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, Czech Republic, and Belgium are also in the fields. Legendary players in squash history have also come from Malaysia (Nicol David), Pakistan (Jansher Khan) - both eight-time world champions - and Australia (five-time winner Sarah Fitzgerald). Athletic Stars These are serious, professional athletes. The World Championship total pot is $1 million U.S., while the prize for World Tour events can reach $175,000 U.S. for both men and women. Nicol David, widely recently voted as the World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time, has an estimated net worth over $1 million U.S. from career earnings and endorsements. Nicol David was world champion a record eight times Urban Squash can be played right within urban centers. New York's J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions is played inside Grand Central Station. San Francisco's Oracle NetSuite Open is played alongside the Embarcadero's Ferry Building. The World Championships this year will be inside Chicago's University Club. Wherever one might put, say, a breakdancing or 3x3 basketball court, or a beach volleyball sandpit, one could put a squash court. Sustainability The PSA uses an all-glass, portable court ringed by temporary grandstand seating that is easily transported, set up, and broken down. There's no need to build new infrastructure. Fan Accessibility And, that glass court allows for spectator intimacy with the action. Similar to tennis, squash tournaments are straightforward single elimination events, so competition is fast-paced and athletic - and can be easily consumed by fans. A tournament with fields of 32 for both men and women can easily be finished in less than a week. The next Olympic opportunity for squash won't be until Los Angeles 2028. But that may be a longshot, too, as baseball and softball are likely to make a comeback. Lacrosse and cricket are making inroads, too. Karate, in for Tokyo 2020 but out for Paris 2024, would also be in the mix. And, it's unlikely a different spot would open up from the existing core sports. Here's French star Gregory Gaultier probably pondering what an Olympic medal would look like around his neck It's a shame, as the global, engaging nature of the sport fits well within the Olympics. I'm not sure what the reluctance has been - too elite? (more so than golf?), too exclusive? (more than artistic swimming?) not practical? (um, the portable glass court...) not hip enough? (refer back to Nicol David's popularity, for one) - but the diversity, ease of engagement, and history of the sport deserve a spotlight. It's well past time. This opinion piece originally appeared at gamesandrings.com.

In a year that has not given sports fans much to be optimistic about, the International World Games Association decided that there was no better time to determine the greatest World Games athlete of all-time than right now. The IWGA wanted to conduct the vote at the beginning of 2021 to mark the 40th anniversary of the creation of the World Games in 1981. On January 8th the IWGA launched the fan centered competition by posting profiles of 24 athletes nominated by their international federation. The list was cut cut down to athletes in the top 10 of voting on January 20th, and 1.2 million votes later, Nicol David, a squash athlete from Malaysia was declared the victor. David, 37, the former women's world number 1 - a title she held for almost a decade until September of 2015, won the competition with 318,120 vites. During her time David appeared in four editions of the World Games, capturing gold in 2005 (Duisburg), 2009 (Kaohisung), and 2013 (Cali). In 2017 (Wroclaw), David was upset by rival Joey Chan of Hong Kong in the semi-final, but was able to rebound and defeat Fiona Moverley of Great Britain in the bronze medal match. David faced stiff competition from other World Games greats throughout the voting. Finishing in second place was James Kehoe, a tug-of-war athlete from Ireland. Kehoe competed in NINE editions of the World Games from 1981 to 2013, winning nine medals in total. Rounding out the podium was Larysa Soloviova, a Ukrainian powerlifter who has won four consecutive World Games gold medals in powerlifting. David also competed in other multi-sport games including both the Commonwealth (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and Asian Games (7 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze). Despite retiring in 2019, Nicol David continues to be the face of the squash world. With squash continuing to be left off the Olympic programme, I cannot think of a better person to lead the charge to help squash one day land that coveted spot that it so much deserves.

Nicol David (MAS) can now officially lay claim to being the Greatest World Games Athlete of All-Time after she won an online fan-vote. The Malaysian Squash superstar won the vote with 318,943 votes to her name. David is a three-time gold medalist in women’s singles at the World Games. She also has a bronze medal to her name from the most recent edition of the Games. Speaking about the honor, David said, “It came as a surprise to see me amongst these other top athletes and I’m grateful for this...hopefully it can elevate attention for the future of Squash, and it’s a proud moment to represent my country and Asia.” World Squash Federation President Zena Wooldridge commented, “Nicol has beaten a number of distinguished athletes to first place and her victory is recognition of a wonderful career that saw her break numerous records and win everything there was to win in the sport.” She continued, “Not only is Nicol one of the greatest athletes of all time, she is also a tremendous role model for thousands of people across the globe and a true ambassador for our sport. I’m also delighted to see the support Nicol enjoyed from our passionate and loyal squash community and we are all proud to see Nicol named as The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time.” The runner-up for The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time honor was James Kehoe (IRL). Kehoe, who finished the vote with 113,120 votes to his name, is a nine-time medalist at the World Games in Tug of War. Speaking about the support he received during the vote, he stated, “It’s been a very different but exciting few weeks. I am a shy person by nature and prefer to be out of the spotlight, but as the competition progresses, much to my surprise I am enjoying it more. I am totally overwhelmed by the amount of support I am receiving. It is an honour for me and my club to have been chosen as a competitor in this competition.” Powerlifter Larysa Soloviova (UKR) finished third in the vote. Soloviova has four World Games gold medals to her name. Commenting on her performance in the vote, Soloviova stated, “During these weeks, we had a great challenge. People all over the world had to choose between many GREAT sportsmen. Each of these sportsmen deserve to be written down in the history of The World Games. I want to express my gratitude to all the powerlifters and friends of our sport from all the part of the World for their dedication and support! Thank you for constant everyday voting for me and for Powerlifting in general.” She continued, “Thanks to the Ukrainian National Powerlifting Federation, Regional Powerlifitng Federations and International Powerlifting Federation for the media support and encouragement! I am very happy that we reached our goal together. My Friends, you proved to the World that Powerlifting is a big and strong sport Family, which unites many thousands of faithful hearts beating in one rhythm – rhythm of Sport. I strongly believe that our achievement will make a huge push in the promotion of powerlifting." Speaking on David’s victory, and more so about the vote itself, IWGA President José Perurena stated, “I would like to warmly congratulate Nicol David, and also all the other candidates in the race. Nicol David is an inspirational athlete, and a fine role model for younger athletes. The race was incredible, and it was good to see how athletes got support not only from their own sport, but also from their country and the highest sports authorities there. Sports really unite people in a special way. This vote was a celebration of that.” The World Games are a quadrennial international multi-sports games mainly for sports not present at the Olympic Games. The next edition of the Games is scheduled to be held in Birmingham, Alabama in 2022. To view full results of the online vote, click here.

Panamsports has officially added Basque Pelota, Bowling, Racquetball, Squash and Sport Climbing to the Santiago 2023 sports program. This means a total of 38 sports will be contested at the games, one less than in Lima 2019. These sports were originally left off the program, when it was announced back in March 2020. Felipe De Pablo, Executive Director of Santiago 2023 stated that: “It is an extremely robust and attractive sports program, reflecting tradition and new trends. We want to fill the sports venues, so that Chile feels proud of the event that we are going to offer. The sports program is one more step towards that goal ”. Sport Climbing will also be making its Pan American Games debut. A total of nine countries from the region competed at the last Continental Championships in early 2020 in Los Angeles. Although the sports program is now finalized, the event program is not. It is understood that Panamsports would like to finalize this as soon as possible. The games are scheduled to be held October 20 to November 5, 2023, the latest in a calendar year the games have been held.