SQUASH GETS GAMES CORE SPORTS STATUS

Thu, 21/12/2006 - 06:10

| |

Squash has received a boost after the Commonwealth Games Federation confirmed the sport would be one of the ‘core sports’ of the Games.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/160977/squash-gets-games-core-sports-status

The decision came following a recent meeting in Malaysia of the federation’s executive board.

Squash will become one of ten sports which "shall be obligatory" on the Games’ sports programme. The others are: Athletics, aquatics (swimming), badminton, boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball (women), rugby sevens (men) and weightlifting.

Said Michael Hooper, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation: “Squash’s addition to the list of core sports for future editions of the Commonwealth Games is reflective of this and the sport's overall depth and quality within the Commonwealth today.

"Since the sport's introduction to the Games programme in 1998, the level of participation and excellence continues to grow and at the recent Commonwealth Games in Melbourne we saw 29 participating nations. With the commitment to the sport's further development across the Commonwealth by World Squash, we expect to see this continue to rise – we welcome Squash as a core partner within the Commonwealth Games movement.