Dame Susan Devoy believes the future of high performance squash in New Zealand hinges on the sport being accepted into the Olympics.
Devoy was in Dunedin during the weekend to speak at the Otago Squash Club’s 50th celebrations.
She reigned supreme during the 1980s and early 1990s, winning the World Open in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1992. She also won the British Open eight times.
Squash enjoyed a higher profile in New Zealand when she was dispatching opponents. But it has faded into the background, despite the recent success at Commonwealth Games level.
The sport still has a large global reach, though, and more than 20 million people play it worldwide.
It seemingly has a strong case for inclusion in the Olympics but was overlooked for the Tokyo Games and has pinned its hopes on the 2024 Olympic programme.
‘‘In terms of high performance I think the future of the game in New Zealand depends on the sport getting into the Olympics,’’ Devoy said.
‘‘We’ve missed out so many times so you have to think, well, it must be soon or never. I suppose I’m a bit biased but I look at some of the sports and think holy hell.
‘‘But I just think the likes of Paul Coll and Joelle King are doing so well. But unless you see that on a bigger international stage than just the Commonwealth Games, it is hard to see a future generation coming through.
‘‘If it is not an Olympic sport, it does not get the funding. Not everything is about money but if you can’t invest in good coaching, good programmes and good people, it makes it really hard.
‘‘You will always get the exceptions, like we have with Joelle and Paul. But how do you translate their success at the Com Games into more kids playing?’’
Devoy wondered whether more money should be directed towards the grass-roots. But she also thought squash needed to upgrade many of the facilities if it wanted to remain relevant at a social level.
‘‘Clubs are really struggling to update their facilities, so they need to be quite innovative with how they are going to partner with other people. It is a really big issue for squash clubs that have been run by volunteers for a long time.’’
