Officials are considering putting squash in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

I don’t want to rain on the parade currently marching through the squash world as Japan shortlists squash as one of their eight candidates for recommendation to IOC. Being in the Olympics would be incredible, absolutely amazing but squash should not be looking at the Olympics as the cure it so desperately needs. An ageing demographic, dwindling participation and courts under threat… Squash does need a major boost but it’s not going to get that by getting accepted into the Olympics alone, not unless it can rise to the occasion.

Being in the Olympics would be a phenomenal opportunity but that is all. All opportunities have to be taken. It would be a massive boost to the perception and the awareness of squash but it won’t arrest the present decline. Even if all our dreams come true and all that we wished for happens and squash is played at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, will things change that much for squash? Sure, people of all ages will be more aware of the sport and there is no doubt we will see more people coming along to try squash. There will undoubtedly be a boost to participation in the short term. However, what will this short term boost do for our sport in the long run?

There are players at every club who hark on about days gone by when there were over four thousand internal league divisions and you had to book three years in advance to get a court and even then you would have to play at 4am on a Monday morning or not play at all. Squash has clearly enjoyed far more popular periods than it is enjoying now and yet these ghosts are not worth anything to us now. Even if inclusion in Tokyo 2020 provides us a return to these glory days, what’s to stop squash facing the participation problems again in 20 years time? How much will this Olympics boost actually help the sport?

That depends on us.

The Olympics would be incredible for the game but it is an opportunity, not a solution to the problem. What good will an influx of eager new players be if there are no structures in place for them to join?

I work in clubs across Sussex and I see new members fall through the cracks at all clubs. At some clubs where they’ve worked hard, it’s only occasional new players who drop out but at others, they disappear all the time. Often, they’ll go along to the club night or open evening and get stuffed by everyone there. Where do they go next? If they’re lucky, they might be able to seek out help from the coach – if there is one. A large number of clubs don’t even have a coach! Of the clubs that do, only a handful have full-time coaches. So will our new player be able to improve his game? Maybe. His wife wants to join or is interested in having a go; is there a ladies session? Is there a club session where extra measures are taken to get women to attend? Maybe she’ll find squash too difficult but likes the sound of racketball. Is there a way she can get involved with that? If they have children, can they join a junior section? Can they play competitively and then progress all the way through the county and regional ranks to the top of the game if they so desire? If clubs can’t provide that, they will be a long way short on cashing in on the riches that the Olympics will offer squash.

What squash needs is more qualified coaches. Not just any old token Level 1 coach but active and knowledgeable coaches. It needs champions too. People who will tell their friends about it and bring them along for a go. Mums who will tell all the other mums in the school playground how much their child enjoys playing squash. Parents who will give up their time to drive junior players to matches and volunteers who will run Racketball Evenings, Junior Tournaments and Ladies Nights.

It also needs far more professional infrastructure and participation programmes. We at The Squash Company are working tirelessly to establish better links with schools and community groups in the areas local to our clubs so that we get more and more people actively aware and involved in squash. Squash also needs better and stronger leadership from its governing body and I hope that England squash’s new commander-in-chief Kier Worth will be able to provide that.

If squash is included in the Olympics, it will offer an incredible opportunity and platform, but will squash be there ready to take advantage of this opportunity? I am an incredibly optimistic person (which it might not seem in this article) but we have a lot of work to do to make sure we are ready for any boost the Olympics might bring. If we do start investing more in coaching, identifying champions and working on improving what squash can offer, we will be in an incredible position to make future Olympic Games should we miss out on Tokyo 2020. Hell, If we start putting all of these practices into place, we might find the IOC are approaching squash!