They have an unfair advantage from the word go in that these people sit on the very board that will elect the new CEO. They are cushy with the other board members and I think it’s a bloody big conflict of interest as well as an absolute cheek that they are even thinking about the job.
Ok, so they will have no say in the decision because they are a candidate, but anyone with any common sense can see this is not a fair situation. Perhaps if the new CEO was elected by a vote cast by every single tour player then that gives other candidates more of a chance, but that is not the way squash politics work. The board maintain their control on the affairs of the PSA cutting the players – the primary stakeholders in the organisation, out of every major decision.
The board has lost all credibility and all members who have been on it for more than one year should be replaced by fresh individuals; not necessarily players but people who know what they are doing. After the vote rigging surrounding members of the board trying to keep their places *cough* Jack Herrick & Mark Chaloner *cough* the board has lost all credibility in my mind. “We accidentally on purpose forgot to count two thirds of the votes as they got left behind in a desk drawer in Cardiff” does not spell unquestionable integrity. Sounds frightfully familiar to a situation in Zimbabwe at the moment…
Why doesn’t the PSA advertise the new CEO job on websites that actually matter?
What about: http://www.sportsrecruitment.com/ for instance – one of the main players in the recruitment of sports executives for all areas of the industry. It makes no sense for the board to elect one of their own to the helm of the PSA. They might feel inclined or obligated to elect one of their mates but at what cost?
The PSA made slight but definite progress under the leadership of Gawain Briars. That is not because he had any particular skills in areas that are crucial to the running of a major world tour – but rather because he was a professional guy (He was a solicitor afterall) and had support from individuals with some level of influence such as Robert Edwards for the Middle East. Now that Robert and Gawain are gone…what’s going to happen to the PSA?
I think that the new CEO is going to have one hell of a job to do in terms of bringing about meaningful changes to the way the tour is run and the events that make up the calendar. If for instance, lets take a completely random name out of the hat her: Mark Chaloner became the new CEO, then what exactly could he do that Gawain couldn’t? Or maybe even…Alex Gough perhaps? They are squash players; they have been most of their lives and possess the ability to hit a ball (very well albeit) against a wall. That is it though. Gawain was a trained solicitor and had legal expertise that he brought to the PSA, he was a professional guy and I don’t believe he had any secret motives in applying for the position of CEO. What the hell do Chaloner and Gough have that Gawain didn’t?? (Well, Chaloner does have an overwhelming desire to bring the World Open to the Cayman Islands as he has stated many times…that’s not really a conflict of interest though I suppose…) The answer is absolutely diddly-squat.
They have an even more limited skill set, and if one of them gets the job then the PSA will be in a worse position than it was when Gawain took over and I will lose all of my hope for squash until that individuals term is over.
By Zee Shaan
Great comments about the Olympics from Amr Shabana, he and I are on the same page when it comes to that.
I feel too much importance is being given to this whole Olympics issue. It's like the typical Bush administration tactic i.e: to make u focus on one scarcely important issue like let's say Janet Jackson's nipple falling out on live TV and make u forget about the bigger issues at hand like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and innocent people being killed all over. In short it's merely more than a distraction tactic from the WSF to negate all the other important questions that haunt our sport other than the inclusion in Olympics. Like let's say, helping organize bigger and richer tournaments for our players. At least come up with a better tournament schedule designed geographically so the touring players aren't carrying massive jetlags wherever they go.
We need to concentrate on making our sport better first and foremost on the professional level. Due to such things (mismanagement, unorganized schedules etc) something about our sport still doesn't feel quite professional yet. Don't get me wrong, the bigger tournaments in Middle East and North America are no doubt a very welcome and wonderful addition, but this should be considered the first step towards improvement, not the bonus it seemingly is considered at the moment. Again I agree with John White here, that if we took out the Middle East, we really wouldn't have a real circuit.
I think many of us forget while debating such things, that our professional players are ACTUALLY trying to make a living out of this sport and are in no way less than any of the other supreme athletes in other sports, so why don't they get what they so rightfully deserve? I am not asking to award them with millions of dollars like tennis pros (although if u do, I would be the first one to applaud u and ur noble intentions and I am sure the players wouldn't say no to it either) but at least make it so that the 200th ranked player in the world can make a decent living out of our sport and not just the 20th ranked player in the world. In turn this will create a lot more interest and competition in the PSA in general as well. More people will become full time PSA members and make squash their way of life, which eventually promotes the game and brings bigger audiences to it, which is also something we dearly need at the moment i.e : bigger crowds.
Someone has to say it, so I'll take the plunge and point this out as well : Other than the very top two - three officials of PSA (not players but officials) who's presence adds to the integrity of the event itself, no one should be allowed to travel on PSA's coin and if this cannot be avoided then the PSA needs to stop ripping off the players when it comes to the percentage of their pay checks that they withhold. Time for some conscious checks people. Greater things always require greater sacrifices. Stop treating the PSA as a global picnic where people in high positions (retired players even) can just jet-set around the world and meet up with old friends and hang around tournaments and all. Sorry, but let's end this gravy train right here. THAT money can go towards bettering our tour and the day it's on parallel terms with the TENNIS tour, the guys who gave up their privileges can have them back. Sort of like, setting a goal and when u achieve it, u can then enjoy ur rewards. Right now, there is almost zero effort with a 100% reward for some individuals. If our sport really isn't that rich of a sport, then let the PSA act accordingly as well. Think of it as a college student on a budget and when u graduate and get a fine job, u buy the things u had planned on purchasing but till then, u keep ur desires and wishes in strict check (I know this well enough since I am still attending college). Deprive certain individuals of their privileges and either they will quit (which is good, because it will rule out uninterested people from the development of our sport) or they will work harder to make this a better n richer tour so that they can have their privileges back. It's a win-win situation from where I am standing.
The selection criteria for the new CEO should be simple enough. Someone who comes into the game already quite wealthy and may not necessarily be a top class player but someone who just likes the game and is interested in seeing it grow. Wealthy because I wouldn't like to see him derive his basic financial requirements from the PSA itself. This should be something he is passionate about, not the game itself necessarily but be passionate about the "business of squash". Kind of like an inventor who seeks to reap the rewards of his invention after it has passed all the trials and tests and then enjoys watching it being put to use by various people all over. Let the CEO be the inventor, let the 'expansion and development of the squash tour' be his invention, let it go through the trials and tests put forward by 'different economies all around the world, the professional touring pros themselves, number of events played around the world and also concerns relating to scheduling of events in a more organized fashion', and then when it passes these tests, let the players (current touring pros and potential new members of the PSA) be the people who enjoy this 'invention' and put it to use all over to make their lives richer in return. But in order for all this to happen, the first and most important thing that the 'inventor' needs to do is to actually BELIEVE in his product. That's wat we need right now, someone who really BELIEVES in our sport and knows that the sport has a multi-million dollar potential & feels he has the ability to help it get there, develop it into a stronger, more refined circuit. Someone with vision, someone with conviction, someone with farsight, and someone with the most intricate understanding of the tour's foundations. Someone with a massive conscious and unparalleled integrity. Our noble sport needs a noble warrior-leader. He needn't be super-human, but he definitely needs to be 'human' in all the right sense of the word, simply 'human'.
We don't have to select the absolute correct individual for this job (cuz then u r relying too much on good fortune and as any good squash player will tell u, there is no such thing as good luck on the court..), we just have to steer clear of the WRONG ones and then help our eventual choice for this position make our tour better. I wish the squash world all the best in this endeavour and sincerely hope, wish and pray that 'may the best man win...'
