Views and News about Squash
By Ryan Barnett
From www.squashtalk.com

JEAN DELIERRE - A PASSION BECOMES A COMMITMENT TO HIS SPORT

Nov 25, 2003  Sometimes a person just has to take a step back and look at things from a different perspective. The problems facing professional squash are widely known and have been well documented. The interaction between players and referees, lack of financial resources, and failure to get squash included within the Olympic games have all been beaten to death by the media. Yet what are the results?

In this first of a planned Barnett Interview Series on SquashTalk, De Lierre bares his soul, tells his story, and blows the lid sky high on exactly what's going on in the world of video capture for professional squash. De Lierre not only acknowledges the problems but has outspoken views as to possible solutions. A must read for all squash enthusiasts and for those with a true love of the game

SquashTalk: Your background. Please explain how it is, how it happened, how you eventually became one of the best squash producers the sport has ever seen?

DeLierre: I appreciate the compliment Ryan, thank you. Married, 5 children, ex police officer, real estate developer, pilot, diver, author, television producer, teaching professional, etc, it’s needless to add that I enjoy taking on challenges of all sorts. I joined in the Squash-TV arena in North America in the mid eighties out of frustration stemming from what I believed were poor broadcasts of the sport at the time. Passionate for the game, I was convinced that squash was destined to a great future in mainstream television, but I felt that its appearance on the tube needed revamping to reach that point, so I set out to do my part and attempted to improve the situation. Using the knowledge acquired from combined professions in the television industry and as teaching professional, I studied and began implementing changes in conventional production methods that I thought would best do the job.

Furthermore and on the bigger scheme of things TV-wise, a tremendous opportunity was being created for the sport that would help it grow exponentially in popularity, hence financially, so I thought it made good business sense to get in on the action early, I explain. Technological advancements in racquet construction technology have made the sport of Tennis evolve into a power sport; balls often struck at sub-human speeds are more often than not irretrievable. In most instances, at least in the men’s game, rallies are short and over before they even start. The elements of racquet artistry, deception and power-touch mix combinations that have contributed in making tennis the most successful racquet sport on television may now be lost to it, but they certainly aren’t lost to Squash as they are integral part of it. Millions of unsuspecting viewers are just one TV channel flip away from discovering squash through our touring pros. They are just this close to once again renew with the beauty of strategically well constructed rallies and mind-over-muscle racquet duals.

MONEY IN THE GAME ...
In 2000, following 12 years of fruitless appeals to the PSA administrative body that they re-think their approach to the ‘packaging’ of their squash programs for the television media; I personally financed and produced squash programs which I though may get their attention, and as well that of the squash community at large. So I teamed up with key individuals who shared a similar vision for the sport, and beginning in 2000 with the Tournament of Champions, the Super Series Finals and the Toronto YMG events, we set out to prove to the skeptics that squash could make great television.

One video at the time starting 2000 at first, then through the sport’s first Internet Broadcast in 2001, and now in 2003 with more productions that squash players around the globe and North American TV Network Executives are discovering and ‘buying’ into, we hope to have help create an irreversible momentum that will lead to positive changes for the game.

SquashTalk: In 1999 I read an article penned by John Nimick discussing squash and T.V. Nimick’s article talked about chromo key (colored background used to more easily identify with on screen objects. i.e. a moving squash ball) He also mentioned different colored balls to allow television viewers to see the squash ball and thus follow the game. Has a lot changed since 1999? Having filmed squash matches practically all over the world have there been any other major breakthroughs besides the two mentioned by Nimick that have allowed squash to become more television friendly?

DeLierre: Sadly, except for improved court lighting, a few ball experiments and the handful of productions mentioned earlier, not much has changed in the last 40 years for squash in respect to its appearance on television. The players are extraordinary, unprecedented rivalries are at their peak, the courts get erected in the most exotic locations, but all we can show for it with any sense of pride are great stills.

SquashTalk: Not much is known about squash production. Many people think, 'how hard can it be to film two people running around in a square box?' What’s involved in putting together a top-notch squash production and what are some of the hidden costs that nobody ever hears about? (How many cameras are utilized, etc.)

DeLierre: The same can be said of many 15 & 30 second TV commercials or 2 to 3 minute music videos, but most cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to create. Taking a rapid cost overview here; equipment, travels, hotels, meals, insurance, lead commentator, tape stock, technical crew, pre-production planning, interviews/stories and scripts ++ will normally use up to 50-70 % of a given production budget, the rest will be spent in editing services. For example, each hour of captured material from 5 cameras at any given event will require at least 5 days of digital editing, so do the math. In a nutshell, all comes down to the attention paid to details, speeding through and cutting corners at any stage of a production will have disastrous effect on the final TV product of an event. Do the job right and you’ll eventually reap the benefits.

SquashTalk: It’s no secret that one of the major issues/challenges with regards to squash is lack of financial resources. A promoter’s biggest challenge is securing sponsor dollars to ensure a first class event. How hard is it for your company to turn a profit from filming squash and have you had any thoughts about diversifying to other sports as a result?

DeLierre: The money we spent in squash productions over the years were well over our allotted budgets... when we had one that is. We understood from very early on that we wouldn’t recover our investment through the sale of videos or DVD, so we had to diversify in other projects and productions.

In my opinion, once the tour leaders turn their focus on their primary marketing tool (i.e. quality programming), squash will hit mainstream TV. Once this happens, it will be the end of our video distribution business, but it will also be the end of the sport’s economic difficulties.

To address the issue of the sport’s financial challenges raised in your question, and how this problem can be solved permanently… Squash is only a few short moves away from tapping into the immense financial resources of major corporations, but the sports’ decision makers must first begin seeing this sponsorship issue from their own perspective.

The willingness of sponsors at large to invest in our sport is directly related to the quality of our programs and on their market reach. Indeed, if the television production of an event isn’t reflective of their company’s image (i.e. one of quality), they will avoid it. Many of our sponsors currently invest in our sport because they are squash lovers and philanthropists; the decisions of all other ‘less involved’ corporate executives to join in squash will be based on value and return on investment.

Furthermore and in clear terms, the day we can prove to the largest corporations through our programs’ TV ratings that squash is watched by millions, then that will be the day they will readily join us. All is nothing less than a good business proposition; the higher the number of ‘eyeballs’/TV viewers squash can offer their corporations, then the more advertising dollars they will invest in squash in return.

SquashTalk: In a direct way what you do promotes the sport. Television coverage, video & DVD’s provide lasting memories of an event. Having said this, how involved or better yet, how interested are the major squash associations in what you do?

DeLierre: I have received tremendous moral support from the executive members of the WSF over the years and from WISPA in recent times, and I am most thankful to them for this. We haven’t yet been able to convert and make something concrete happen as a result, but it may only be a matter of time since our objectives to promote the sport are so similar.

SquashTalk: If you could make any changes to squash to make the sport better or stronger as a whole what would they be? 

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