Squash Ireland has officially become a full member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland following a vote on Wednesday evening in Dublin.
With squash confirmed as one of six new sports added to the programme for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Squash Ireland was granted associate membership of the OFI last year.
This affiliation has now led to the approval of full membership at the OFI annual general meeting (AGM), which took place at the Alex Hotel in Dublin.
Scott Graham, the CEO of Squash Ireland, attended the AGM along with president Rosie Barry. He stated: “It is an honour for Squash Ireland to join the family of Olympic sports in Ireland.
“We have been developing our high-performance structures with the recent appointment of a head coach and two junior performance coaches. Additionally, we are increasing support for players at all stages of their development.
“Three of our top professional players have reached career-high world rankings and continue to improve. We look forward to being active members of the Olympic Federation of Ireland and striving for excellence on the world stage.”
Item nine on the OFI AGM agenda detailed the conversion of associate members to full members. It read: “The executive committee is recommending the following six associate members be converted to full members of the Olympic Federation of Ireland:
• Lacrosse Ireland (representing lacrosse)
• American Football Ireland (representing flag football)
• Squash Ireland (representing squash)
• Cricket Ireland (representing cricket)
• Softball Ireland (representing softball)
• Baseball Ireland (representing baseball)
“All six of the above sports have been confirmed as being on the 2028 Los Angeles Games programme and as such the organisations above are eligible for full membership of the OFI.
“Their application submissions have been assessed, and all necessary paperwork has been received. Members will be asked to approve the conversion of these memberships by voting on an ordinary resolution. This requires a simple majority to pass.”
