Author: Peter Carlisle

  • Positioning Perspective: The Ball Problem Squash Must Solve Before LA28

    By Peter CarlisleNovember 10, 2025 Olympic inclusion will elevate the profile of squash and attract newcomers to the sport. But if the sport wants to keep them, it must fix a fundamental flaw—the ball itself. When snowboarding made its Olympic debut in 1998, it was the fastest-growing sport in the world. Four years later, at…

  • Tennis as Meditation

    A hidden gift of sport: How competition cultivates mindfulness By Peter Carlisle Nearly fifty years ago, Timothy Gallwey’s Inner Game of Tennis popularized the idea that quieting the mind is key to peak performance. With tennis as his framework, he argued that to enter “the zone,” players must move beyond the self-interference of internal chatter,…

  • One Year Later: Why Jordan Chiles’ Appeal Won’t Address the Flaws in Her Case

    By Peter CarlisleAugust 15, 2025 One year ago, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued its written decision stripping American gymnast Jordan Chiles of her Olympic bronze medal. She appealed, but not to a court that can reexamine the facts, law, or reasoning. Under the rules governing Olympic disputes, the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT)…

  • The Hidden Cost of Olympic Contracts

    Commercial Speech and Athlete Rights By Peter CarlisleMay 11, 2024 In the months leading up to the Olympic Games, athletes are inundated with contracts prepared by USOPC lawyers—forms, releases, licensing agreements—and presented as administrative formalities. These documents are uploaded to the USOPC’s online Athlete Marketing Platform (AMP), where athletes are asked to review and sign…

  • What Is the Real Purpose of High School Sports?

    By Peter CarlisleAugust 29, 2022 On a sunny May afternoon two years ago, I sat behind the backstop at my son’s high school baseball field. It was Senior Day—the final home game of the season, when each senior is introduced to cheers and applause, meets their parents on the third-base line, and poses for photos.…

  • There’s no such thing as a “standard” release

    Why Athletes Must Understand Every Document They Sign An Opinion Paper By Peter Carlisle With all the media, promotional, and competitive events in the run-up to the Paris Games, Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls will have to sign numerous Release & Waiver agreements. While most events will have a single document, there are exceptions. Occasionally, additional…

  • Releases & Waivers

    What Every Athlete Needs to Know Before Signing An Opinion Paper By Peter Carlisle Athletes preparing to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will soon be asked to sign a series of releases and waivers—before competitions, media events, and promotional appearances. Most assume these documents are harmless. Many trust that their National Governing Body…