Dear member,
As you will realise, we are entering the critical last phases of our Olympic bid led by President Ramachandran, and so need to build on the pace we have set so that, to use an athletics phrase, we drive to the line.
To update you briefly, you will have seen that a few days ago the IOC decided that wrestling would be dropped from the Programme after Rio 2016 and so make the space for the new sport for 2020.
At the end of May all the sports on the shortlist, with wrestling added, will make a presentation to the IOC Executive Board, who had planned to recommend one sport to the IOC Congress as a whole to ratify when they meet in September. It is now possible that they could recommend two or three sports to the Congress to choose from. We don’t know yet, but whatever the number we need to be on that list by continuing to develop our case in every way we can.
One area that has become increasingly important is that we increase our numbers and activity on social media.
We want to create a push on Twitter via @vote4squash and the hash tag #Vote4Squash. This will help give a quick and potentially significant boost to the bid via our social media following.
With this in mind can I ask you to take these steps please:
1. Email all individuals/centres on your national database and ask them all to send a Tweet asking everybody to follow @vote4squash including the hashtag #Vote4Squash ………..doing so tomorrow – Tuesday 19th February – at roughly noon UK time – early morning in PanAmerica, early afternoon in mainland Europe and Africa, late night in Asia / Oceania. this will help the trending of the hashtag.
Essentially, we want followers of @vote4squash to dramatically increase and for #vote4squash to trend on Twitter.
Followers need to have #Vote4Squash in their Tweets, follow @vote4squash and add comments about Squash’s bid e.g. – ‘I’m backing the Bid, are you? Showing support via #Vote4Squash. If not, why not? #Vote4Squash.’ (Note: this Twitter id replacess @BackTheBid names)
This will really help hugely.
2. Those on facebook can also help by posting #Vote4Squash in their status – hopefully Facebook fans and followers will then promote it on Twitter.
3. Everybody on facebook should click to LIKE fb.com/WorldSquash and fb.com/backthebid2020 too please, so that we can get up to a million followers.
This is very much a coordinated approach with PSA/WSA involved too, so do please support by getting the whole squash community in your country involved. It really will make a difference as we go forward demonstrating global support for Squash to join the Olympic Games.
Thanks for your support.
Andrew Shelley
Chief Executive
Mob: +44 (0)7824 706437
Tel (office): +44 (0)1424 447 440
