Dear member,
The news over wrestling has caught the headlines during the past 10 days. It means some slight changes in emphasis on our strategy in the few remaining months and the Olympic Bid Steering Group has asked me to bring to your attention ways in which every Federation can directly help with the strategy now. Please read these and see if you can contribute as several Federations are already doing. We also thank those who have sent us funds to help the campaign and we welcome need more of you to do the same – this is a campaign by the entire world of squash for the entire world of squash, not just by the few individuals leading it!
‘LIKE’ THE WSF & BID FACEBOOK PAGES
If all the squash players in your country who are Facebook ‘fans’ could click to LIKE WorldSquash and Back the Bid we can dramatically increase their followings – it is so important for us to demonstrate large social media numbers.
Again, if all the squash players who are on Twitter can follow @vote4squash and have #Vote4Squash in their Tweets, that will help immensely too.
ATHLETE / CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
In the last few days you may have seen tennis star Roger Federer and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar both showing their support for the bid. Here’s the Federer shot. If you can reach a sportsperson or celebrity with an international profile do ask them to pose like this and send it to us. If you can ask them to give a quote about how good it would be for squash to have a place on the Olympic Games programme that would be even better.
Here’s a link to download the card: Back the Bid 2020 Card.
LINK WITH YOUR MEDIA
Here’s a link to a feature that the Danish Federation managed to get onto a national TV station there. They have done a great job – perhaps you can interest TV where you are (it will be great just to raise the profile of squash nationally too).
If TV there want to use segments of the bid film you / they can download it in Mac / PC formats during the next 14 days at: http://fileshare.wilderfilms.co.uk/Login. Username: squashbid and Password: backthebid. There are no copyright restrictions for promotional / media use.
But don’t ignore your newspapers either. Do encourage them to write about the bid. You can direct them to www.squash2020.com where in the latest news section there is a great deal of background information. Our bid is newsworthy and there is no better opportunity for you to secure squash coverage in your country than now. The media there are in reach!
WATCH THE BID FILM
We already have had nearly ninety thousand viewings of the film, and would really like to take that total well into six figures to show the IOC just how much interest there is in our bid. So do prompt your database to click onto it. And if they have already watched it, to do so a second time! Here it is: Back the Bid 2020 official video.
This is our dream list for the squash players and yourselves, and with your help our dream of a place in the Olympic Games can become a reality.
Andrew Shelley
andrew@worldsquash.org
