Squash Thanks Community for Olympic Effort

World Squash President N Ramachandran has written an open letter to the international squash community, thanking them for their support over the past two years in backing the bid.

Ramy, as he is known in the squash world, said “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been so committed to this bid and given it their total support… In particular I would like to thank the many squash players who wrote to their IOC members requesting them to support the bid. All the Regional Federations and Member Nations have played a major part along with many individuals in lobbying and fundraising.”

Whilst the International Olympic Committee did not go in squash’s favour, voting wrestling back into the Olympic Games core sports, the efforts put in by people at all levels of squash has been noticed and acknowledged.

The World Squash campaign focussed on social media to show the IOC that people from all over the world wanted squash in the Olympics. #vote4squash hashtags were seen all over Facebook and Twitter, the Back the Bid Facebook page had over 125,000 fans and photos from all over the world showed squash players and celebrities alike showing their support.

Squash New Zealand Chief Executive Jim O'Grady is delighted with the support shown from kiwi squash players. "Although the result was disappointing, the process really highlighted how the squash community can rally together to show the world their passion. It was inspiring to see people get behind the Olympic bid from one end of the country to the other and I think it has strengthened the feeling of community within squash players".

Download N Ramachandran’s full letter here.

To see more on squash’s Olympic campaign, http://squash2020.com/