"World Doubles To Heighten Squash Profile" - HOW ?
Published: 21 Nov 2005 - 09:22 by Viper
Updated: 09 Jan 2006 - 13:52
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How will the excellent squash coming up in Melb be used to broaden the interest and profile of squash in any long term meaningful way in Australia ?
The rhetoric in the statement below is ......nice but I do not see any stratagy to translate this exposure into a long term plan.
For instance, what media exposure will the world doubles receive ?
Case in point, the World doubles web site has Tourism Victoria as a sponsor link to its web site, yet when you go to Tourism Victoria and search on "squash" there is no mention of any of the coming squash activity, including the world doubles.
This does not bode well for coverage as it stands one feels .
QUOTE BY NORMAN FRY:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"16/11/05
The 2006 World Doubles Squash Championships to be held in Melbourne in January 2006 will signal the start of a heightened awareness of Squash according to Squash Australia CEO NOrman Fry.
"The World Doubles is just the start of about three months the best Squash to be played in Ausralia for many years" said Mr Fry.
"Immediately after the doubles, the Australian Squash Open will be played, featuring all our top players, and this is to be followed by the Commonwealth Games" he said.
Melbourne will be the centre of the Squash action for early in 2006 and preparatns are under way to ensure the Squash venue at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre (MSAC) will be in top shape.
Not only is refurbishment is under way on the doubles courts at MSAC to ensure the players have the best of conditions for the World Doubles and the Commonwealth Games, a band new portable doubles court will be in Australia for the first time of for the two events.
Australia does not see a lot of its European based Squash stars throughout the year and thiswill be a great opportunity for them and other internationals to compete at the top level, down under."
http://www.squash.org.au/events/articles.php?artid=353
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From Viper - 09 Jan 2006 - 13:52
From Viper - 22 Dec 2005 - 08:34
12 days till the Australian Open with xmas/new year break in the middle.
No listing on Tourism Victoria of either of the squash events.
Safe to say any marketing/promotion gain has next to dissapeared or totally lost.
From Viper - 13 Dec 2005 - 15:37
Some further feedback from Paul, thanks Paul 
QUOTE:
"I advise:
1. Yes it is frustrating trying to increase the profile of squash in this
country, but unfortunately at most times of the year, all of our top ranked
players are overseas participating on the World Tour.
That is why we heavily concentrate on promoting the game through our squash in
schools program, linking our squash clubs with local primary and secondary
schools and forming partnerships with them to establish junior programs.
2. Following approval from Squash Australia and the World Squash Federation,
promotional posters have now been circulated to all of our squash venues, plus
we are circulating information to players via our email database.
We are aware that this is not the best time of the year to be running events in
Melbourne, but we had no alternative as the dates were fixed by the WSF and also
we needed to have Comm Games testing events within 3 months of the CG.
3. Due to the enormous cost in organising television production there will be no
formal TV coverage of either tournament, but we are hopeful that we will receive
snippets on nightly news and sports services, plus coverage in the print media."
From rippa rit - 10 Dec 2005 - 21:58
That just seems to be how things are.
From Viper - 10 Dec 2005 - 17:55
Two things at play there...
1. Tourism Victoria is a named major sponsor of the tournaments, as such it would be very odd indeed if they did not even list these major events on their web site.
2. As indicated the events and year round exposure can be listed on the web site for small change, ie $180.00 annually.
One would normallly assume both options would be marketting 101.
From rippa rit - 10 Dec 2005 - 12:32
I have never known Govt organisations to promote/advertise the sport they put dollars into really. There sponsorship obviously comes in various ways - maybe good deals - and of course expect the sport to promote them, and I am sure there is a political motive in there too. Just look at the Squash Australia website and I am sure the Tourism logo appears clearly for squash players to read.
From Viper - 10 Dec 2005 - 10:39
I received this reply, thanks Paul :
"I advise Tourism Victoria are a major sponsor of
the World Doubles Championships and they had previously agreed to promote our 2
events in January on the TV website.
Their office is currently looking into the matter for us."
As of today there is no reference whats so ever of the Australian Open or the World doubles on the tourism Vict website - less than 3 weeks out from the tournaments.
From Viper - 05 Dec 2005 - 08:56
Have still received no reply or acknowledgement of my e-mail.
And as of today there is no reference whats so ever of the fast approaching World Squash Doubles or the Australian Squash Open on Victorias main tourist information web site, a web site/organisation that is a sponsor of both tournaments no less !
From raystrach - 30 Nov 2005 - 09:14
From Viper - 30 Nov 2005 - 08:22
From Viper - 24 Nov 2005 - 16:20
From rippa rit - 24 Nov 2005 - 15:09
- It is really up to every club/lessee/owner/operator to s-t-r-e-t-c-h whatever publicity squash gets, and make "every post a winner" so to speak. So I went hunting around some of our links and found some quiet achiever who already has a Social In-house Doubles Comp running (probably paying no affiliation fees either) as well as holding a monthly Club Doubles Tournament.
From raystrach - 24 Nov 2005 - 09:11
your detective work was good
- norman fry is NOT going to criticise in pulic - if he has to he will do it in private
- it is his job to talk up the sport
- i am sure the squash oz strategic plan is on their website
Quote by Viper
----------------------------------------------------------------
Read about the doubles in melbourne.........
Seemed a lot of rhetoric so i looked into it - discvover that there was no link..........
Emailed/phoned/whatevered paul vear from victorian squash and pointed out that tourism victoria..........and that they can get a link up there easily........ they said they would do it.looked at the squash oz strategic plan - it should be doing ...........emailed norman fry with my suggestions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
my points are
- you obviously have passion for squash
- you could do a lot worse than rita and i - this website was first conceived about 8 years ago as a DIRECT result of a dispute between squash oz and ourselves
- i have been a big critic of various levels of squash admin over the years - but you don't see it on these web pages - i prefer to use ACTION as a form of criticism.
- CONVERT YOUR PASSION INTO ACTION - carping to squashgame readers will get you nowhere - DO something about it!!
- we desparately need people like you to contribute to our forum, but your crusade as it exists will only turn people off if it continues in its current form
- i can gurantee that once you start doing something to improve the status of his great game, the tone of your posts will change completely and people will start WANTING to read what you have to say
From Viper - 24 Nov 2005 - 06:19 - Updated: 24 Nov 2005 - 07:00
Lets have a look at some of your points, (in the interest of growing the sport)
Quote:
Not so, as you can see below for next to nothing $180 a sport/entity can can be listed on their online site and even have events listed for free, see below -
Quote from Tourism Victoria:
"Market your business online
Take your message to the world. For a $180 annual fee, Tourism Victoria offers operators a cost effective way of reaching potential visitors all over the world.
Sign up online and create your own listing, complete with images, a full description, facilities, rates and maps that can be updated at any time. Tourism Victoria also offers businesses their own personalised web address.
- Events can list free of charge and can sign-up online to create a comprehensive listing. "
Other sports doing just that:
Australian open tennis:
Australian Open Golf:
As an indication when I search for Squash I get one listing of a squash court in a resort somewhere, when I list under Golf I get 500 listings and tennis 466 listings.
Now clearly one can never expect squash to have the profile of tennis or golf but 1 scant mention of a court somewhere and more worrying no mention of the doubles open, squash in the comm games or the upcoming Australian open, much less a basic link to Squash Australia web site.
Viper
From Viper - 23 Nov 2005 - 08:20 - Updated: 23 Nov 2005 - 11:46
" in the meantime, do us all a favour and for the next post, show us all that you are not a negative person and tell us some good news story!!"
There is a very important rule contained in that statement.
1. NEGATIVE COMMENT:
" That business is just shocking."
2. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
"That business was shocking.....because
point A. ......................
point b. ..............................
point c. ..........................
3. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND FEEDBACK
"That business was shocking.....because
point A. ......................
point b. ..............................
point c. ...........................
" and it can be improved by"
point d. ......................
point e. ..............................
point f. ...........................
4. PRAISE ALONE
That business was great.
Number 1. is of no help to anyone and is a waste of time.
Number 2. is of some value as it quantifies "why" the business was seen as poor
Number 3. is "GOLD, GOLD, GOLD !" to any business that is switched on and understands the huge value in constructive apprasial of its product/service, whats more most businesses pay lots of money to source this feedback it is called -market research.
Number 4. makes you feel good............
Over time when I might post critical feedback it will always be in the style of number 3. construing it as number 1. is an opportunity lost.
Smart business will say, um praise is nice thanks very much but its real desire is to gather as much of number 3 as possible, ie number 3 is much more valuable than 4.
Where is squash as a game/organisation at
I am not sure but we do know it has/is in decline, certainly in Australia at least, so it begs the question is squash the game seeking out the gold contained in number 3 ?
btw Ray you are right "SQUASH IS A BRILLIANT SPORT" and that is why I care enough to enquire/post and why finding answers to squash's ills through self examination of the sport is its path to rebuilding.
Once a sport/business stops looking within, it is really heading for a crash and burn with no recovery.
I do also have plenty of positive things to say also btw - this forum and site is a credit and if open discussion is fostered it will become an important part of the game.
More power to you
From rippa rit - 23 Nov 2005 - 08:14
Just a quick note in reply to this comment (I will reply to the rest later) :
" in the meantime, do us all a favour and for the next post, show us all that you are not a negative person and tell us some good news story!!"
There is a very important rule contained in that statement.
1. NEGATIVE COMMENT:
" That business is just shocking."
2. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
"That business was shocking.....because
point A. ......................
point b. ..............................
point c. ...........................
3. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND FEEDBACK
"That business was shocking.....because
point A. ......................
point b. ..............................
point c. ...........................
" and it can be improved by"
point d. ......................
point e. ..............................
point f. ...........................
4. PRAISE ALONE
That business was great.
Number 1. is of no help to anyone and is a waste of time.
Number 2. is of some value as it quantifies "why" the business was seen as poor
Number 3. is "GOLD, GOLD, GOLD !" to any business that is switched on and understands the huge value in constructive apprasial of its product/service, whats more most businesses pay lots of money to source this feedback it is called -market research.
Number 4. makes you feel good............
Over time when I might post critical feedback it will always be in the style of number 3. construing it as number 1. is an opportunity lost.
Smart business will say, um praise is nice thanks very much but its real desire is to gather as much of number 3 as possible, ie number 3 is much more valuable than 4.
Where is squash as a game/organisation at ?
I am not sure but we do know it has/is in decline, certainly in Australia at least, so it begs the question is squash the game seeking out the gold contained in number 3 ?
btw Ray you are right "SQUASH IS A BRILLIANT SPORT" and that is why I care enough to enquire/post and why finding answers to squash's ills through self examination of the sport is its path to rebuilding.
Once a sport/business stops looking within, it is really heading for a crash and burn with no recovery.
I do also have plenty of positive things to say also btw - this forum and site is a credit and if open discussion is fostered it will become an important part of the game.
More power to you
From rippa rit - 23 Nov 2005 - 08:10
Just a quick note in reply to this comment (I will reply to the rest later) :
" in the meantime, do us all a favour and for the next post, show us all that you are not a negative person and tell us some good news story!!"
There is a very important rule contained in that statement.
1. NEGATIVE COMMENT:
" That business is just shocking."
2. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
"That business was shocking.....because
point A. ......................
point b. ..............................
point c. ...........................
3. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND FEEDBACK
"That business was shocking.....because
point A. ......................
point b. ..............................
point c. ...........................
" and it can be improved by"
point d. ......................
point e. ..............................
point f. ...........................
4. PRAISE ALONE
That business was great.
Number 1. is of no help to anyone and is a waste of time.
Number 2. is of some value as it quantifies "why" the business was seen as poor
Number 3. is "GOLD, GOLD, GOLD !" to any business that is switched on and understands the huge value in constructive apprasial of its product/service, whats more most businesses pay lots of money to source this feedback it is called -market research.
Number 4. makes you feel good............
Over time when I might post critical feedback it will always be in the style of number 3. construing it as number 1. is an opportunity lost.
Smart business will say, um praise is nice thanks very much but its real desire is to gather as much of number 3 as possible, ie number 3 is much more valuable than 4.
Where is squash as a game/organisation at ?
I am not sure but we do know it has/is in decline, certainly in Australia at least, so it begs the question is squash the game seeking out the gold contained in number 3 ?
btw Ray you are right "SQUASH IS A BRILLIANT SPORT" and that is why I care enough to enquire/post and why finding answers to squash's ills through self examination of the sport is its path to rebuilding.
Once a sport/business stops looking within, it is really heading for a crash and burn with no recovery.
I do also have plenty of positive things to say also btw - this forum and site is a credit and if open discussion is fostered it will become an important part of the game.
More power to you
From raystrach - 22 Nov 2005 - 00:02
i reckon you are being picky - and very negative.
- it is up to tourism victoria what they do - not squash
- would you rather norman fry talk squash DOWN and not UP?
- a lot of people put in a lot of work to make these things happen
- i would have thought you would be applauding the powers that be for winning the rights to these championships - not critisising them for it - give em a break!
- i can say with certainty that very few outside these organisations have any idea of the work that is put in in an attempt to give squash some sort of profile
- i would agree that there is some dead wood in the sport, but that is true for any organisation
- although it is good that you are airing your thoughts here, make it count by writing to the relevant state and local organisations and let them know what you think and tell them how to fix it!!
- i can assure you that every one in squash is running on the smell of an oily rag. there are no magic bullets or easy options
- i am actually looking forward to next year becuse we will see squash on the tv and the doubles will act as an entree to the main commonwealth games event.
- you have also got to remember that our top players have very few chances to play top squash in their own country, also, funding is tied to the performances of these athletes . there is a lot of activities for them and for those just below this level surrounding these events.
- you may not know it, but without the ais, squash in this country would struggle to produce the champions it does at present. i have coached players at that level and it is almost impossible for them to survive without support from somehwere. they just run out of money. if they don't have a backer they are no chance - those in europe are better placed to make a go of it simple because of proximity to events.
SQUASH IS A BRILLIANT SPORT
thanks again
From rippa rit - 21 Nov 2005 - 18:49
The average "Jo blow" is not happy to pay affiliation fees to promote "John Smith's" investment property, and so thereby hangs the tale.
Yeah, and there is more ..............
From Viper - 21 Nov 2005 - 10:57
The post is not directed at squashgame but rather it is a post put up for general discussion on a forum that will hopefully be read by those with an interest in squash.
The forum and site in general you are providing is a fantastic resource, fostering passonite discussion on squash on this site will only enhance its credibility.
It seems to me squash's lack of "voice" is a core part of its malaise.
Given all these approaching squash tournaments have no exposure on Tourism Victoria's ( who is a linked sponsor of squash australia no less !) web site is an indication of where the promotion of the game is at.
This combined with the belief that the promotion of the game is not the responsibility of the peak body rings alarm bells surely ?
From rippa rit - 21 Nov 2005 - 10:09 - Updated: 23 Nov 2005 - 11:49
I love your enthusiasm for squash, and the concerns you voice. I also have felt the frustration over many years, however, we at squashgame are just a couple of people who are trying to make a difference and I believe we are too. Things that you can do in an honorary capacity will make a difference too. Any concerns you have for the governing of squash in Australia would be better directed to their CEO, as we have no link really to the Board.
Good luck, and let us know how you go. ...
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This is such a wonderful surprise to see that you are taking care of folks on your website at this level. I really appreciate this Rita.
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We hope to see you back soon when we launch our updated site.
Oh well.........
Still no reference to squash at Tourism Victoria.
Australian Open come and gone, World Doubles start today with no mention on Victorias main tourism web site...........
Any chance the boat will come in in time for the Comm Games ?
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