One mum from a local judo club in London told me that she does not care about the London 2012 Olympics. She even went on to criticise it of causing traffic jams and as an inconvenience of her everyday life. She moans even though she, as a qualified teacher with a black belt, should be enthusiastic about sports.
The problem she has is not with the Olympians, but rather with the national association and local authorities that do not see grassroots communities like her judo club as an important partner. While Olympic families, ticketholders and sports fans are already supporting the Olympic, it is vital to reach those who have not benefited from the games.
I suggest that all the city councils should enter into partnership with one athlete; “One Council One athlete Movement”. Ideally the partner councils are where the athletes are born, have lived or trained. The councils spread the news about the athletes through the newsletter, website, blog, Twitter and Facebook and invite the athletes to schools and nursing homes. The councils also could host a competition for the tickets of the sports the athletes are competing.
The similar scheme was tested during the World Exposition in Aichi, Japan in 2005. All the 121 countries signed on the friendship with local governments in the region where the Expo took place. The project gave a great impact on the citizens and one small city evolved it into Memorandum of Friendship with Qatar two year later.
Usually people become enthusiastic about this kind of international events just before they start because there are lots of sports to watch such as football and tennis. However, the councils should launch the partnership project immediately with the help of the government, communities and consultants.
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