Andrew Shelley: Wispa is Growing

Andrew Shelley doesn’t do mobile, which is odd when you take a moment to look around the WISPA chief executive’s four walls in his London office.

Framed promotional tour certificates from all four corners of the globe ensue: Kingston, Nepal, Salvador, Rio and Estonia to name but a few. Lucky then we’re talking about mobile phones – a must for all executives these days. But Shelley works just fine without one, just don’t keep reminding his colleagues on the women’s tour board.

Contrary to reports, the WISPA tour is in rude health and tournaments are still in place for 2010.“The world has changed since we started [putting together tour calendar] but it is taking longer to develop,” Shelley says. “We are always working on new events.”

It’s not just WISPA tour events that Shelley is trying to widen. Every year, the women players’ association takes two top professionals on a global tour to raise the profile of the sport.

But is there a fear of WISPA’s many tour events going off the radar in the current economic downturn? “I was worried about this year but there has been no fall-out,” admits Shelley.

However, Cathay Pacific have renewed their sponsorship while Malaysia’s CIMB Bank, the country’s second largest lender, is firmly behind the game, mainly garnered by the continuing success of David, who is revered as the David Beckham of squash.

“Our shortcomings are really off the court where we need a tour partner and a TV sponsor. Our issue here is that we also want the girls to make a living. The tour was worth $1.5 million last year and when you share that round, it is clearly not enough.”

The Olympics question remains but hopes loom large that sponsors will soon find the appeal of top sportswomen playing in a 360 degree glass court stationed anywhere they please. Exposure is everything.

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• Don’t WISPA it but women’s squash is growing (telegraph.co.uk)

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