Dear YMCA Colleagues,
I am currently doing some research on behalf of Central YMCA (in London) on the YMCA and the Olympics/Paralympic Games. As you know, the Games are in London next summer and Central YMCA is planning an exhibition celebrating the numerous ways in which the YMCA and the Games are linked. I am therefore looking for any stories – the more interesting or surprising the better – that you may be aware of.
They may be about individual Olympians/Paralympians who started their sport in a YMCA, coached there or were involved in their later years; it might be individual YMCA staff/members who played a significant role in the Olympic Movement, whether national Olympic committees or the IOC; it might be about particular Olympic sports whose development has a key YMCA link (we all know about volleyball and basketball, but are there others?); or it might be the involvement of the YMCA at more of a strategic national or international level, such as with India and China. They may be stories about the early days of the Games, or much more recent. I would be particularly interested in stories from colleagues in Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East.
If you know any such stories, or can suggest someone whom I should contact, I would be grateful to hear from you at your earliest opportunity. Please do contact me on:
mnharrod@yahoo.co.uk
With warm regards
Mark Harrod