ShootClay recently got involved in an issue around free tickets for children at the Olympics – the full post is here, along with an open letter that we published to Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and the man behind the original report. This was widely reported – and I even ended up on NRA Radio in the US to talk about the issue – it is the first time we’ve got involved with a political issue, and I was surprised at the reaction.
We’re pleased to say that the original report in the London Evening Standard was incorrect – but we still waited for our response from Mayor Johnson – and yesterday, it arrived. A scan of the (signed) letter is below – but I’ll reprint the text as well:
Dear Mr Rutherford,
Thank you for your email about the Evening Standard’s report that London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic shooting events would be excluded from the Get Set Ticketshare scheme.
I understand your concerns and am happy to clariify that they are based on inaccurate reporting of my position. I do not support a ban on tickets for shooting or any other Olympic or Paralympic sports.
It is in my view that is a school pupil can watch a sport on television they should be able to do it in our fantastic Olympic venues, and I have made this view clear to LOCOG.
With more than 100,000 tickets available for the shooting events, which sold out very quickly, I have no doubt that the London 2012 Games will raise the profile of these demanding and tense sports in the UK and beyond.
Thank you again for writing to me.
Yours sincerely,
Boris Johnson
Mayor of London
Boris Johnson Email (pdf file)
So – whilst it is still not clear to me how and why the Evening Standard reported incorrect information – it seems that, on the surface, the Mayor of London IS a supporter of the Shooting Sports at London 2012. I’m hoping that this is an end to this issue and we continue to rally support for the Shooting sports at 2012.
