14th June 2021

Mr Paul Vear, & Racquetball Victoria, Melbourne Via e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Paul,

O behaf f he Wd Sah Fedeai Bad ad Office, Id ie ed ae congratulations on your award of Order of Medal in the 2021 Queens Birthday Honours. We were delighted to hear of such well-deserved recognition for your five decades of service to squash and racquetball across such a broad spectrum of activities and events and at all levels of the sport(s).

I hope you enjoy the celebrations and thank you on behalf of World Squash for your incredible commitment to squash and racquetball over so many years.

Yours sincerely

Zena Wooldridge OBE President

cc. Sarah Fitzgerald, WSF Vice-President Joanne Brodie, President, Squash Australia William Louis-Marie, WSF CEO

www.worldsquash.org

WORLD SQUASH FEDERATION + 44 (0) 1424 447 440 + 44 (0) 1424 430 737 25 Russell Street, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1QU, United Kingdom @ [email protected]

President: Zena Wooldridge OBE Emeritus President: Jahangir Patron: HRH Prince Imran Vice-Presidents: , Sarah Fitz-Gerald, Debendranath Sarangi, Pablo Serna (Secretary General) Chief Executive Officer: William Louis-Marie

WORLD SQUASH FEDERATION LIMITED. REGISTERED OFFICE: 69 ATHOL STREET, DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN, IM1 1JE. REGISTERED IN THE ISLE OF MAN. NUMBER: 079771C Robert (Bob) Finch Former President - Squash Australia Former Vice President - World Squash Federation

It was amazing that the announcement of Paul Vears long overdue Order of Australia OAM has finally been announced. Paul has been a long term icon of squash in Australia particularly in Victoria/Nationally and the father of racquetball nationally and an influencer globally. He is a dedicated visionary who has succeeded in so many aspects of our games. Personally, I greatly appreciated his input into the Belsham Years book, particularly detail of the amalgamation of the player and owners groups in Victoria while some other states endeavored to achieve this structure, his determination to succeed pulled it off in his home state. And of course, he was instrumental in organizing the sponsorship and successful management of a number of successful national leagues and world squash championships in Melbourne as well as the squash segment of the 2008 Commonwealth Games.

Pauls management style encourages widespread participation of all the interest groups, particularly the volunteer component his enormous energy knows no limit and his recent leadership support of Victorian state management and the ongoing development of racquetball throughout Victoria are some examples

Congratulations Paul you certainly deserve this impressive recognition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BOB

Bob was Squash Australia Secretary 1976-81, then Treasurer 1982-84, then President 1985-93 and WSF Vice President 1990-97.