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DC Olympic Committee

DC Olympic Curling Team

A unique effort to bring attention to DC voting rights.

Email the Internation Olympic Committee

Sometimes riding a wave is a lot easier than making one.

Democracy? Curling?

Press hits from Fox, NBC, The Washington Post, Roll Call, and dozens of other media outlets

GRE seized the coming of the 2006 winter Olympics to demonstrate the power of combining creativity and technology to spark a movement, resulting in a campaign that Marc Fisher of The Washington Post called "the best grab for attention to the D.C. voting rights issue since Foggy Bottom resident Sarah Shapiro proposed back in 2000 to put 'Taxation Without Representation' on D.C. license plates" ("Bid for Olympic Curling Teams Casts a Stone for D.C. Voting Rights," Thursday, February 2, 2006, Page B01).

To advocate for voting rights for the District of Columbia, GRE drew comparison to other U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam who have their own Olympic teams, and established a DC Olympic Curling Team to make a bid for participation in the quirky sport at the Games in Turin, Italy. GRE recruited consumer brand Labatt beer as corporate sponsor, and built a website (www.DCOlympicteam.org) to call on DC residents and other supporters to petition the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The site and supporting media coverage generated more than 10,000 letters to the IOC. Salon, Roll Call, Northwest Current and the FOX and NBC TV affiliates in Washington, DC all covered the effort, and it was discussed throughout the blogosphere, including highly trafficked destinations such as DailyKos, Wonkette, and DCist.

The campaign won a 2006 Golden Pollie for "Best Email/Viral Marketing" effort, generated immeasurable free publicity for Labatt, and raised awareness of a key issue of importance to many DC residents and businesses.