While most of America watched the Olympics on television this summer, 28 GW students had the opportunity to see the Games firsthand, hobnob with Olympians and blog about their experiences.
Undergraduate and graduate students in Lisa Delpy Neirotti’s sports management class traveled to Beijing this summer to study the managerial and administrative aspects of the Olympics. They conducted a variety of surveys and met many current and past Olympians as well as the family of swimmer Michael Phelps.
“As magical and engrossing as the Olympic can be on TV, being there in person is just that much more special,” said Lex Butler, a graduate student. “You tend to lose a perspective of size and grandeur during the conversion.”
Members of the class said they enjoyed meeting with athletes and their families.
“(The Phelps family was) so down to earth and interested and helpful in making sure our students made contact with the right people, such as Michael’s marketing agency,” Neirotti said.
Maggie Webbert, a graduate student, said her perspective of track and field athlete Willie Banks, who competed in the Olympics during the 1980s, changed when she met him in person.
“While I was growing up, the media had always portrayed him as a flamboyant athlete, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he is very friendly and down to earth,” Webbert said of the former world-record holder in the triple jump. “Now to me he is more than an American legend, he is an exceptional role model.”
Students also met with Olympic officials including Peter Ueberroth and Jim Scheer, the chairman and CEO respectively of the U.S. Olympic Committee, as well as Lilo Ljubisicm, Athletes’ Committee chairperson for the International Paralympics Athletes Council and Governing Board.
While in Beijing, the class had to conduct 50 surveys, which will be entered into a database and shared with the International Olympic Committee. The class is also expected to write term papers, which will include information from lectures, observations, surveys and research conducted prior to departure.
Initial surveying revealed that most spectators are either family members of athletes, sports enthusiasts or tourists who plan their biannual vacations around the games. Webbert spoke with one family who refinanced their home to pay for the cost of watching their son play in the Olympics.
Students blogged about the Games during the trip, posting videos and interviews with athletes, as well as reflections about the atmosphere in Beijing.
“You really catch the fervor of the Olympic spirit,” said Lila Mei Lee, a graduate student. “You are excited to go out and meet as many people as you can. I also felt a level of national pride unrivaled to any prior experience.”
This marked the ninth time Neirotti took students to the Olympics. SportsEvents magazine recently named her one of the top 25 “Innovators and Influencers” in the sports industry.
