Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
Posted on April 8, 2011 - by admin
Web interview with Tracy Evans
This is a interview I recently did with three time Olympian Tracy Evans. She is owner of AthleteSource Casting, but does quite some nonprofit organizational work in sports in Utah, Rwanda and Malawi (Africa).
What fascinated me about Tracy’s story is that she is living a “3 dimensional life” in sports:
- as an athlete
- as a professional
- as a volunteer
Management is part of all these dimensions, and therefore I approached Tracy for this interview.
In the first part of the webinterview, Tracy talks about her company AthleteSource Casting, and the organization of the Golden Games. She also gives some tips to consider, when organizing a fundraising event.
The second part of the web interview starts with the promo video of the project Kids Play International, and than continues with Tracy elaborating on this project.
Do you have anything to share? Please leave your comments in the fields at the bottom of this page.
Posted on March 23, 2011 - by admin
One of the reasons I am in sports
Last year I had the opportunity to be part of an international group of Managers in Sport, participating in a higher level of sports management course. It was one of those moments that I realized that the potential of sports is so high, that it opens doors. Doors which normally are closed based on religious, cultural and political reasons.
During a dinner I sat next to Maria from Costa Rica and Joel from Eritrea. It wasn’t until Joel showed me a military pass stating that he is a soldier, that I got involved in their conversation. I learned that five years after Eritrea got independent, and the war began against Ethiopia, every man in Eritrea was obliged to join the army. Joel told us he was one of the soldiers, but he didn’t answer Maria’s question whether he also killed people.
Maria spoke very negative about the war, and clearly stated to don’t understand why people still own weapons or even start wars. She described her peaceful situation back home and told us that her country doesn’t even have an army.
I expected that Joel would leave the conversation for what it was, but he surprised me by asking Maria with a smile the following question: “How would you feel if your neighbor country started a war, for the simple fact to get access to the harbor and the ocean?”
He explained us the motives behind the war, and got Maria really thinking. She said later that in principle she is against any war, but that she understands now why Joel has fought for his country. We continued talking about sports, and how Eritrea tries to use sport to give the youth some alternative opportunities for the future.
I later realized that if it wasn’t for sports, we wouldn’t have had that dinner and interacted about this topic. I felt fortunate to have been there and especially grateful to be working in sports. I have different reasons that I choose for sports, like helping athletes, and being on a daily basis involved in a healthy and positive environment.
But the secondary reasons were not so obvious when I made this choice. The humanitarian effects of sports, connecting cultures and social development are aspects that make it even more challenging and interesting.
Are you in sports? If so, please share your motives with all of us.
Posted on March 18, 2011 - by admin
To multi task….or not?
This is just a short video, where I show you a simple test to analyze whether multi tasking on the job, at home, or in sports is as productive as we think it is.
Posted on February 23, 2011 - by admin
We have to think outside of our box
Whenever you look at sports, you may notice an innovation in the use of materials, rules, gadgets and much more. The goal behind these developments is to become better and getting ahead of the competition.
A simple technique used in sports, which I wasn’t aware of is for example putting tipex on the nails of the catcher in baseball. By applying this it is easier for the pitcher to see the signals on a distance of 18 meter (60ft). In the Tour de France of 2009 there was a big discussion whether the cyclists were allowed to have radio contact with their team managers. The International Cycling Federation (UCI) introduced a ban on radio communication, but the riders protested and the ban was soon canceled.
We have seen the referees in soccer for some years already with their headsets on the fields, and in tennis they now also analyze video images during the play, whenever a referees decision is doubted. And the list goes on and on….
But can we apply similar innovation in sport management, can we think outside the box? I am convinced that we can !
Meetings
There are different ways to call for, participate in and take minutes of meetings. Have you for example already experienced meetings by skype?
Sponsors
The approach of sponsors could also be more innovative. Interview some of your (young) athletes, and make a video of them. Track the marketing manager of the potential sponsor on facebook, and send them a link to the video. I bet you will be the first one approaching them this way.
You can share your video on www.dropshots.com, www.youtube.com or of course www.facebook.com
Website & Social media
A website is more than just a medium to communicate ‘one-way’. There are simple and free tools, to interact with your viewers by giving them the opportunity to participate in surveys, give comments and ideas. It doesn’t matter how big your sports organization is, just be sure that you don’t miss the boat on implementing social media!
Setup your website (blog) with functionality for free at www.wordpress.com (I actually use wordpress for this website)
Evaluation
Whenever you have a competition, workshop, trainingscamp or a fundraiser, it is utmost important to evaluate how it went. Your participants will feel more involved, and you will know what to improve next time. A simple interview could also be done online, by setting up a survey and letting your athletes, parents and volunteers fill it in. There is no need anymore, to print evaluation forms, get them back, and then spend hours to count all of the responses, and calculate the percentages. You’ll have your report with a click on the button.
Why don’t you try www.surveymonkey.com or www.surveygizmo.com
Communication
Communication is very important whenever you are part of the management of a sports organization. I think that is the area where we can be most innovative. You can make the first steps by analyzing what instruments and media you are using for your communication. Which ones are the most effective, and which one have the lowest costs for you as a organization?
I have made this diagram, so you can also evaluate whether your communication is successful or not.
I know that there are a lot of ways of making the management of a sports organization innovative, fun and modern. If you have any suggestions, please share them with us as a comment.
Posted on February 17, 2011 - by Remco
Managing the sport MMA
You may dislike all sports relating to fighting or not, but it is a fact that the fighting sport has been practiced since the ancient time of the gladiators in Rome. Most of us know fighting legends as Mohammed Ali, Bruce Lee, Mike Tyson and Hulk Hogan. Do you however know the name Fedor Emelianko (Russia) or Anderson Silva (Brazil)?
These two athletes are fighters in the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and were recently the center of the attention after having won (Silva) and lost (Emelianko) their highly promoted fights. MMA is spreading these last years like a virus and it would be interesting to analyze the management of this sport.
Initially the sport freefight was born in about 1993, as a result of the question “which martial arts is the most effective?”. The fights which had a minimum of rules began standing, but ended most of the time in a ground fight. The first reaction on this sport was very negative. The American senator John McCain even made a reference to cock fights. The press boycotted the fights and there was no TV station interested in broadcasting the competitions.
Since that time however a couple strategic decisions were made, which included more rules and the change of name to “Mixed Martial Arts” (MMA). This blueprint was then sold for $2 million dollars to two casino millionaires, who then organized the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Tournaments only in Las Vegas. The start of the reality TV show “Ultimate Fighter” was a boost for spreading this sport on a higher level, and broadcasters are getting more and more interested. Nowadays UFC is an international brand, with even an office in London. The tournament is being broadcasted in at least 135 countries to 400 million people. It also has its competing leagues like Pride and Strikeforce with similar worldwide attention.
You may wonder whether MMA is a real sport, or just some barbaric hobby? In my opinion it definitely is a sport. As in boxing or any other fighting sport, the competitors (male and female!) know very well what risks are involved. They train very hard and disciplined, and fortunately are not pumped with steroids as you see in the Wrestling shows. I agree with the ones saying that it has a lot of aggression, but I doubt if the soccer fans show less aggression in the stadiums. Most of the MMA fighters have an enormous discipline and show deep respect for their opponent, which is important to have as a rolemodel in sports.
The international growth of the MMA sport is one to be followed closely. My bet is that within the next five years, most of the countries have their national competitions and the sponsors will be fighting eachother to get a piece of this sports marketing pie.
I am interested to know your opinion, do you think MMA is a sport or not? Leave your comment below.
Posted on January 4, 2011 - by Remco
SPORT INDUSTRY - robust growth predicted up to 2013
Price Waterhouse Coopers in a research mid 2010, predicted that the sport industry will grow on average of 3.8 per cent each year to 2013. The global sport industry at the time was valued at US$114 billion and is expected to reach US $133 billion. Julie Clark, UK head of sport, Price Waterhouse Coopers suggested that “an underlying trend of steady spending is emerging.”
Gate receipts will expand from $43.2 billion in 2009 to $49 billion in 2013 and remain the largest component of the market.
Sponsorship will be the fastest-growing sector of the industry, increasing value from $29.4 billion in 2009 to $35.2 billion in 2013; while media rights will grow from $23.1 billion in 2009 to $26.7 billion four years later.
The PWC article is published here
Source: Carole Beckford (Publicist of Usain Bolt)