Students and faculty visit international sports facilities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Students wishing to learn more about international sports management got a chance to do so this summer during a Global Experiential Learning (GEL) trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ten Byrd School students traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 10-21, accompanied by Assistant Professor of Sport Management Joey Gawrysiak , Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Sport Management Brian Wigley, Ed.D., for an intense and enlightening 11-day GEL experience. They visited world-class sports facilities, met with international students and faculty, and visited tourist destinations as well as local neighborhoods. Along the way, they studied sports management principles within a culture that values what international sporting events can bring to a locality. At the same time, they also learned how municipalities manage these large-scale projects within the scope of their financial and political realities.
“It was an unbelievable experience, and we were able to blend an experience of Brazilian culture with sport management throughout the course of the trip,” said Dr. Gawrysiak.
In 2014, Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup, and Rio de Janeiro is slated to host the Summer Olympics in 2016. As a result, the selection of Rio as a GEL destination offered a variety of opportunities for students and faculty members to discuss the management of global sports events in real-world context. Topics ranging from facility management, event management and marketing to infrastructure management, CSM and other related issues.
“From a sport management standpoint, we toured various sport facilities, and we met with college professors, industry professionals and graduate students,” said Gawrysiak.
“Professor Trengrouse fascinated us by speaking about his personal relationship with former Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Sepp Blatter, who recently stepped down amidst controversy and his involvement with the Olympic bid for Rio,” said Gawrysiak. “Beach Volleyball Director Fulvio Danilas also spoke to the group about the popularity of the sport and the preparation required for the Olympics. CSM Business Director of Special Projects Saam Momen provided a presentation of the organization’s involvement in marketing and planning for the Olympics.”
In addition, graduate students from Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais (IBMEC) joined Shenandoah students to discuss the structure of sports in each country and why the groups liked each other’s models.
“IBMEC students discussed how they thought Rio would be ready for the Olympics in 2016, while our group was much more skeptical,” said Gawrysiak. “The facility tours gave our group a glimpse of how events are hosted in Rio and what the club system of sport is like in this country, as it mirrors most countries around the world.”
From a cultural standpoint, GEL students also toured Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, Lapa. They also visited numerous favelas (i.e., heavily populated urban informal settlements or slums).
“Tourist attractions were great to see and experience, but the favelas gave our group a much better learning experience than anything else,” said Gawrysiak. “We were able to see how people lived in these slums and what the government is trying to do in response to criticism about spending billions of dollars on sporting events.”
Recently, the government built a football and multipurpose sport complex in one of the larger and poorer favelas for local residents.
“The favelas have only been made safe for visitors during the last decade or so,” said Gawrysiak. “We were lucky to visit it and interact with kids and coaches there, playing with them, eating dinner with them, and sharing our thoughts. That was one of the most powerful experiences of the trip.”
Overall, the GEL trip to Rio provided much more than sport management lessons to each participant.
“Leading a trip like this, you never know where it is going to lead or what the group might get out of it,” said Gawrysiak. “I can say that while our group was able to learn and grow together, it equally taught Dr. Wigley and myself how great our next generation of business leaders will be as they begin to address the complexities of the sports management challenges that will occur in the future.”