The International Olympic Academy

I traveled to Greece with my coworker, Jill, as a part of the International Olympic Academy, which is based in Olympia, Greece. The academic institution brings together educators, students and National Olympic Committee employees to learn about Olympism and the Olympic Movement, and share ideas and best practices.

Athens

We started out with one night in Athens, which ended up being a bit more eventful than expected because of the nationwide protests in reaction to the government austerity measures. Because the EU is spending a lot of money bailing out Greece, they’re pressuring the country to change some things, including raising the retirement age and lowering government workers’ wages. My flight got in just 15 minutes before the protests, which was lucky as lots of planes had to be rerouted without any airport workers to wave them in.

Later, taxis wouldn’t take us to the La Plaka area because nearby were riots that ended up turning violent – we saw the remnants later that night, including red paint spattered over the sidewalks which I thought was blood! But that night we were able to walk around a bit and have a great authentic dinner with a Greek friend of my boss who lives in Athens.

The International Olympic Academy

From there we headed to Ancient Olympia. Let me back up and explain what I was doing there. The modern Olympic Movement was renewed in 1896 by a French professor who stressed the balance of mind, body and spirit, and revived both the athletic and educational aspects of the ancient Olympic Games. The educational is not about a competition – it’s about instilling the values of Olympic sport in young people – fair play, determination, sportsmanship, excellence, friendship, etc.

To this end, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) created the International Olympic Academy (IOA), which is both an organization and a study center based in Ancient Olympia. They have a campus with dorms, a dining hall, lecture halls, a library and outdoor athletic facilities. They host people year-round for seminars and classes, and they also have full-time students in graduate programs. Just as the IOC oversees the world’s 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the IOA oversees the world’s many National Olympic Academies (NOAs), which each country is supposed to run. The purpose of the NOAs is really to spread the Olympic values mentioned above through school curriculum, educational forums, athlete school visits and the like.

The USOC and a few other larger NOCs don’t have a separate NOA, and instead, our Olympic education efforts are a function of our NOC. For this IOA conference, each NOA was invited to send 1-2 of their directors from their NOA. Since we don’t have an NOA, Jill and I attended because we both work on some of the USOC’s Olympic values / Olympic education programs.

Now, to the more entertaining stuff…

There were 103 individuals who attended this year’s annual conference from 83 different countries. In other words, it’s pretty much the UN for Olympic education.

A typical day involved having breakfast with a man from the United Arab Emirates, lunch with a guy from the Cook Islands, and dinner with a girl from the Netherlands. I was schooled in ping pong by a man from Japan, was invited to have a French aperitif with the French, watched the girl from China place her stuffed animals all around the campus to take their photos in different settings, was asked to go run the Olympic programs in Zambia (southern Africa anyone?!), befriended a 70-year-old Peruvian man missing his 4 live-at-home daughters, and witnessed the budding romance between a Latin-blooded young Guatemalan and a shy Russian girl.

The IOA campus is like a cross between a small college campus and a summer camp. Everything outside was immaculate – the manicured lawns and blooming rose bushes, picturesque little dorm bungalows, a memorial grove, a small track circled by flags from all member nations.

But inside, everything was extremely basic and, actually, quite rustic! Think a run-down motel meets a camp bunk. Shower sandals were needed not just in the shower, but at all times in your room. The rooms didn’t have TVs, clocks, alarms, or any decorations on the walls. Jill and I were roommates, and we would return from sessions and sit on our single beds, 5 feet away from each other, and work away on our laptops in our interesting environment.

They would wake us up every morning by blaring Olympic-themed or classical music from the outdoor speakers around the campus. While it’s quite cute in principle, they tend to do it a bit earlier than we’re prepared to wake up, and even through our front door and my ear plugs it would manage to wake me every day.
The lecture hall was actually quite nice though. It was a large auditorium with simultaneous translation between French, English and Greek. You just pop on your headphones when someone starts speaking in another language. Wish it were always that easy!

Our conference consisted of speakers, forums, presentations and small group discussions. Jill and I presented on behalf of the USOC, and people were pleased to hear all that the USOC does despite not having an official NOA.

The small group discussions were interesting. I was the only native English speaker in my group of 12, which included members from Albania, Latvia, Georgia, Lebanon, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, I could go on.

Being American and speaking native English, I was appointed every single job except being the ceremonial leader of the group (Olympic champion from Latvia, big ego but nice guy). I was the secretary (note taker), the writer of our official paper to be turned in for publication, and our group presenter! While that is a bit lopsided in the work area, it did seem only fair for those uncomfortable with the language, and for those who were, many try to get out of work and just enjoy this as a vacation week to Greece.

There’s a cute little town of Olympia with shops and restaurants, so when we had the chance, we would escape from the horrible food at the dining hall and walk the 1-2 miles into town (mystery meat + blocks of feta get old after a while).

In general, the conference was very formal, with lots of wreath layings and anthem singings and ceremonial hand shaking. We even had a graduation ceremony at the end!

The Ruins of the Ancient Olympic Games

The neatest part about the IOA is that by being in Ancient Olympia, the campus is only 1 mile away from the ruins from the Ancient Olympic Games. I was shocked to learn that the modern Olympics are still in their infancy compared to their roots, which went on for about 800 years (676 BC to about 250 AD). The modern Games began in 1896, so they’re just 115 years old. Can you imagine what it took to keep the tradition going of a competition every four years for 800 years in a time that had such limited communication, technology, transportation, you name it?! It blows my mind!

No one actually lived in Ancient Olympia – they only traveled there every four years, a few months prior to the competition. Despite that, they built temples and bath houses and athletic fields and gymnasiums and lodging. It was quite grand and spectacular. The ruins are in great shape, just discovered in the 1800s, and the relics they found are immaculate.

So as a group, we toured the ruins with a guide and ran around the ancient Olympic track. I went back a day later to do an interval workout in my running shoes, and I think the tourists thought I was a part of some formal show or something! There is a nearby museum that houses the relics – from huge statues and religious items to shields and athletic gear to cups and jewelry.

It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime, neat opportunity to experience something totally different and multi-cultural. By the end I was completely exhausted and more than ready to return to the states. Home sweet home! It’s so nice to be home and start returning back to normal life, but at the same time, I’m absolutely appreciative of the trips I got to experience this spring.