A great experience
Sport Management students head to Beijing, China
July 17, 2009
In early May, nine students from the Sport Management program (Centre for Sport and Exercise Education) at Camosun left for Beijing, China to participate in an international internship experience in partnership with the Tsinghua University in Beijing. Dr. Alex Carre, program leader for the sport management program, and organizer of this exciting initiative accompanied the students. “This is an innovative approach to field internship, especially in a country as culturally diverse as China,” says Carre. “The trip was approached with some trepidation but was a huge success.”
Best laid plans
Plans were made for students to gain experience in the National Training Centre, a high performance national training facility for fencing as well as in the 
Tsinghua University which has a strong physical education department with an Olympic Training Centre. On their first day, the group toured the National Training Centre—half of the students had an opportunity to try fencing while the other half used the gym and its extensive fitness equipment. Unfortunately, that was to be the extent of their time in the centre. Due to the H1N1 (swine flu) virus scare, the group was quarantined for a few days, as clients of the centre expressed concern about the presence of foreigners. To make the most of this intercultural experience, the group used this time to absorb the Chinese culture and visited the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square, wrapping things up with a 15 hour train ride to Xian to visit the Terracotta Warriors. Upon their return to Beijing, it was apparent that the flu scare had escalated and quarantine continued. The internship experience was rescheduled for the students, and thanks to the strong relationship established previously between the Physical Education department at Tsinghua University and Camosun the students were provided with suitable work experiences on campus.
Presentations
The students attended a presentation on Career Transitions for Olympic Athletes learning how a major event like the Olympics was facilitated and the pros and cons of the Chinese system. They collected data on site for recreational usage analysis, used their marketing skills to complete SWOT analysis, worked with Chinese officials and clients, and completed reflective analysis. Camosun students had the opportunity to deliver a presentation at another local university telling Chinese students about life in Canada, and their sport management program at Camosun College in Victoria. They certainly found that there were many differences between sport programs in Canada and China - Chinese athletes put sport first, academics second, training seven hours a day and fitting academics around it unlike Canada where the academics come first. The students also had the opportunity to visit many of the Olympic sites used in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. These included the Water Cube and Birds Nest (National Stadium).
Student perspective
Samantha Doney, a second year sport management student, was impressed by the sheer size of the Tsinghua University campus. To give some perspective, the students discovered 81 basketball courts! Dr. Carre arranged rental bicycles for the students’ transportation which allowed them to fit right in. Using the 
bikes when collecting data on recreational usage at Tsinghua, it took two days to cover just three quarters of the campus. Other work experience areas for the students included the swimming pool, bowling alley, and the gym. Although the language was a bit of a barrier at times, Doney found the experience very interesting and informative. An appreciative Doney says, “Thank you to Tsinghua University for being such amazing hosts, and to Alex Carre for taking us on this once in a lifetime experience.”
Josh Brakefield, who entered the sport management program when a shoulder injury prevented him from accepting a wrestling scholarship, found this trip to be more than an internship. “I learned so much about sport and recreation, but I also learned about the differences between Chinese culture and the Canadian culture, “ says Brakefield. “ Chinese people are much more aware of a healthy lifestyle – exercise and diet. You see people of all ages exercising everywhere you go. And I have never seen so many bicycles!” As Brakefield discovered, there are no public recreation centres in Beijing, and the private clubs and spas are only for the wealthy. This experience has reinforced Brakefield’s desire to open and manage a recreation centre in the future (hopefully after he has competed in the Olympics as a wrestler).
However, the Chinese can participate in recreational activities which are lead by volunteers in public places free of charge. Alyssa Taylor says “Our visit to China opened my eyes to the possibilities of recreation on a grand scale. Everyone, of all abilities, enjoys being active. The idea of outdoor fitness equipment being available to the public is genius!”
Great Wall, great people, great trip
The students interacted with a graduate class at Tsinghua and forged great relationships with their Chinese counterparts. All in all, this was an amazing experience for these nine lucky sport management students. Brian Lomas sums it up in just a few words: “Great Wall, great people, great trip… I loved every minute of it!”
Find out more about the Centre for Sport and Exercise programs and co-operative education and internships
