February 2006

Behind the Scenes at the Winter Olympic Games

BY JAMIE L. FREEDMAN

Let the games begin! When those long-anticipated words are proclaimed Feb. 10 in Torino, Italy, Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of GW’s Master of Tourism Administration and Sports Management Programs, will be on very familiar turf.
One of the world’s foremost Olympic scholars, Delpy Neirotti has attended 13 consecutive Games as an international sports management professional, beginning with the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo. Since joining George Washington’s faculty in 1991, she has shared her expertise and contacts with hundreds of GW business students, leading courses/study tours to the Olympic Games in Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002) and Athens (2004). This month, she’s taking 48 GW students to Torino as part of her popular three-credit course, “Behind the Scenes at the Winter Olympic Games,” a comprehensive, on-site look at organizing, marketing, and hosting the international mega event.

For the first time ever, Delpy Neirotti is offering two sections of the coveted course this spring to accommodate tremendous student interest. “The pool of qualified applicants this year was the largest I’ve ever seen,” stated Delpy Neirotti, who previously capped the course at 28 students. “Many of them noted in their application essays that the Olympics course was one of their primary reasons for choosing GW.” Half of the group — comprising 45 graduate business students and three undergraduates — will be in Torino from Feb. 8–18, while group two will spend Feb. 18–28 at the Olympics.

The course, which is the only one of its kind, met approximately six times on campus over the past several months and re-convenes in Torino this week, where students will meet with a variety of people involved with the Games, including Organizing Committee executives, International Olympic Committee members, local government officials, corporate sponsors, athletes, and media. Delpy Neirotti also organizes VIP tours of the venues and auxiliary facilities for the group. “Students are basically on the go all day for nine straight days,” said Delpy Neirotti, who also has course participants conduct spectator research at the Olympics on consumer behavior, motivation, and customer satisfaction. As a final project, students write a term paper on an Olympics-related topic of their choice, such as transportation, hospitality, media coverage, security, or marketing. Additional assignments include two book reports related to the Olympic Games and an exam.

As of press time, Delpy Neirotti had already scheduled a number of special events for her students in Torino. “We’ve been invited to a lunch sponsored by the International Biathlon Federation, where the group’s president will be speaking with our students, as well as to The World Olympian Association’s reunion center to meet with former Olympic athletes,” she said. “The students will also be attending a four-hour sports tourism seminar in Torino that I’ll be conducting for sports ministers from around the world.”

Highlights of the 2004 Olympics course in Athens included an invitation to the home of the US Ambassador to Greece for a presentation about security issues, a discussion with Greece’s Minister of Tourism, a reception on the yacht of GW alumnus Alexander Spyrou, BBA ’73, whose London-based airship business was a vendor at the Games, and a reception at a five-star resort sponsored by John Hancock, an Olympic corporate sponsor.

This year, GW’s Olympic presence will expand to include 10 students serving as interns for NBC, as well as an additional student working as a liaison between northern Italy’s Piemonte region — where Torino is located — and NBC’s Today show.

Delpy Neirotti says that all of the students headed to Torino have a tremendous amount to gain from the experience. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to go to the Games as much more than a spectator and to take away a real understanding and appreciation of the Olympic spirit,” explained Delpy Neirotti, who spent two years traveling the globe researching the development and organization of the Olympic Movement. “The trip not only reinforces material learned in the classroom, but allows students to network and make valuable connections for the future. There’s no better way to build a Rolodex!”

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