Olympic Games Organizing
Committees: What are They and
How Do They Work?
Milena M. Parent, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Human Kinetics, uOttawa
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Colby-Sawyer College, March 26, 2012
Overview
• The world of sports event
• Games timeline and lifecycle
• The organizing committee (OC)
– Issues & strategies
– Stakeholders
– Knowledge management and transfer
• My experience at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
• How my experience is informing my research
• Summary
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
Sports Events
Sport events can come in many forms (Getz, 2005):
• Regularly scheduled, as in tied to league play
(professional or amateur), plus championships
• One-time exhibitions or invitationals
• Sport “festivals”
– They place an emphasis on celebration
• Multi-sport events
– They package different sports together (e.g., Olympic
Games; Masters Games)
• Sports events can be spectator, participant, and/or media
oriented
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
Major Sports Events Typology
Special
Events
(Planned)
Minor Sports
Events
(Local/community
level with
relatively low
attendance or
media attention)
Festivals
(Communitybased)
Major Sports
Events
(High attendance,
media attention)
Hallmark
Events
Large-Scale
Sports Events
(Recurring; tied
to a place)
(One-off or
recurring)
Mega Sports
Events
(One-off)
(Parent & Smith-Swan, forthcoming)
The World of Sports Events & OC
(Single) Sport
Federations
(e.g., FIFA)
Other Sport
Associations &
Assemblies
(e.g., WADA,)
Other
Associations,
Assemblies &
Orgs. (e.g., UN)
Major Games / Championships OCs (e.g., LOCOG)
National
Nat’l Games
Organizations
(e.g., USOC)
Nat’l Sport
Organizations
(e.g., USSF)
Multi-Sport
Service Org.
(e.g., USADA )
Gov’t Sport
Dept’s
(e.g., Sport
Canada)
National Games / Championships OCs
(e.g., US Figure Skating Championships)
State /
Local
Sport
Organizations
and Clubs
Schools,
Colleges,
Universities
Multi-Sport
Service
Organizations
Government
Sport
Departments
Games / Championships OCs
(Adapted from Parent & Smith-Swan, forthcoming)
Sponsors, Media, General Public
Int’l /
Cont’l
Major Games
Organizations
(e.g., IPC)
M Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 20120326
Olympic Games Organizing Committee (OCOG)
Timeline
Bid
Transition
Planning
Implementation
Theoretical
Olympic
Timeline
6-8
1-3 years months
WrapUp
3 years
3 years
6-12 months
Time
(Parent & Smith-Swan, forthcoming)
OC Lifecycle
(Parent, 2008)
• Planning Mode
–
–
–
–
Bid
Business plan
Operational plan
Divisional plans, work packages
• Implementation Mode
– Venuization
– Games-time
• Wrap-up Mode
– Reports, evaluations, closing the books
– Managing the legacies
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
OC Issues and Strategies over Time
Mode
Main issues
Main strategies Decisionmaking
factor
Planning
Politics, organizing, financial,
visibility, relationships, human
resources, operations,
infrastructure,
interdependence
-Use of experts Context &
-Communication resources
-Proactive
Implementation
Interdependence, sport,
-Coordination
Resources
operations, human resources, -Communication and (lack of)
participation, infrastructure,
time
-Reactive
media, politics
Wrap-Up
Legacy, operations, human
resources
-Proactive
Resources
(Parent, 2008; 2010)
OCOG Stakeholders
INGOs
Support
Staff
State
Municipal
National
Pro
Leagues
Athletes
Consultants
Others
Governments
Delegations
Events
Volunteers
OC
Board of Directors
Organizing
Committee
Sports
Organizations
Int’l
Cont’l
Nat’l
Staff
Sponsors
Media
Community
Nat’l
Int’l
Groups & Radio
Residents
Schools
& Local
Internet
businesses Activists
Reg’l
TV
Print
(Adapted from Parent & Smith-Swan, forthcoming)
Stakeholder Sub-Group Network
Density: 0.193
Olympic Knowledge Management &
Transfer Process
Knowledge Management System
Knowledge
Need
Information
Creation
Knowledge
Tools &
Storage
Information
Retention,
Knowledge
Use &
Application
Knowledge Transfer
External
Knowledge
Transfer
Internal
Knowledge
Tools &
Storage
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
2010 Olympic Winter Games
MY EXPERIENCE
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
The 2010 Olympic Winter Games:
(Source: VANOC, 2010)
The Numbers
•
•
•
•
•
17 days of competition
15 sport disciplines
9 competition venues, 3 Olympic training facilities
86 medal competitions
82 participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs)
• 96,409 people accredited for the Games, including:
– 6,500 athletes and team officials (2,632 registered
athletes)
– 50,000 workforce members
– 10,800 media representatives
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
The 2010 Olympic Winter Games:
(Source: VANOC, 2010)
The Numbers
• 3.5 billion worldwide television viewers
• 50,000 hours of total broadcast hours of the
Games across all media platforms around the
world, including 6,000 hours of coverage worldwide
on mobile platforms
• More than 3.3 million pairs of Vancouver 2010 Red
Mittens sold
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
My Role(s)
• 4-month
secondment with
the International
Client Services
(ICS) function in
VANOC
• Doing research
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
My Role(s): Manager of Protocol
and Language Services
• Hosting national/international dignitaries, TOP
sponsors, heads of international federations
– Lounge & seating area
• Providing interpretation services for the venue
– Media (interviews, mixed zone, press
conferences)
– Medical, anti-doping process
– Any other function needing assistance (e.g.,
event services, security)
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
My Role(s)
• Managed 13 volunteers at my own venue (UBC
Thunderbird Arena)
• Managed Zone 6 access, lounge, and seating
• Liaised with all other functions of venue
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
My Role(s)
• Represented the ICS
function and presented
on its behalf at the IOC’s
venue press managers’
workshop
• Responsible for creating
ICS daily reporting
system to build the
knowledge management
and transfer process for
the function
My Role(s)
• In charge of the US delegation (Vice-President
Biden and Secretary of State for Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano) for the opening and closing
ceremonies
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
My Role(s)
• Assisted/replaced my colleagues at other venues:
Main Press Centre & Canada Hockey Place
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
Benefits of Secondment to my Research
• Network of contacts
• Deeper appreciation of stakeholder interactions and
centrality of key stakeholder groups (e.g., media)
• Importance of knowledge management, transfer,
learning
• Impact of national, local, and organizational culture
on sport event management
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
Benefits of Secondment to my Research
• Other under-examined areas and the
interconnectedness of functions
– Function examples: venue management, sport, sport
production, security, transportation and protocol
– Change is the only constant!
– Reflections on
• The true impact of “weak” links in the organization
• The need for flexible, adaptable people (role flexibility)
• In other words: appreciation of the complexity of
organizing events and all the areas that need to be
studied!
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
Summary
• Major sports events have a complex network in which
they work
• Planning, implementing and wrapping-up an Olympic
Games takes about 10 years
• Multiple issues to deal with, which vary in importance
over time
• Knowledge management and transfer system is an
important aspect of an OCOG’s activities
• Working for a major sports events opens doors and
offers avenues for potential research
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
Email: milena.parent@uottawa.ca
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26
References
•
•
•
•
•
Getz, D. (2005). Event management & event tourism (2nd ed.). Elmsford, NY:
Cognizant Communication Corp.
Parent, M. M. (2008). Evolution and Issue Patterns for Major-Sport-Event
Organizing Committees and Their Stakeholders. Journal of Sport Management,
22(2), 135-164.
Parent, M. M. (2010). Decision making in major sport events over time:
Parameters, drivers, and strategies. Journal of Sport Management, 24(3), 291318.
Parent, M. M., & Smith-Swan, S. (forthcoming). Managing Major Sports Events:
Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.
The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic
Winter Games (2010, February 28). The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter
Games: By the numbers Retrieved November 15, 2010, from
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/the-vancouver-2010olympic-winter-games-by-the-numbers_297556Ko.html
M. M. Parent, Colby-Sawyer College, 2012-03-26