ABSTRACT The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is currently planning the historic Youth Olympic Games (YOG), an international mul ti sport event that will be inaugurated in Singapore in 2010. On the 6t h of July 2007, the establishment of the YOG was approved and will feature 14 to 18 year old athletes. The purpose of the YOG is to complement the Olympic Games but not to create a “mini Games”. This event will place emphasis on quality of performance, rather than the sport ing achievement itself and the IOC aims to use the YOG to address the decline in the relevance of sport amongst the younger generation and to educate the youth through the values that sport teaches. The selected sport events will be carefully chosen to protect the health of the young athletes. This study evaluated the perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that South Africa faces in delivering the mandate of the IOC on the YOG. The study had a critical theoretical framework. A semi structured questionnaire was completed by 36 academic sport experts and administrators of the nine provincial sport academies. The semi st ructured questionnaire al lowed the respondents an opportunity to comment on other relevant issue(s) not raised in the questionnaire. Thematic content analysis was carried out on the semi structured questionnaires. The data gained was util ised to briefly crit ique South African society and sports in the context of the YOG. The findings i lluminate some percept ion on South Africa’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to the IOC’s vision and mandate and how a team for the Singapore 2010 YOG and beyond may be galvanised.

Olympic Dam underground mine is located in South Australia approximately 520km north-north-west of Adelaide. The copper-gold-uranium deposit is extracted by open stope mining. The empirical Mathews stability method has been applied to open stope stability forecasting at Olympic Dam for the more than 20 years. This method adjusts the rock tunneling quality index (Q’) to allow for a rock stress factor, the orientation of any discontinuity and the orientation of the geometric surface formed by the excavation. The applicability of the Mathews stability method at Olympic Dam was analysed by assessing the volume of over break outside the stope design profile. It was found that 41% of all stope surface predictions were correct, and that 59% (by difference) of all predictions were therefore incorrect. This was found to be primarily due to the method as applied at Olympic Dam, rather than the inherent errors of the Mathews stability method. However there are a number of weaknesses in the Mathews stability method including the inability to identify structural weaknesses in the rock mass, to allow for different stress concentrations around irregular shaped stopes and to account for stope relaxation. A high resolution non-linear, Hoek Brown, numerical model is capable of providing displacement, velocity and strain rates for points within a rock mass. Velocity is the modelled rate of displacement of the points within the rock mass relative to the stope profile. An existing numerical model of this sort at Olympic Dam was used to investigate the relationship of the velocity of points moving toward a stope, and the probability of them becoming over break. It was found that with increasing rates of velocity the probability of a point becoming over break increased. The identified limitations of the application of the Mathews stability method are not enough to justify removing the method from the stope design process at Olympic Dam. With the implementation of recommended improvements such as, increasing the frequency of window mapping collection, live stress measurements and detailed post-mining assessment of stopes, an increase in the methods reliability can be expected. These improvements should be incorporated in conjunction with the continued trial of velocity as a stope performance indicator at Olympic Dam.

In bidding to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the London bid committee promised a range of ambitious legacies. Planning for legacy pre-Games was a relatively new aspect of event planning (Leopkey & Parent, 2009). For the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), the sporting legacy from London 2012 was intended to be experienced across Britain. As such, a significant impact was expected on the sporting lives of people in non-host areas. To this extent it seems entirely appropriate, therefore, to examine the attempts to establish a ‘legacy’ in a city outside of London. Birmingham, one of the most populated cities in the UK, is therefore the focus of this study. The aim of this project was to investigate the legacy experiences of those delivering sport in Birmingham prior to, and soon after, the Games. This research was conducted from a figurational approach. A case study design was used to provide a detailed insight into a complex network of people and their perceptions that influence sport policy and development. The methods employed within this case study include documentary analysis of national policy documents and semi-structured interviews with key personnel in Birmingham. Interviews were conducted in the months prior to the Games and follow-up telephone interviews several months after the Games.

This thesis examines Imperial, Weimar, and Nazi Germany's attempt to use the Berlin Olympic Games to bring its citizens together in national consciousness and simultaneously enhance Germany's position in the international community. The sources include official documents issued by both the German and American Olympic Committees as well as newspaper reports of the Olympic proceedings. This eight chapter thesis discusses chronologically the beginnings of the Olympic movement in Imperial Germany, its growth during the Weimar and Nazi periods, and its culmination in the 1936 Berlin Games. Each German government built and improved upon the previous government's Olympic experiences with the National Socialist regime of Adolf Hitler reaping the benefits of forty years of German Olympic participation and preparation.

This research seeks to determine the necessary conditions for the United States to host another Olympic Games. To lay the foundation for my research, I historically trace the declining number of cities bidding for the Olympics. While exogenous factors such as political protests, terrorist acts, and boycotts contribute to a decline in the number of candidate cities from 1968 to 1984, modern disinterest in hosting the Olympics is motivated by endogenous dynamics derived from the bidding process. To determine how the bidding process affects the likelihood of hosting the Olympics and uncover the roots of successful bids, I analyze four case studies of former United States bids. These case studies include: Denver’s withdrawn bid for the 1976 Winter Olympics, Los Angeles’ successful bid for the 1984 Games, Boston’s relinquished bid for the 2024 Olympics, and consequentially, Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Olympics. I argue the structure of the bidding process inherently favors special interests with the most to gain from hosting the Games at the expense of the city as a whole. Stemming from the central condition of public support, I deduce six underlying conditions that are pivotal for successful bids: 1) the use of existing facilities and infrastructure; 2) absence of opposition groups; 3) private funding; 4) ‘insurance’ measures against cost overruns; 5) alignment of Olympic plans and urban development; and 6) greater use of the region. These conditions do not guarantee a successful Olympic bid, but are fundamental for the Olympic Games to return to the United States.

Title: The analysis of the issue of hosting the Olympic Games. Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to describe the functioning of the Olympic Movement, the development of the Olympic Games size, the development of the Olympic Marketing, the bidding process for the Games and to examine this reality in light of the problems each subject creates. Identify positive and negative aspects of the Olympic Games through SWOT analysis. Furthermore, this thesis aims to determine how the Olympic Agenda 2020 is changing the function of the Olympic Movement, the Olympic Games and how it contributes to the future sustainability of games. Used methods: This thesis is a theoretical paper that has a descriptive and analytical nature, so the main method used is an analysis and study of documents, literature and web sources. The information was analyzed and comprehensively processed. Results: Identified problems can be summarized in these points: Decreased interest in bidding for the Olympics due to non existing government guarantees, rejection of Olympics from residents, negative perception of gigantism. Hosting the Olympics is historically linked with cost overruns, for the Summer Games of 230%, for the Winter Games of 94%. China is expected to become the sport epicenter. Gigantism threatens Olympic ideals and...

This study investigates the suitability of applying international relations theory, specifically international regime theory, to Olympic sport governance. The reliance of the Olympic governance system upon its conception of sport as a politically transcendent source of moral inspiration and the importance of this ideology to political actors can be used to accurately classify it as an international regime or institution. Two outcomes derive from this argument. First, the Olympic regime acknowledges states as free riders and allows them to accrue benefits from association with Olympic sport without bearing any of the costs of providing it. This makes the Olympics an especially appealing target for state political manipulation. Second, the regime is relatively unable to enforce any of its rules for state behavior not because it is weak or lacking in legitimacy, but because its ideological principles make enforcement impossible. The arguments advanced in the first section of the dissertation are supported by empirical case studies in the second. Historical process tracing methods are used to synthesize historical narrative with causal analysis. The decision to ban South Africa at the 1968 Summer Olympics, the 1980 U.S.-led boycott of the Summer Games in Moscow, and the development of the International Convention against Doping in Sport are all instances in which the Olympic movement and international politics intersected, and thus represent useful illustrations of the relationship between the Olympic regime and international politics. / text

Globally, competition for hosting the Olympic has become fierce. The social and economic advantages resulting from hosting the Olympic Games are huge, but the cost is also formidable. In particular, Sochi, where the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held, invested over $50 billion in building the stadium facilities and developing Sochi and the surrounding area as modernized systems. These Olympic facilities have the potential to attract visitors both during and after the Olympic Games. Prior literature suggests that sport tourism is emerging as a prominent component of many economic development plans (Kotler, Haider and Rein 1993) and the market’s expanding opportunities in tourism and sport businesses suggest the need for studies of sport tourism (Glyptis 1991). Earlier research has verified story impact as a fundamental communication tool and analyzed narrative contents. Past sport research suggests that American Olympic naaratives focus on specific themes. Given the literature, this study examines whether story theme preferences between the Korean and the American are different with cultural difference because some researcher indicates such cultural differences can influence communication behaviors. This research examined the impact of story themes on interest in host city and host nation for Korean and American students. The study employed an experimental survey and designed 3 themed Korean stories and American stories (hero, facility, and non-theme) based on actual news articles for the experiment. The experiment results showed that the Korean and the American students have statistically significant differences in all of the dependent variables. Overall, compared to American students, Korean students had higher interest in watching and attending the Winter Olympics as well as visiting the host city. Korean students also had positive intention to watch, to attend the Winter Olympics, and to visit the host city than the American students. With regard to the findings, the differenct approaches need to be developed between two nations. Cultural differences found in this study would affect the host city’s promotional efforts. / text

The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of Olympic inclusion on sport through the case study of trampolining in England. This was considered in terms of changes to elite trampolining, recreational trampolining and school trampolining across the dimensions of organisational structure, funding and support, and underlying policy. This has been achieved through constructing a primarily qualitative piece of work underpinned by a critical realist ontology and epistemology. 45 individuals involved in the sport of trampolining or working in the more general sport delivery system were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Most of the direct implications of the inclusion of trampolining in the Olympics have only affected the elite level of the sport. Adding trampolining to the Olympic programme was viewed as a very positive thing by interviewees involved in the sport because it was seen to improve the status of the sport. The forced merger of the British Trampoline Federation with British Gymnastics received significant criticism from former British Trampoline Federation members due to a perceived loss of power and autonomy. However this amalgamation did raise standards of governance and management in elite trampolining, as did increased expectations from organisations such as UK Sport. As a consequence of the increased professionalisation of the governance of elite trampolining, there is now more tension between paid staff and volunteers. Since the sport has been in the Olympic programme elite trampolining has benefitted from significant funding from UK Sport and also support from the English Institute of Sport and the British Olympic Association. Assistance from all three organisations is extremely ring-fenced and channelled towards the elite. For example, English Institute of Sport support is totally focussed on a very limited number of named individuals who compete at an international level. Funding from UK Sport is dependent on British Gymnastics meeting ambitious performance targets in trampolining and so forms an incentive contract which has dictated the focus within the National Governing Body. Hence the balance between elite trampolining and sport for all has swung towards the higher echelon of the sport from both economic and structural perspectives. Few benefits from trampolining being in the Olympic programme filter down to the recreational and school levels of the sport and those that have tend to be indirect impacts. This is partly due to a lack of coherent governance both within the sport and also in terms of the wider sporting landscape. Support given to recreational trampolining by English Gymnastics, Sport England and County Sport Partnerships, and support given to school trampolining by the British Schools Gymnastics Association, the Youth Sport Trust and School Sport Partnerships appears to be relatively unaffected by trampolining being in the Olympics. Also there are more pressing issues and priorities in recreational and school trampolining which prevented the Olympic inclusion of trampolining having a greater impact. For example, at a recreational level there is often a shortage of trampoline clubs to cater for demand and similarly in schools there is often a lack of trampolines and trained teachers.

M.A. (Greek) / The three mutually divided parallels of space, time and the peoples who crossed the Mediterranean, transformed the militant disposition of the Greek people into the athletic ideal. This competitive spirit accompanies the Greeks since the Age of Mythology: it formulates their legends, is linked with their religion, is included in their martial acts, serves as the foundation of their education and is conveyed in all forms of their lives. Crete, the island where we encounter the first indications of the subsequent athletic Greek spirit, lies on the border between the eastern peoples and Egypt on the one hand and Mycenaean Greece on the other. When the historical fate of the Greeks scatters them in the most remote regions, the athletic ideal will compromise the conjunctive link amongst them, which is expressed by their involvement in the Pan-Hellenic games. The five days of the Olympic Games, which constituted a feast of the body and spirit and were manifested by the participation of citizens from all the Greek city – states, ensconced the idea of pan Hellenic unity. During the Hellenistic Age, when Hellenism rooted, the long-lived public institution of the games also deeply established itself. The Olympic Games presented the first signs of decline during the 4th century A.D. Ever since the subjugation of Greece to the Romans, having been cut off from the roots which gave birth to them, the Games progressively to began decline until finally they were abolished, while new ideological doctrines, such as Christianity, began to prevail in the world of the Eastern Mediterranean. During the 18th century, the deeper search of classic antiquity by traditional humanism, presents the demand of reconstitution of the Olympic Games by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The Games are reestablished in Athens in 1896 and the Zappeia Olympics serve as the connecting link with the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Since 1896 up to this date, 28 contemporary Olympiads, which have traveled to various cities of the world, have taken place, having already completed 108 years of existence. Today the Olympic Games constitute the leading athletic event of our planet as well as the celebration of peace and coexistence amongst peoples. On the threshold of the 21st century, humanists, who for centuries have ensured the unity and universality of education, propose the introduction of the subject of ‘Olympic Education’ in schools. Today, in the dawn of the 3rd millenium, the Olympic Games which fulfill an ecumenical mission, returned to the country where they were born and to the city where they were revived. In the year 2004 Greece was called upon to elect the Olympic ideals, placing athletics in the service of peace.