ISSN: 1543-9518|Vol. 24

Interdisciplinary Approach of the Teaching of Olympic Principles to the Students

Dr. A M. Najeeb, National Institute of Technology associate professor and head of Physical Education, Calicut, India

### Introduction

Illustrious Celebrities on the dias, in the august gathering, ladies and gentlemen committed to the noble Olympic movement, Greetings from India. I am Dr. A.M. Najeeb, a physical education professor in one of the leading Technological universities owned by the government of India, the National Institute of Technology Calicut and one of the few Olympic educators of India. I am thrilled and honoured to be delivering a humble lecture titled, “Interdisciplinary Approach of the Teaching of Olympic Principles to the Students,” and acting as the ambassador of my country and my institution at the International Olympic Academy.

My lecture would consist of discussion on the universally approved interdisciplinary strategies and some corresponding experiences while teaching Olympic values and principles to the engineering students of my institution. I was initiated in to the Olympic Values Education Programme by the Indian National Olympic Committee during March 2010, where at the seminar I promised Mr. Tommy Sithole, the IOC Director for International Development and Cooperation, that I would spread the Olympic message among students. Since then from July 2010 to this day I have successfully inculcated in 1000 students the values and principles of olympism. As my students are from the engineering stream, interdisciplinary strategy was applied for effective transfer of knowledge.

“Teaching Values – An Olympic Education Toolkit” by Dr. Deanna L. Binder, of the University of Alberta, Canada, was the main reference book that I used for teaching Olympic values to my students. I am deeply indebted to Madam Binder and her excellent teaching techniques at New Delhi for having motivated people like me to take up Olympic values education to develop our students in to meaningful citizen. Madam Binder has said **“in a world where obesity is a major concern, and where children in deprived communities need hope and a sense of achievement, physical activity and sport have an important role to play.”**

Since its launching in April 2008, the Toolkit has brought about tremendous awakening among the youth. Let us now take a peek at the universally approved interdisciplinary strategies.

### What is the Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching and Learning?

It requires planning that looks at the foundational objectives of a number of curriculum areas connecting them in an efficient way to help teachers (Jacobs) to teach the whole student and make links between disciplines. In short, it is a Strategy adopted by teachers for effective transfer of knowledge.

Purpose of the interdisciplinary strategy:

1. To dissolve the boundaries of areas of study and encourage learning across the curriculum.
2. To develop a plan integration of the natural areas to form thematic units.
3. To include a well-rounded education where critical thinking and transfer of knowledge is possible.
4. To enhance the student’s education and encourage lifelong learning.

Planning and teaching an interdisciplinary unit:

1. Choose a basic effective topic-concept.
2. Brainstorm for ideas that can be organized onto an interdisciplinary concept model. This model has the theme in the centre as nucleus and the subject areas are explored in relation to the theme.
3. Guiding questions that are general, transcend boundaries of disciplines and generate higher-level thought processes.

Activity plans used to develop activities:

Unit: Principle of Fair Play on playfields: Do students come to the play facilities?
– **Knowledge:** Identify the students on the respective playfields.
– **Comprehension:** Observe students’ behaviour on the fields.
– **Application:** Chart the visitors to the various playfields.
– **Analysis:** Compare the students’ behaviour on the various fields.
– **Synthesis:** Provide a Teacher/ coach/ Instructor on each field.
– **Evaluation:** Appraise its effect.

The above example of interdisciplinary activity shows the target group of professional students and the dependent variable of ethics (Olympic principle or value). The subject areas are science, language, psychology & ethics.

Salient features of the strategy:

1. **Adaptability by the teacher.** Individualizing instructions- Students’ choice of themes- Teachers’ choice of activities across academic levels.
2. **Assessment & Evaluation Considerations.** Level of performance criteria indifferent subject areas – Completion of various activities to interpret the students’ progress.

Let me also mention some of the other key strategies:

1. **Direct Instruction Strategy:** A highly teacher-directed and most commonly used strategy, effective for providing information or developing step-by-step skills. It also aids in introducing other teaching methods, or actively involving students in knowledge construction. Methodology involve: Structured Overview; Lecture; Explicit Teaching; Drill & Practice; Compare & Contrast and Demonstrations.
2. **Indirect Instruction Strategy:** In contrast, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered, although the two strategies complement each other. It calls for a high level of student involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data, or forming hypotheses. It takes advantage of students’ interest and curiosity, often encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve problems. The role of the teacher shifts from lecturer/director to that of facilitator, supporter, and resource person. The teacher provides the learning environment, opportunity for student involvement, and, when appropriate, provides feedback to students while they conduct the inquiry. One of the better methods to extract student-interest.
3. **Experiential Learning Strategy:** It is inductive, learner centered, and activity oriented. Personalized reflection about an experience and the formulation of plans to apply learning to other contexts are critical factors in effective experiential learning. The emphasis in experiential learning is on the process of learning and not on the product. Methodology cycle involve Experiencing (an activity occurs); Sharing or publishing (reactions and observations are shared); Analyzing or processing (patterns and dynamics are determined); Inferring or generalizing (principles are derived); and Applying (plans are made to use learning in new situations).
4. **Interactive Instruction Strategy:** It allows heavy discussion and sharing among participants leading to rational arguments. The interactive instruction strategy allows for a range of groupings and interactive methods. It is important for the teacher to outline the topic, the amount of discussion time, the composition and size of the groups, and reporting or sharing techniques. Interactive instruction requires the refinement of observation, listening, interpersonal, and intervention skills and abilities by both teacher and students. It is heavily dependent upon the expertise of the teacher and dynamics of the group.
5. **Instructional Skills Strategy:** It is most specific category of teaching behaviours. They are necessary for procedural purposes and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for students.

### Teaching Olympic Values to the Indian University Student

University education in India is reined by the Governments through rules, regulations and guidelines. In a highly populated country like India, the number of degree seekers flocking the universities is so high that the desired quality control is difficult to achieve. While the prerogative is to develop ideal citizens through university education, the infrastructure is lacking. There are universities without even a proper playground for its students, let alone the faculty to look after the students’ welfare, fitness and wellness. However, those responsible for their own curricula do include sports, physical education and their values in the respective curricula.

My institute, the National Institute of Technology Calicut pioneered in this line by introducing compulsory Physical Education curriculum for its undergraduate students with a one-credit course to support it. Olympic Values Education is one of the courses offered to the students.

### Physical Education, Sports and Olympic Values

“Our world is in need of peace, tolerance and brotherhood. By blending Sport with culture and education, the Olympic values can deliver these to us.” – Jacques Rogge, IOC President

Sport is not just a competition; but a state of mind. The Olympic movement considers it a challenge to educate the youth of the world and encourage them to practice sports. Sports help one to escape concerns, respect one another and learn to respect and abide by rules. Sports also aid in shaping the mind with the body and bringing with it joy, hope, pride, sense of identity and health. It is therefore the objective of the IOC to strive to encourage and promote life values & skills through Olympic Values Education Programme.

The President reasserts that Olympic movement of tomorrow is in the hands of the young people of today. If they learn to respect one another on the sports field, they will transfer this virtue to other elements of their daily lives. Peace, harmony and brotherhood will then naturally descend on the earth. The fact that IOC looks up to physical education teachers of the world to spread the Olympic message is heartening and a major recognition to the profession. The International Olympic Academy leaves no stone unturned in pursuing and making this a reality with exclusive sessions being arranged for physical educators of the world to prepare them for the specific task.

### Learning is a Multifaceted Activity

Learning is an active and not a passive activity. It involves writing, discussion, debates and creative activities like sports participation. Some learn best reading, some write and others achieve it listening or in creating things. Olympic Values Education Programme or OVEP uses multifaceted processes to educate students. Even though some learn well individually, OVEP mostly believes in collective thinking and doing to pass on knowledge. Interdisciplinary strategy is one of the effective methods for teaching Olympic values and principles.

### Values, Heritage, Sport and Culture

A Value or Principle is what is considered important in life; making it worth living. It helps people decide what is right or wrong in moral terms. Heritage is a form of legacy, tangible and intangible. Tangibles are monuments or works of art while intangibles are languages, films, music crafts, culture including Sport movements and techniques. Sport is defined by UNESCO (2004) as forms of physical activity like play and indigenous sport that contribute to physical fitness, mental wellbeing and social interaction. Culture is everything that allows people to situate themselves in relation to the world, society and also the heritage passed on to them.

### Fundamentals and Goals of the Olympic Movement

Olympism is a philosophy of life exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind blending sport with culture and education. It aims at creating a way of life based on the joy of effort and educational values. Its goal is to place sport at the service towards harmonious development of man with a view to promote a peaceful society concerned with preservation of human dignity. The Olympic movement is the concerted, organised and permanent action carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC and all entities inspired by the values of olympism. The practice of sport is a human right and every individual must have the possibility of practicing the sport without any discrimination. Every sport should be organised and administered by independent sports organisations. There shall be no discrimination in sport based on race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise. Belonging to the Olympic movement will require compliance with the Olympic charter and recognition by the IOC. Therefore it is necessary to teach the Olympic message to young students who will control the future world and ensure sports participation without bias or discrimination.

### Educational Values/Principles of Olympism

There are five educational values/ principles recognised in Olympism. They have been extracted from the fundamental principles and worded in appropriate manner to be relevant for educational purposes. They importantly incorporate the three interdisciplinary domains of learning, namely Cognitive (Intellectual), Affective(Social/ emotional) and Kinesthetic (Physical). The learning of values is mainly behavioural leading to character development.

**JOY OF EFFOR:** Youngsters develop and practice physical, behavioural and intellectual skills by challenging themselves and each other in physical activities, movement, games and sport.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of JOY OF EFFORT would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, management, psychology and kinesiology. To succeed in any effort requires planning, application of science, mental readiness and the physical execution of the movement. The joy derived from the success of the effort is mental and psychological. The students can be assigned exercises in the class room or the playfield or both and may be allowed to plan and execute in groups and report back their joyous feelings on successful completion of the assigned project. For example, two groups in Field Hockey could be assigned the task of planning a move to score a goal in five minutes time. Planning could be done in the class room and the execution on the hockey field. They will report back to the teacher their joyous feelings both orally and in writing. The joy that results is intense because you overcome challenges.

**FAIR PLAY:** Though Fair play is a concept, it is applied worldwide today in many different ways. Learning fair play behaviour in sport can lead to the development and reinforcement of fair play behaviour in the community and in life.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of FAIR PLAY would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, ethics, psychology and kinesiology. The students need to be playing on the playground to inculcate fair play values. Two soccer groups could be deployed to teach fair play principles to all the other students of the institution. The spectator groups could be reporting the foul tactics adopted by the playing groups and the ensuing discussion would facilitate a post-mortem. Installing “Fair-play trophies” in soccer and other tournaments in the institute will enhance the learning process. The inculcated value should naturally transfer to the community.

**RESPECT FOR OTHERS:** When young people who live in a multicultural world learn to accept and respect diversity and practise personal behaviour, they promote peace and international understanding.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of RESPECT FOR OTHERS would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, ethics, psychology, human rights and kinesiology. Students need to be taught that charity begins at home. You start to respect elders in the home and transfer it to the neighbourhood, society, school, university and community. The orientation day in the institute would be the best opportunity to enlighten parents of the need for this vital principle. On the playfield this is a give and take principle. You get respect only when you give it to others. The principle is also based on human rights issue of the world. Every individual has the right to exist in his/her own right and all others are required to respect that. Respect should also cover diversities because unity achieved through diversities satisfy you more.

**PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE:** A focus on excellence can help young people to make positive, healthy choices, and strive to become the best that they can be in whatever they do.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, ethics, psychology, biomechanics and kinesiology. Every student would strive to perform his/her best to achieve excellence. Be it in the field of education, sports or extracurricular activities, the student would aim to pursue the path of excellence. The Olympic principles are best taught and learned through activities and this principle is more personal than any other. The tendency of youngsters to play vigorously and to move, walk, run, sing and dance need to be utilized and channelized in order achieve excellence.

**BALANCE BETWEEN BODY, WILL AND MIND:** Learning takes place in the whole body, not just in the mind, and physical literacy and learning through movement contributes to the development of moral and intellectual learning. This concept became the foundation of Pierre De Coubertin’s interest in a revival of the Olympic games.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of BALANCE BETWEEN BODY, WILL AND MIND would be to transcend across the disciplines of science (neuromuscular system), psychology and kinesiology. The perfection of coordination between muscles and the brain is of foremost importance. The mental strength or will power follows with the proverb “where there is a will, there is a way” as the backdrop. The mind is the ultimate ruler sending signals to the muscles, debating over the effectiveness of the strategy and the final move to execute the project with perfect synchronisation of the body, brain and mind. This principle stresses the superiority of the whole-body over parts of the body in implementing plans. The students finally realise that this value is transferable to their day to day routine affairs bringing meaning and satisfaction in life.

The IOC apart from the Games devotes much of its attention to education of the youth. The International Olympic Academy, I have learned, is the senior partner for accomplishing this goal. The Olympic Education actually portrays a major canvas consisting of

1. National and International Olympic Academies.
2. Academic Research, Courses, Seminars in Universities & Olympic Study Centres
3. Informational books, Textbooks, Videos, CDs, TV visuals on the Games.
4. Olympic day-festivals-competitions in education campuses.
5. Physical education and high performance training.
6. Olympic Values education for children, young people and supporters.
7. Education and youth programme of Olympic GOCs.
8. Olympic and sports youth camps.
9. Olympic museums, halls of fame, art & cultural exhibitions.
10. Marketing and promotion programmes of Olympic sponsors & supporters.

The teaching of the Olympic principles can be achieved through the pathways of 1) Education through Olympism—an integrated and cross curricular approach; 2) Teacher centred class rooms; 3) Olympic theme or week; 4) Excellence through sports and physical education for young and gifted athletes; and 5) Training teachers and group leaders.

### Philosophy of OVEP

The educational values and principles of the Olympic movement originated from European philosophy and traditions but resonate in the 200 nations belonging to the Olympic family. There are differences in the traditional and cultural settings of these nations and teaching of values and their acceptance is a major challenge in some nations. Hence the basic duty of the educators will be to identify the ways that Olympic principles can amalgamate with existing educational priorities and to adapt and use the various activities appropriate to the realities of local belief systems and situations.

The Olympic Symbol, the Flag, the Oaths, the flame, the peace symbols, The games’ posters, the logos and mascots, the arts and crafts are household entities of today’s generation. Hence the teaching of the principles and values is considered incomplete without awareness of the symbols. There are plenty to learn and inculcate from these visible entities. They represent culture and heritages of every nation and an understanding of these at close quarters instils peace, harmony and brotherhood. The symbols and ceremonies, sports and cultural events of the Olympic Games are inspiring, motivational and provide a relevant context for learning and teaching activities.

### Conclusion

As a physical educator and an Olympic educator, my first and foremost objective is to convince the powers that matter in the educational scene to include Olympic values education in the university curriculum in India. This is a must-learn subject that deal in inculcation of character and values that add to the richness of one’s life. The student not only becomes aware of exemplary character but also of meaningful existence in the society and community. The advantage of the values education is that it teaches through practise of sports that ensure wellness of body and mind. It encourages unity and brotherhood, respect for foreign culture and diverse values and the realisation that Sports has no boundary. The values are inculcated through team work and group projects leading to group dynamics and cohesiveness.

The Olympic values and principles in nutshell, is a superb knowledge-house, with no curricular boundaries, that enriches the university student preparing him/her to be the future nation builder inculcating in him/her the realisation that the future belongs to today’s youth who should be thinking beyond religion, caste, creed, sex and boundaries separating cultures. The IOC with the help of IOA will not leave any stone unturned in its quest to educate the world youth the ultimate values that mark the corner-stone of healthy, thinking, vibrant and peace loving societies.

### References

1. Binder L Deanna, Teaching Values – An Olympic Education Toolkit, A Project of the International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland (2007)
2. Chelladurai P & Modella Alberto, Human Resource Management in Olympic Sports Organisation, Ohio, USA, Human Kinetics Publishers, (1997).
3. Lenskyj Helen Jefferson, Inside The Olympic Industry: Power Politics and Activism, State University of New York Press, (1997).
4. Cousinou Phil, The Olympic Odyssey: Rekindling The True Spirit of The Great Games, Quest Books, New York (1997).
5. Hayes Jacobs, H.(1994). Integrating the Curriculum. Salt Lake City, UT: The Video Journal of Education.
6. Najeeb,A.M.(2011). The Indispensability of Olympic Values in University Education. NAPESS online journal Vol:2/2.

2015-10-02T23:25:55-05:00June 30th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management|Comments Off on Interdisciplinary Approach of the Teaching of Olympic Principles to the Students
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The Digital Revolution Impact to Olympic Education

Dr. Axel Horn, leader of the Institute of Sciences of Health and Sports Science, University of Education in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

### Overview

1. Definition “Digital Media” and “Digital Revolution”
2. Empirical studies on the development and distribution of digital media
3. Phenomenological observations
4. Theses on the assessment of the digital revolution in terms of Olympic Education
5. References

### Definition of Digital Media and Digital Revolution

The term “digital media” refers to all electronic media, which operate on the basis of digital information and communication technology (Reimann/Eppler 2008). Their opposites are analog media. Digital media have become a communication media that functions on the basis of digital information and communication technology. On the other hand they represent technical equipment for digitizing, calculation, recording, storage, etc. of digital content (Wikipedia 2008).

“Revolution” generally means an overthrow or downfall. In our context, digital revolution describes the rapid and profound changes that have been coming along with the digital media in the last 30 years.

Describing scientifically the situation in Germany should help in obtaining a closer look at the digital revolution, where one can assume that the situation in other countries proceeded or will proceed very similarly, maybe a few years earlier or later.

Sociologists characterize a “modernization” in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s by television. Many researchers link this medium with far-reaching cultural and social changes, using phrases like “Television childhood” and the “loss of childhood” (maybe someone remembers the title of the famous book by the American sociologist Neil Postman). They feared considerably poorer conditions for the development of their children. To date, parents are insecure and researchers discuss the question of whether young people are negatively affected by television in the development of their personality. (Fölling-Albers 2001, 4).

In the 1990s, especially in the late 1990s—I’m talking about the past 10 years—a further development became apparent, which may be called the “second wave of modernization.” Beyond television, CD players, etc. there are now computers, mobile phones and the Internet, which gained importance at least in terms of older children and young people. On the one hand they did so as status symbols, on the other hand, as modified and enhanced media capabilities of information gathering and communication: Internet, e-mails, SMS etc. (Fölling-Albers 2001, 34), Facebook, etc.

For the first time in history, the American Internet store Amazon has sold more e-books than printed books—a fact that clearly shows how much the world is influenced by digital media (SZ 05./06.03.2011).

Furthermore, the newest developments presented on the “CEBIT”—the arguably largest computer convention in the world—make clear, that the technical development of digital media is not yet complete. Mobiles are not only used for calling, they serve as organizers, calculators, cameras, VCRs, small computers with Internet access which can download movies. In a recent development they are even used for creating and playing movies in 3-D format without glasses!

And again: parents, teachers, scientists are scared by the running development and the running market of digital media and their influence on adolescents.

Some empirical studies are sought to support the current distribution and importance of digital media for young people.

### 2.0 Empirical studies on the development and distribution of digital media

2.1 Due to the variety of data, we focus our analyses to adolescents between 14 and 18 years, since this age group is taking part in the Youth Olympic Games. It was a special demand of the IOC, that—in context of the cultural part of the official program of the YOG—young people from all over the world should be taught how to work with digital media.

#### 2.2 Some facts from empirical studies

The following facts are taken from the “Hans-Bredow-Institut” in Hamburg which gathers information about the use of media worldwide. The information is updated every year. The last edition is the 28th edition from the year 2009. Some more of the following facts are taken from the “Media Education Research Association Southwest” (= mpfs). They go back to the surveys in 2010, in which 1,208 young people between 12 and 19 years (51% boys and 49% girls) were interviewed by telephone between May and July 2010. These researches focus media in general—and within this digital media, too.

#### 2.2.1 Digital media in German households in which adolescents live in 2010
![Digital media in German households in which adolescents live in 2010](/files/olympic-edition/2011/table1.jpg)
(JIM-Study 2010, 6)

Figure 1 shows that nearly all German households do have mobiles, computers/laptops and Internet access.

#### 2.2.2 Spread of the Internet in Tunisia

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Number of Internet Subscribers 76,711 91,787 121,000 150,220 179,440 253,149 281,257
Number of Internet Subscribers /1000 Inhabitants 7.8 9.24 12.12 14.9 17.6 24.66 27.15
Number of Internet Users 505,500 630,000 835,000 953,770 1,294,910 1,722,190 2,800,000
Number of Internet Users /1000 Inhabitants 50.9 63.5 83.66 94.57 127.07 167.75 270.25
Number of Websites 898 1,622 1,775 4,028 4,930 5,796 4,467

Reference: Ministère des Technologies de la Communication, www.infocom.tn/index.php?id=26
(Hans-Bredow-Institut 2009, 1208)

Table 1 shows the rapid increase in the spread of the Internet use (in many respects between 4 to 6 times in 6 years).

#### 2.2.3 Media equipment in Indonesian households

1998 2005
inhabitants 220.56
TV 49
satellite antennas 3.5
mobile phones 46.91
conventional telephones 12,772

(Hans-Bredow-Institut 2009, 918)

Table 2: According to the data about Indonesia, the spread of Internet access and mobiles still seems to be near the beginning.

#### 2.2.4 Media equipment in Kenyan households (in %)

2000 2005
inhabitants in Mio. 30.2 33.4
radio 22.1
TV 2.6
PC (incl. notebook) 0.5
Internet access 1.09 4.50
Internet hosts 11,645
Internet users in Mio. 1.5
Conventional telephones (total) 309,379 299,300
Mobiles (in Mio.) 0.14 7.3

Research from: CCK 2005, APC Africa
(Hans-Bredow-Institut 2009, 988)

Table 3: In Kenya there are signs of a similar development as in Indonesia. Note in particular the increase concerning Internet access and mobiles.

#### 2.2.5 Average number of digital media per household
![Average number of digital media per household](/files/olympic-edition/2011/table2.jpg)
(JIM-Study 2010, 7)

Figure 2: In many German households digital media are to be found several times. On average there are 4 mobile phones, 2.7 computers and 2.4 televisions per household. In other words, over 50% of households own three or more computers and 42% do own at least 3 televisions. More than 88% of households possess 3 or more phones (JIM-Study 2010, 7f.)

#### 2.2.6 Digital media owned by young people in 2010
![Digital media owned by young people in 2010](/files/olympic-edition/2011/table3.jpg)
(JIM Studies 2010, 8)

Figure 3: 97% of young German people between 12 and 19 years have their own mobile phone, 79% have their own computer or their own laptop, and more than 50% have their own Internet access. These data are similar for girls and boys (JIM 2010, 7f).

#### 2.2.7 Leisure time use of digital media in 12-19 year olds in Germany
![Leisure time use of digital media in 12-19 year olds in Germany](/files/olympic-edition/2011/table4.jpg)
(JIM Studies 2010, 12)

Figure 4: In terms of daily use, mobiles rank first. However, these findings do not surprise as mobile phones more and more turn into small portable computers.

2.2.8 Content related distribution of Internet use
![Content related distribution of Internet use](/files/olympic-edition/2011/table5.jpg)
(mpfs 2008, 16)

Figure 5 is of particular interest as it reflects the high proportion of Internet communication. Especially girls (56%) spend significantly more time online in comparison to their male peers (42%).

### Conclusion

Summing up this overview, there is no doubt that the digital revolution in adolescents occurs worldwide and that it influences our reality. Whether we like it or not, we will definitely not be able to stop it.

Similarly is the finding that adolescents often do handle those new media much easier than adults and that the new media considerably changed everyday life, leisure time and thus the life of adolescents (Fölling-Albers 2001, 38).

### 3.0 Phenomenological observations

#### 3.1 Some fundamental comments on digital media

The digital media can be viewed as one of the pillars of the globalized world. An almost unlimited access to all kinds of information is possible within the shortest time almost everywhere around the world.

It also seems important to note that access to the desired entertainment (e.g. movies) or information is immediately possible at any time. Digital media provide the possibility of directly participating in events happening in politics, business, sports etc. It is no longer necessary to wait for the newspaper on the next day to get information about the newest developments. How fast Internet groups form, could recently be observed in the affair about the German minister of defence zu Guttenberg. Even before the largest newspaper in Germany was able to barrack with zu Guttenberg, tens of thousands of PHD-students had already formed to a powerful opposition in the web. Since then, experts consider the Internet as the fifth power in the state (next to the judical, executive etc.).

Not only the speed of digital media, but their almost unlimited amount of data must be noted. Without doubt: This is positive. But this is also associated with problems: On the one hand there is the problem of information overload and the danger of losing oneself in it. The distinction between important and unimportant contents is absolutely necessary for the users of digital media. Especially when you look at adolescents it is doubtful whether they can always meet this distinction sufficiently.

On the other hand, it is often discussed whether in fact all information should be accessible to everyone or not. The recently published WikiLeaks-revelations about US-American assessments of politicians around the world is just one example.

Another observation has already been said to be the major cause for the loss of childhood in our present time by Neil Postman: children and young people have access to all information and pictures of the adult world. These images range from images of horror after natural disasters or from war zones, to glorification of violence, to pornography.

Internationally recognized brain researchers point out that the human brain is always learning. It continuously learns and stores the results of what is being offered to it. There are a number of studies from the U.S., demonstrating a direct link between aggressive content of media (TV, Internet) and aggressive behaviour of the consuming people (Spitzer 2010; Kölner call; and references to Bedenk 2010, 11). The effectiveness especially of the role model of aggressive simulation games is regarded as problematic if there are “aggressive tendencies as a result of experienced psychosocial attention deficits in childhood or because of previously experienced success of their own aggression” (Mogel 2008, 206).

Their prevalence is as unclear as the question of whether in post-modern societies, such as through changes in family structures, they may increase or not. Basically, this problem can be cut right to the chase whether everything should and can actually be accessible for everyone. Even if one denies this question, the question of how to block non-desired contents still remains. Think of the area of child pornography.

In addition, the information in words and pictures are of political power; it crucially determines the public perception of an event: This was clearly the case in the Iraq war, in Germany with Stuttgart 21, or is currently happening in the states of North Africa. It seems only logical that those in power try to control the information spread by the mass media. Especially in the current political situation in the North African states it is getting obvious that digital media play a vital and important role concerning the people´s communication options. It seems as if the race between the suppression of free digital communication and the removal of corresponding blocks was of decisive meaning for the outcome of the political events.

#### 3.2 Isolation by use of digital media

Without a doubt, the technically innovative design of digital media has a challenging character for adolescents. Especially with regard to the computer games (on- or offline), their attractiveness rises by showing more perfect, more varied and more diverse games in bursts and by a variety of ways to involve the players. Sometimes, it seems like adolescents disregard their personality development. Is this really true?

If one follows the theory that toys can be seen as witnesses of their age and we see our time unmistakably characterized by computers, it is logical that video and computer games expand. Since many computer-games are for being played alone in front of the screen, this circumstance pokes the fear that adolescents play alone too often and too long. Especially in single children there is an increased risk of lack of social contacts and additional social isolation. On the other hand it is suggested that “multi-player games” are suitable for promoting social contacts with each other. It is also observed that adolescents spend entire afternoons and nights to beat high scores (Mogel 2008, 192ff.) being linked to each other in LAN sessions. Under the label of e-sports major national and international communities have come together to play their digital games within regular events and championships in an organized form of competition—some with prizes exceeding € 100,000 (eg. EPS Finals from June 13-14, 2009) (Wiemeyer 2009, 127). Therefore, M. Bedenk sees the image of some popular “lonely” computer players, ever since the development of online multi-player games, as outdated. The Internet offers both, significant opportunities to play online with and against each other and to communicate during the game and after. Of course, it has to be noted that social exchange taking place here is media-mediated and does not take place through a direct encounter. On the one hand, this leads to the fact that for example the communication partners are not able to respond to facial expressions or gestures, so that information is lost. On the other hand, it is easy to meet with new players and conversation partners from other countries or cultures (Bedenk 2010, 51f.).

The question whether children become isolated by the intensive use of digital media is, therefore, answered differently by experts. However, it is of concern, that playing computer games limits the meaning of experiences in the visual and acoustic sense, whereas the so-called “secondary experience” prevail and the “primary experience” gets lost (Horn 2010).

Although many games are now constructed in a very realistic way, such as flight simulators, the concept of reality, e.g. in the game “Need for Speed,” in which accidents can happen over and over again without any consequences, remains questionable. Also, a canoeing-trip in the computer game can—despite the many dangers that come along from time to time—not be compared to a real canoeing-trip. Not to mention the correspondence to reality of so called “shooters” in which as many people as possible must be killed without any real consequences.

Of course, one could argument, that the reference of the player who is playing in fictional and illusory worlds, is completely real (Mogel 2008, 196ff) comparable to the role-playing games that are an integral part of the child’s game development. In contrast, the neuroscientist M. Spitzer considers that the human brain is constantly changing with its use and therefore the use of digital media does have an impact on the growth of individuals. M. Spitzer summarizes these effects by the loss of the holistic learning and the negative impact on emotional and socio-psychological processes (Spitzer 2010).

#### 3.3 Hypoactivity through digital media

The typical movement character of games mostly comes short in the use of digital media. By using mouse and keyboard, motor processes are limited to fine motor skills and therefore to a minimum. However, it can not be said, that gamers actually move less. A global review of studies on computer use and physical activity (eg, Maaz 2005; Brettschneider & Naul 2004; Lorber 2006; Marshall 2004; Schneider, Dunton, Cooper 2007; Koezuka 2006, etc. – and references to Wiemeyer 2009, 123ff) documents a heterogeneous situation. A general negative impact of digital games is – if any – weak (Wiemeyer 2009, 125).

The above-mentioned periods of use of digital media and the increase in time in front of the TV in Germany – German adults in 2010 watched TV at an average of 223 minutes per day (MB 04.01.2011) – suggest that the use of modern media could contribute to a lack of exercise. Obviously also the computer game industry has recognized the call for action. Thus, increasingly, digital games are offered, which require the activity of the whole-body, e.g. Dance Revolution or Wii. However, anyone who has ever played “tennis” on Wii will probably agree that this has only very little in common with real tennis or whole-body activity. Also, studies show that energy expenditure – under appropriate intensity and the involvement of large muscle groups – may rise to 8 kcal / minute. However, to reach the generally recommended health-related physiological threshold of 1000 kcal / week, we would have to spend more than 2 hours a week playing. The declining motivation, which is adjusted in these games relatively quickly (eg Madsen et al., 2007), suggests that the lack of physical activity of adolescents in Europe and the U.S. can not be adequately met by playing these games (Wiemeyer, 2009, 124ff. ). Also the statement that digital games could be specifically used “to convey techniques or disciplines” (Wiemeyer 2009, 126) in sports must currently be considered as illusory.

#### 3.4 Changing communication through digital media

The innovative aspect in the communications by phone and computer is that both communication partners are accessible at anytime and anywhere. The desire to tell someone, even about trivia, does not need to be delayed. Similar to the access to information, also the desired communication partners can be reached immediately, regardless of their staging.

Computers and the Internet offer a platform for self-expression and self-presentation, as everyone is and would be appreciated to be seen. This possibility fits the need of post-modern societies, in which broken predetermined roles, traditions and self-understandings are substituted by the need to find their individuality and embody themselves (Bette 1999; 2008, 361; Wetz 2008). Facebook, for example, offers a global platform for this purpose which allows you to publish pictures and information about yourself that you would like to make available to the public. The fact that some people allow a closer look into their private lives, and that they give personal information to other people in other contexts (eg. job applications) are not necessarily advantageous of the “glass man.” The variety of friendships certainly provides the possibility to find old friends and/or make new friends. Who ultimately gets you by which attention appears problematic especially in the adolescence. A good thing is the possibility to reject or terminate “friendships.” Another new aspect of those media is that you can terminate friendships even without facing each other.

#### 3.5 Multi-tasking

Finally, there are three developments by the digital media which accelerate the existing trends on television. First, there is a loss of a prior choice what you want to see or what one wants to deal with. Digital media offer you ideal conditions to surf and then, if something seems interesting, to stick with it. In addition, here you may encounter the phenomenon of “zapping.” You do not want to see anything in particular; therefore, you are searching the almost unlimited possibilities for what could be interesting. Finally, the internet more and more invites you for “multi-tasking”: research information on the Internet, listen to music and communicate at the same time. Such behavior is in clear contrast to the traditional philosophical or educational positions demanding “concentration.” Here, however, also brain research warns, which emphasizes that the human brain can do only one thing. Thus, it is shown that Multi-tasking just does not enhance hiding distracting stimuli and switching between tasks (Spitzer 2010). M. Wolf also expressed in her book “The reading brain”—where she writes about changes in the brains of the users by digital media—that “more” and “faster” does not necessarily mean “better” (Spitzer 2010). A causal relationship between lack of concentration, attention deficits, etc., and multi-tasking is obvious, although the variety of studies in this regard are another matter.

#### 3.6 Conclusion

At all mentioned points, findings are contradictory. Rejectors and supporters are equally distributed. For further research, it is imperative to involve on the one hand, both the digital media and the person using it and the particular situation of use (Bedenk 2010, 31). On the other hand it´s important to involve the many scientific disciplines that deal with the “new” media, in an integrative approach (Bedenk 2010, 11).

### 4. Evaluation of the Digital Revolution in Terms of Olympic Education

The assessment of a case, for example the digital media always happens within the interactions between perception, explanation, and values of the evaluator (Bedenk 2010, 24). The consideration of the first two issues has shown that the current globalized world is essentially determined by the digital media. Those who want to participate in the current “world society,” must have access to digital media and have the know-how of its use. As a further development an even wider use of digital media is to be expected in the future, especially adolescents are affected by this development: thus, the world of digital media is increasingly becoming the world of young people. The above-mentioned third aspect—the values—is necessarily subjective. Here, it is therefore made in the form of theses, which should serve as a basis for discussion:

**Thesis 1:** The information-presentation and dissemination of the Olympic idea and the Olympic ideals must be presented to the young people by the media they use. Since these are primarily digital media, Olympism has to represent the Olympic movement by using that media if Olympism wants to reach the young people around the world without being redundant.

**Thesis 2:** Opportunities for access to and know-how of the use of digital media is to be regarded as an extended condition of understanding in our contemporary world. A division of the world into a (majority) part of digital media and a (smaller) part of non-digital-media would mean a further injustice that would be against the peace idea of Olympism. This is the case when “peace” within the meaning of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant is seen as a just (world) order, which includes far more than a silence of weapons (Kant 1999).

**Thesis 3:** As digital media involve certain risks, it would be irresponsible to let young people alone with dealing with the digital media and the commercial interests of suppliers who deliver them. In contrast, an education for meaningful use of digital media in general and in the spirit of Olympism is essential. The Olympic ideal of perfection of the individual was certainly possible without digital media. But now that they have become an integral part of our world an educational mission regarding the development of the personality is connected with them. This also includes the global sport in its exercise, its media presentation and a critical assessment. Fair play, especially in highest level sports (which media are interested in and where everyone is almost condemned to success), still plays a major role here as an ethical scale.

**Thesis 4:** As digital media disseminate the sedentary world, it is important to show young people again and again the usefulness of physical activity, to educate them about exercise, sports and games and to give them the joy of sports competition in order to communicate fairness and mutual respect to themselves and to others. To move, play games and do sports so that it enriches the lives, that it contributes to well-being and satisfaction and that it provides a sense of achievement and happiness – this is a part of the Olympic education, especially in the world of digital media (Horn 2009).

**Thesis 5:** If the YOG really wants to create a new understanding of Olympism for young people it is not enough to just set another international sport event for them. It is necessary to try new ways. And one way can be to educate them as it is intended in a CEP and to include the understanding and responsible use of digital media.

### References

1. Bedenk, M. (2010). Computerspielen verstehen.Marburg: Tectum Verlag.
2. Bette, K.-H. (1999). Systemtheorie und Sport. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
3. Bette, K.-H. (2008). Soziologie des Abenteur- und Risikosports. In K. Weis und R. Gugutzer (Hrsg.). Handbuch Sportsoziologie. 358 – 367. Schorndorf: Hofmann.
4. Fölling-Albers, M. (2001). Veränderte Kindheit – revisited. Konzepte und Ergebnisse sozialwissenschaftlicher
5. Kindheitsforschung der vergangenen 20 Jahre. In: M. Fölling-Albers, S. Richter, H. Brügelmann , A. Speck-Hamdan (Hrsg.). Jahrbuch Grundschule III. Fragen der Praxis – Befunde der Forschung. 10 – 51. Seelze/Velber: Kallmeyersche Buchhandlung.
6. Hans-Bredow-Institut (Hrsg.). (2009). Internationales Handbuch Medien. 28. Auflage. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
7. Horn, A. (2009). Bewegung und Sport. Eine Didaktik. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt.
8. Horn, A. (2010). Spielräume in der veränderten kindlichen Lebenswelt. Gestalttherapie Heft 2/2020. 51 – 74.
9. Http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:Digitale Medien
10. Kant, I. (1972). Zum ewigen Frieden. Stuttgart: Reclam.
11. Kölner Aufruf. <http://www.gwg-ev.org/cms/cms.php?print=1&textid=1384> (20.06.09).
12. Mangfall-Bote vom 04. 01.2011, 1.
13. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs) (2008). Computer- und Consolenspiele. Download am 27.12.2010 unter www.mpfs.de/Computer_Consolen_JIMKIM08.pdf (= mpfs).
14. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs) (2010). JIM-Studie 2010.Jugend, Information, (Multi-)Media. Basisuntersuchung zum Medienumgang 12 – 19-Jähriger. Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg, Thomas Rathgeb, Reinsburgstr. 27, 70178 Stuttgart (= JIM-Study).
15. Mogel, H. (2008). Psychologie des Kinderspiels. 3. Aufl. Heidelberg: Springer.
16. Postman, N. (1983). Das Verschwinden der Kindheit. Frankfurt: Fischer.
17. Reimann, G./Eppler, M. (2008). Wissenswege. Bern. <Http://www.persoenliches-wissensmanagement.com/content/definition-digitale-medien>.
18. Spitzer. M. (2010).Im Netz. SZ vom 22.09.2010, 8.
19. SZ vom 05./06. 03. 2011, Wochenendbeilage V2/1.
20. Wetz, F.-J. (2008). Abenteuer des Körpers. Über Sport, Drogen und Sex. In V. Steenblock (Hrsg.). Kolleg Praktische Philosophie. Band 3. Zeitdiagnose. 167 – 205. Stuttgart: Reclam.
21. Wiemeyer. J. (2009). Digitale Spiele. (Kein) Thema für die Sportwissenschaft?! Sportwissenschaft 2/2009, 120 – 128.

2016-04-01T09:33:41-05:00June 30th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Management|Comments Off on The Digital Revolution Impact to Olympic Education
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The Importance of New Forms of Technology in the Dissemination of Humanistic Ideas

Dr. T.J. Rosandich, United States Sports Academy vice president

### Introduction

Human play, as embodied in sports, is one of the most important expressions of human culture. It can be said that the games people play in a society are a reflection of the society as a whole. It can also be said that communication is the one dominant attribute that distinguishes human beings from every other species on the planet. Thus the intersection of communication and sports in the human experience is an important one.

The Olympic movement is considered to be one of the largest social movements in human history. Nowhere else do the countries of the world gather in one place as they do during the Summer Olympic Games. While the peaceful gathering of the world’s youth for sports competition is the embodiment of that intersection of sport and communication, this fact underscores the importance of the media in conveying Olympic values and ideals. In many respects, it is a relationship between the Olympic community and the media that allows the Games to be conducted on the scale that they are.

This presentation will briefly examine the evolution of this relationship from the founding of the Olympic movement at the height of the Industrial Revolution to the dawning of the Information Age. The discussion of the early days will necessarily be brief as the primary focus of this presentation is on the ways that technology, and more specifically the Internet, is driving the communications process and with it the dissemination of the human ideals. There will be a discussion of some of this new media and the presentation will conclude with some of the challenges before us as we look to the future being wrought through technological change.

### Evolution of Media

As has already been noted, the Olympic movement was founded at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. The founder of the Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, authored many articles arguing for the establishment of a modern Olympic Games. An example of this effort was the publication of an essay in the “Review de Paris” in June, 1894 on the very eve of the first Olympic Congress setting out his vision for the establishment of a modern Olympic Games (4).

Writing in the 19th century was a lengthy process, meaning that 19th century writers faced a much longer period than happens today, between researching, writing, and receiving payment for their work. Only the best educated individuals, usually from privileged backgrounds had the time, expertise, talent, inclination, and financial backing to undertake this effort (2). Illustrated news weeklies or monthlies were among the primary means of communication and dissemination of the news in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This medium was also one that was particularly well suited to the audience that de Coubertin was trying to reach. The founders of the Olympic movement were well educated and well-to-do. Therefore, the message to this audience leant itself well to the tenets of the early games that they should only be open to amateurs; those who participated in sport as an avocation as opposed to a vocation (4).

However, the on-going Industrial Revolution was bringing about important society-wide changes that allowed sports to flourish. This included a population migration from rural to urban centers, increases in disposable income accompanying a rise in the middle-class and eventually, more leisure time that allowed more recreational activities, among them participation in and the viewing of sports events.

Concurrent with the rise in the middle class was a wider distribution of newspapers, many of which began to include sports coverage. Sports coverage did, in fact, become one of the ways that newspapers in larger metropolitan areas competed with each other. As interest in sports generally, and local teams particularly, began to appear in newspapers, the amount of space given over to this content expanded over time. As there were in these early days, no broadcast media, the newspaper sports coverage of the day was largely descriptive play-by-play recaps of the sports events.

Eventually, however, broadcast media was introduced to the communications mix and began to usurp the role historically played by the newspapers. First radio, and later television, allowed the audience to experience the sport events as they occurred with their play-by-play broadcasts. Thus, the role of the newspapers and weekly or monthly sport themed news magazines began to evolve from reporting the play-by-play, now done by the broadcast media, to more reporting of “behind the scenes” activities or analysis of the athletes, teams and events. There are two lessons to be learned from this experience. First is that as technology evolved and new forms of communication emerged, message content carried in the channels of distribution changed as well. So too is this the case today; as technology evolves so does the nature of the message content being distributed.

The second lesson concerns the role of “gatekeepers” such as editors or producers in the public communications process. During this early period there were comparatively few media outlets. In Europe, countries might have one or two “national” newspapers plus those in the metropolitan areas. In the United States, there was no general national newspaper until the advent of “USA Today” in 1982. While larger metropolitan areas may have as many as five news dailies, most of the country were smaller markets that could support no more than one or two. In terms of electronic broadcasting, the available air time for sports was typically limited as most outlets aired a variety of content and in the early days of television in the United States there were only three major television networks. Because of the limited availability of channels of distribution, editors in the newsroom or producers of over-the-air broadcasting wielded enormous power in determining what their audience would read or hear. The selection process for media was typically driven by market concerns; but in any case was decidedly autocratic.

### The Information Age and Rise of the Internet

Human civilization has moved from the Age of Industry to the Information Age. While the general consensus is that the dawn of the Information Age is the 1970’s, the changes wrought to society through technological change really accelerated with the creation of the World-Wide- Web (the web). As changes in technology changes channels of communication and message content, a brief discussion of the underlying technology is in order.

The early 1960s saw experimentation with computer technology that established the protocols for what became known as the Internet in 1969. This feat was followed by the development of Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) in 1989 that became the basis for the development of the web though it was not until 1993, that the web was introduced to the public-at-large.

Most early websites were a series of static web pages connected by hyperlinks that could be internal, which provided structure to a website or external leading to other websites based on whatever criteria the webmaster decided. The underlying computer technology such as processors, memory, and connectivity limited the content of these early web pages. Most hosts, or the site where the web content was posted, were initially personal computers (PCs) adapted for this purpose, although eventually specialized computer devices called “web servers” evolved. Over the years, the capability of these website servers has changed dramatically as has the role of the webmaster. Today, virtually all commercial or professionally developed websites are dynamic with the web content contained in a relational database called “the backend”. Most websites also have a variety of plug-in applications, such as secure financial transaction software for ecommerce, called “middleware”, and the front facing graphic interface that people see when they arrive at a website. Webmasters have evolved into web developers and the skills required for maintaining a website can vary significantly between those working the backend and those designing the frontend.

On the recipient’s end were similar technological limitations. PC’s that had their processor capability expressed in numbers such as the 286, 386, 486 and Pentiums. In terms of connectivity, bandwidth has increased exponentially with a succession of changes from dial-up modems to ISDN and now broadband. Thus, early on the limitations of technology necessarily limited the content; e.g. the message.

Over the past 30 years, society has experienced a fundamental change in the way information is created and disseminated. From its rudimentary early beginning, the interface between computer technology and users has evolved to a point where virtually anyone can create “media content” and post it to the web where it can be accessed and read by anyone in the world with access to the computer resources to do so. This has led to another fundamental and extraordinarily significant change: a process of democratization. No longer can gatekeepers such as the editors or publishers of the old media exert autocratic or monopolistic control over the flow of information into the public sphere. There are, however, both positives and negatives to this state of affairs as we shall see in our ensuing discussion of the evolution of the web.

### Web 1.0 – The Inaugural Web

During the formative days of the web, strategies for the dissemination of information could be broadly classified as “push” versus “pull”. Push refers to the proactively sending out or distributing messages across the Internet most commonly by email from one user’s account to another. One of the ways in which email was used as a precursor to today’s Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs and social networking sites, was the listserv. A listserv was a group of individuals typically bound together by a common interest who signed onto an email list to receive messages on a topic of mutual interest. When an email was sent in bulk to the list, anyone in the group could respond to the sent message which subsequently went to everyone else in the group. In so doing, an online discussion and sharing of ideas would ensue.

Unfortunately, the widespread abuse of email has gradually restricted its utility as a medium of communication exchange beyond personal messages. Both marketers and criminals seized upon email as a means to try and sell their wares or dupe people into giving up money which gave rise to the spam phenomenon. Unfortunately, spam is still a plague on the Internet with an estimated 48.5 billion messages sent everyday largely through networks of compromised computers called botnets. In March, 2011, one of the largest of these, the Rustock Botnet that was sending as many 13.82 billion spam emails each day, was finally taken down by the authorities (8). Partially as a consequence of this abuse, more and more people are seeking out alternative channels for the sharing of electronic communications such as through the messaging capabilities of Facebook or Twitter.

The other concept is that of “pull” in which individuals actively seek out web content utilizing web browsers and devices such as search engines. The key to this strategy is to insure that this web content is properly optimized and has appropriate tags so it becomes more visible on the web and easier to find.

Education is the most powerful vehicle for the transmission of human ideals. It is in the realm of education that the Internet has had a profound impact. The advent of the Internet and the worldwide web has fundamentally changed the paradigm of education; a paradigm that had essentially been unchanged since the 16th century. Early on, the Academy embraced this change and developed a distance education program that can be defined as asynchronous, transformational, and computer mediated. This means that the Academy’s students can pursue their studies across the Internet using computer resources at any time and from any place without the faculty and student needing to present on-line at the same time. While removing impediments to learning created by time and space, the institution has transformed the traditional educational experience of the lecturer in the classroom to learning activities distributed through the web in which learning outcomes and course objectives are satisfied.

There has been a lot of skepticism with respect to the efficacy of online education. The validity of the model has been validated by the Academy’s own research among which has been the comparison of comprehensive examination results between resident and online students. The institution’s accrediting agency, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, reviewed and approved the Academy’s distance education program in 1996, and currently more than 85% of the Academy’s students report that they have learned as much or more through online education as they did in resident study. The Academy is also pleased that more than 96% of its students would recommend the Academy’s online education programs to friends or colleagues.

Illustrative of this approach to education is the Olympic Values Education Program (OVEP) that was prepared for distance learning delivery by the Academy under a grant from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2008. Through the web, the OVEP program is available to anyone in the world who has access to the Internet, and further utilizing emerging technology, such as the Google Universal Translator, albeit with some inherent limitations, it can be accessed in any one of 52 different languages. The online OVEP course can be reached at [students.ussa.edu/olympic_values](students.ussa.edu/olympic_values). I should also note that the Academy recently completed another such cross-cultural academic offering with the preparation of a bachelor’s degree course entitled the “Shaolin Philosophy of Kung Fu.” The basis for the course is a 1,500-year-old manuscript that was translated from the ancient to the modern version of Chinese and then into English. The Academy’s Department of Instructional Design then refined the English and placed it into an online course environment. In so doing, East meets West, the ancient meets the new and we come full circle insofar as the modern English course can be translated back into Chinese with the universal translator function built into the Academy’s Course Management System (CMS).

Very important in the supporting of student education and the dissemination of human values is access to libraries and research resources. In 1997, the Academy was among the first organizations to put online a peer-reviewed research Journal, [The Sport Journal](http://www.thesportjournal.org). This Journal is provided subscription-free to the public and is accessed on average about 15,000 times per week. As a matter of interest, all of the papers from last year’s International Olympic Academy (IOA) were posted to The Sport Journal site in a special Olympic edition of the Journal. From the comfort of their own homes, the Academy’s students can use the Internet to access more than 57,000 libraries in 112 countries that have over 70 million holdings and 270,000 unique journals through the institution’s library portal on its’ website. However, access to educational resources, such as libraries, are not restricted to students in universities. Very early in the development of the web, the Encyclopedia Britannica posted its entire body of work online and made it available on a subscription basis. Today, there are a myriad of libraries to which the public has access free-of-charge, such as the Alabama Public Online Library. Organizations such as Google are digitizing the holdings of entire research libraries with the ultimate intent of placing these online for ease of access; though inevitably at a price.

### Web 2.0 – The Social Web

The rise of participatory information sharing through the Internet has truly revolutionized the dissemination of information using web 2.0 techniques. With the advent of the social web, the creation of content has evolved from the efforts of a comparative few in the media professions to a model that maximizes the contributions of the multitudes. With about 400 social media platforms available and an untold number of blogs being authored, the proliferation of communication channels, both public and professional, and private and amateur, allow for the contribution of millions of people sharing a public conversation unprecedented in the human experience. One of the most important consequences of the proliferation of these platforms available to virtually anyone with access to the Internet, is the democratization of media content. What people can see and hear has been taken out of the hands of the gatekeepers and placed into the hands of society at large.

It is not possible within the constraints of this presentation to cover all aspects of the social web, so the author has selected five representative examples beginning with a discussion of Wikipedia. If the Encyclopedia Britannica, long acknowledged as a definitive compendium of human knowledge, represents Web 1.0 technology in which content is simply posted and accessed by people through subscription, Wikipedia represents a web 2.0 application because of its collaborative nature insofar as anyone can submit articles for inclusion.

Ironically enough, I have turned to Wikipedia for a definition of itself though I should note that at the Academy there is a prominent notice posted on the library portal that Wikipedia is not considered an appropriate source of citations for research papers for reasons that will be explained. By its own definition, Wikipedia is a free, web based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wiki Media Foundation. Its 18 million articles (over 3.6 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Wikipedia was launched in 2001, and has become the largest and most popular general reference on the Internet ranking seventh among all websites on Alexa.com (a web statistics reporting site) and 365 million readers. (9)

The reason that Wikipedia has not been widely accepted in academic research has its roots in its early days. The articles submitted at that time frequently were not carefully researched, often inaccurate, and sometimes posted with malicious intent. It is significant to note that many of these issues have been addressed through the use of anonymous reviewers who examine submissions from the general public for both accuracy and appropriateness. Nonetheless, it still remains a very important resource insofar as researchers, especially the youngest, still access Wikipedia as a point of departure in their research to give them ideas on where to go for additional information.

For those of you who have entries in Wikipedia, it is worth your time to periodically check the content to ensure that someone has not submitted inaccurate or even malicious information. Further, and especially given the reach of Wikipedia, it affords organizations the opportunity to promulgate their missions and activities. For example, in the entry on Olympia, the article posted there cites its role in the ancient Olympic Games and presents a chronology of the site by era to the present day. It does not, however, mention the IOA so a submission could be authored for consideration and inclusion how Olympia serves as the site of the IOA together with a description of its mission and function.

One of the true phenomena of the last few years in Web 2.0 technology is the rise of Facebook as suggested by Internet usage statistics posted on Alexa.com. In April, 2011 more than 40% of all global Internet users visited Facebook on a daily basis, a rate of usage that has remained consistent over the past three months.

Facebook represents the power of social media as individuals sharing common experiences are provided a platform through which these experiences or interests can be shared. As friends beget friends, the media content on Facebook expands in ever increasing circles. This content is not limited to posts or messaging, but also includes YouTube video clips, decidedly unscientific opinion polls, and games. Additionally, the messaging function built into Facebook has, in many circles, replaced email as the preferred means of interpersonal electronic communication.

Facebook can be a two edged sword as the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time found out much to his chagrin. This individual, who won a record eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, suffered the consequences of the posting of a photograph to Facebook of him consuming illegal recreational drugs. This incident sullied his image and reputation and cost him millions of dollars in endorsement revenue. The irony is that the picture posted was not posted on his personal Facebook page, but on that of another individual who happened to be at the same party. In this instance the interconnectivity of the medium produced dire consequences for a sports hero and role model. This incident also underscores the need to be circumspect with what one posts to social media sites and a good guideline is not to post anything you would not want to see in a newspaper. It is not uncommon for prospective employers, among others, to search out Facebook pages in an effort to gain insights on a given individual.

Another extraordinarily popular site, and one already mentioned, is YouTube. Founded in February, 2005, viewership on YouTube exceeded two billion views per day in May, 2010. YouTube allows viewers to watch and share originally created videos and provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small (10). Alexa.com reported in April, 2011 that YouTube is the third most visited global website receiving just over 26% of daily website visits over the past three months.

YouTube, whose web interface is available in 42 languages, can be accessed by anyone although those individuals who want to post content on the site must be registered. For regular users, the time limit for any one post is 15 minutes. Posting video content there can be accomplished from a wide range of devices from computers to mobile phones. YouTube video posts spread across the entire Internet by appearing as links in emails, posts on other social media platforms, such as Facebook and in blogs. Periodically, a video on YouTube will “go viral”, which simply refers to a phenomenon in which the content captures the public’s imagination and is promulgated through a vast array of distribution channels.

However, sites such as YouTube pose a recognized threat to the business model of many sports organizations. The blogging and social media rules of the IOC specifically proscribe the posting of “moving images” or sound. While these guidelines can be enforced on accredited individuals to the Games, such as national delegations or the media, it is much harder to do with spectators seated in the stadium. Modern 3G or 4G phones can easily capture video of sporting events from the stadium seat, and the video can be uploaded to YouTube through a user’s account. While such activity violates the terms of service for registered account holders, the process for removing the content and terminating a user’s account can sometimes be a lengthy one. In the meantime, to the extent to which the video has been accessed and distributed through posts on other social media web sites or platforms, it can never be removed from the web in its entirety. Obviously, this is a major issue for media companies that may pay as much as billions of dollars for exclusive media rights to the event.

Another social media phenomenon is Twitter and, in fact, the Winter Games in Vancouver were cited as the first “Twitter Olympics” (5). The Twitter posts, called tweets, of the athletes provide insights to their physical and mental preparation for competition, their reactions to being in the Olympic Games and other aspects of the Olympic experience that simply were not possible in the past through traditional media outlets. Twitter allows for the sharing of the human experience with an unparalleled immediacy and intimacy with potentially vast audiences that is not tempered with the interference of a gatekeeper. Many tweets generated by Olympians at the Vancouver Winter Games can be found on the web by simply “Googling” Olympic athlete tweets.

However, as was the case with Facebook, Twitter can also be a two edged sword. There have been instances where athletes have posted comments denigrating their competition, the officials, and even their teammates or coaches. These actions can create dissension on teams and when comments go viral, they can take on a life of their own and stir considerable controversy and unfavorable comment in the press. This has occurred frequently enough that some teams ban their athletes from using Twitter, while other teams such as that of the Australian Olympic Team provide their athletes with training on the appropriate use of the medium.

Lastly, I would like to touch on “blogging” as a medium for the dissemination of the human experience. A blog can be thought of as an online diary, open to the public, and onto which an author can write on any topic they choose and to which anyone who reads the post can, in turn, reply. These blogs typically focus on a particular topic such as politics or sports and there are blogs on virtually every topic imaginable. Taken altogether, these blogs are referred to as the “blogosphere.”

With all of the attention that this form of human endeavor engenders and the emotion that it evokes, sports are a common topic in the blogosphere. As one might expect, the blogging commentary related to sports can be both positive and negative. Frequently the authors of blogs do not have the professional or academic preparation to speak knowingly about which they write. The unfortunate thing about blog posts that are inaccurate is that they often carry more weight than they deserve. Illustrious of this situation is the phrase, “it must be true, I read it on the Internet”. The Academy is seeking to address this situation in some small measure through its decision to change one of our online publications, The Sport Digest, into a blog. Through this effort, Academy faculty and other well regarded individuals in the profession generate articles on a host of issues surrounding the sport profession. These posts have a basis in fact or are otherwise well-reasoned and as is the case with other blogs, afford the readers an opportunity to respond to the issues.

### Web 3.0 – The Semantic Web

While the term Web 2.0 has entered the lexicon, Web 3.0 will be the next step in the evolution of the Internet. A common, agreed upon definition for Web 3.0 has yet to emerge but a consensus is building that it will be a combination of technology through which the entire web is turned into a database combined with the marshaling of human resources. New computer languages such as HTML5 will allow computers to read online content and so will facilitate the identification and indexing of the web, a process that will make content more accessible.

Beyond the changes in technology, renowned web futurist Clay Shirky argues that for the first time in history the web has provided the tools to harness society’s “cognitive surplus.” Essentially, the cognitive surplus is derived from the trillions of hours of free time that the residents of the developed world enjoy and that has steadily increased since World War II. Increases in gross domestic product, education and life span have provided riches of free time but that prior to the Internet was squandered in non-productive pursuits. The Internet democratized the tools of production and distribution and the Internet made the benefits scalable: value comes from the combined cognitive surplus of millions of individuals connected to a network that allows collaboration. (1)

Shirky is an example of this dynamic at work. In the course of researching this paper, the author continuously came across references to Shirky and his theories of cognitive surplus. As more authors agreed with the concept than those that did not, it suggests that these theories are gaining traction and apparently have some merit. Through this process of review and debate, concepts and theory are continually refined adding to the body of knowledge through which the human condition can be enriched.

### Challenges

With all of its potential to elevate human discourse and to assist in the dissemination of human ideals, many challenges remain. This can fall into three broad areas as follows:

The first is economic. There exists in a very real sense a digital divide in which a vast proportion of the worlds’ population remains without access to computers or the Internet. In many respects, the Internet still remains a world of the “haves and have nots.” In some respects we have almost come full circle to the human condition of when Olympic movement first began in the late 19th century in which access to information was the domain of the privileged few. This fact has been recognized and there are efforts to address this imbalance through the production of low cost machines to allow the underserved populations without the necessary economic resources to gain access to the Internet.

A looming issue is a social one. Governments all over the world took note at the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia and the events in Tahrir Square in Egypt and the role that Web 2.0 applications played in mobilizing the population to overthrow the political establishment. In the most populous country of the world, the two most globally accessed websites everyday cannot be reached at all. So in a very real sense, we could be headed to a world of two Internets; one in which the flow of information is free and unfettered, and another where access to information resources are tightly controlled or restricted to what the government believes to be “politically acceptable.” (7) In the West, the Internet has played a role in self-censorship resulting in societal fragmentation and polarization insofar as people have a tendency to seek out and read only that information that reinforces their points of view. If the ability to share information is deemed to be strength, impediments to the free flow of information can only be deemed to be a detriment in a future of shared human values.

The last issue is technical. Computers as we know them, those bulky desktop machines and even portable laptops, are going away. What is going to occur in the future, will be a proliferation of smaller devices such as tablet computers, IPhones, and Androids that provide access to the Internet, but where the information that they generate is stored on the Internet itself (also called the cloud). However, all of these devices require wireless connectivity and the amount of electromagnetic spectrum through which these connections are made is a finite resource. In June 2009, the U.S. Government took back that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum through which analog television signals were broadcast. This spectrum was subsequently auctioned off to telecommunication providers and others such as Google; but the fact remains that in the not-too-distant future this bandwidth will also be exhausted. All of this is setting the stage for a time in which data consumption will be metered as is any other utility and subject to the laws of supply and demand (3). Thus, if the digital divide was created by economic conditions, the situation can be exacerbated by “metered Internet access.”

The solution will be found both in the technical, such as content providers better streamlining their services, or through the creation of better means by which access is gained such as twisting the wireless signals.

### Conclusion

Information technology has unquestionably changed human society in ways that can scarcely be imagined. From early experiments in the 1960’s to today, the Internet, as embodied in the web, has over 171 million web hosts. Assuming an average 100 pages on a given website (the Academy website has more than 800 pages) would yield an estimated 17.1 billion pages of web content, the vast majority of which can be accessed by anyone. Research shows that the Internet, excluding the deep web, is growing by more than 10 million new static pages every day. (6) Thus, the Internet spans virtually the entire gamut of the human existence and can be a powerful medium for the conveying of humanistic ideas. It has provided a vehicle that can educate and entertain us and can serve to make society more cohesive. In so doing, it has created an environment for public discussion unequaled in human history but at the same time, it can also serve to isolate us from each other. People can immerse themselves in an environment where the virtual becomes reality and normal communication with others slowly becomes lost. In any case, the evolution of the Internet has brought about a democratization of media content and has created an environment in which all can participate. It is, as the title a popular novel suggests, “A Brave New World.”

### References

1. Davis, P. (2010). Here Comes Everything: A Review of Clay Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus. Shareable: Work and Enterprise. <http://shareable.net/blog/here-comes-everything-a-review-of-clay-shirky%E2%80%99s-cognitive-surplus>. (13 July, 2010).

2. Harper, A. (2007). 19th Century Magazine – An Amazing Source of Public Domain Information. Ezinearticles. <http://ezinearticles.com/?19th-Century-Magazines—An-Amazing-Source-of-Public-Domain-Information&id=762208>. (3 October, 2007).

3. Gruman, G. and Kaneshige, T. (2008) Is Our Internet Future in Trouble? InfoWorld. <http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/our-Internet-future-in-danger-715>. (11 November, 2008).

4. Guttmann, A. (1992). The Olympics; A History of the Modern Games. (2nd. Ed.). Champaign-Urbana: The University of Illinois Press. 13

5. Mann, B. (2010). Olympians On Course Using Twitter. MarketWatch Blogs. <http://blogs.marketwatch.com/vancouverolympics/2010/02/10/olympians-on-course-using-twitter/> (10 February, 2010).

6. Metamend. (2011). How Big is the Internet? Metamend. <http://www.metamend.com/Internet-growth.html>. (14 April. 2011)

7. McMahon, R.; Bennett, I. (2011). U.S. Internet Providers and the Great Firewall of China. Council on Foreign Relations. <http://www.cfr.org/china/us-Internet-providers-great-firewall-china/p9856>. (23 February, 2011)

8. Slashdot. (2011). Spam Drops 1/3 After Rustock Botnet Gets Crushed. Slashdot IT Blog. <http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/03/29/1516241/Spam-Drops-13-After-Rustock-Botnet-Gets-Crushed>. (29 March, 2011).

9. Wikipedia (2011). Wikipedia. Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia>. (24 March, 2011).

10. YouTube (2011). About YouTube. YouTube. <http://www.youtube.com/t/about_youtube>. (23 March, 2011).

2016-04-01T09:34:50-05:00June 30th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on The Importance of New Forms of Technology in the Dissemination of Humanistic Ideas
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Medicine and the Olympic Games of Antiquity

Dr. Spyros Retsas

Mr President of the International Olympic Academies, Distinguished Directors, Ladies and Gentlemen; it is a distinct honor and a great pleasure indeed to return to the magic of Ancient Olympia on the occasion of the 11th International Session for Directors of the National Olympic Academies.

I am grateful to President Kouvelos for the invitation to speak on “Medicine and the Olympic Games of Antiquity.”

I shall discuss today athleticism and the profound influence sport exerted on the evolution of the healing arts of classical Greece.

I shall also argue that the unique ethical, philosophical and clinical profile of ancient Hellenic Medicine is not a random event in the history of civilisation but the direct consequence of a culture that indulges in nature, excels in competitive sport, cultivates reason and respects the individual.

Imagine now that you are visitor to the city of Athens in the year 380 B.C. the year of the 100th Olympiad about to take place on the very grounds that we stand today; the year when Xenophon of Aigai – of the Royal city of Macedon – will be crowned with the olive wreath for his victory in the pankration.

Imagine for a moment that on a crisp spring morning you are standing on the Acropolis. In the distance you can see Plato’s Academy, the famous gymnasium of Athens, where the youth of the day have begun their training in preparation for the forthcoming Olympic Games. You turn south and in the distance you see the glittering Aegean Sea, the witness of the battle of Salamis, when democracy triumphed over despotism; and a few streets away an orator is putting the final touches to his speech to be delivered shortly at Olympia. This is what he writes:

> _“…now the founders of our great festivals are justly praised for handing down to us a custom by which, having proclaimed a truce and resolved our pending quarrels, we come together in one place, where, as we make our prayers and sacrifices in common, we are reminded of the kinship which exists among us and are made to feel more kindly towards each other for the future, reviving our old friendships and establishing new ties…”_ – Isocrates (in Panegyricos)

Written in 380 B.C., the ideals of Isocrates’ (436-338 B.C.) speech are still reverberating at the opening ceremonies of contemporary Olympiads and are as appealing and elusive to humanity today, as they were two millennia ago, to the Hellenes congregating at Elis for the greatest celebration of their world. Isocrates’ _Panegyricos_, although in praise of Athens, captures also the political dimension of the Olympiad as a Pan-Hellenic institution in the conscience of Hellas.

Aware of the repercussions of an Olympic victory, Philip of Macedon competes in the equestrian events and erects the _Φιλίππειον_ to commemorate his victory; a valuable instrument of his political and dynastic ambitions for hegemony over the rest of Greece. The ruins of this building can still be seen by the modern visitor of ancient Olympia.

### The Sporting Ethos

Perhaps no other passage of Greek literature reflects the ethos of sportsmanship and the values of Ancient Greece than Homer’s account of Odysseus’ involvement in the Phaeacian games.

> “…One can see you are no sportsman, your mind is on profit…”

This is how Prince Euryalus talks to Odysseus who, exhausted from his sea voyage, declines the invitation to join the athletic games of the Phaeacians. Insulted, Odysseus leaps to his feet, picks up the biggest discus of all, a huge weight, and throws it overshooting all other marks. It is this spirit of sportsmanship and an aversion to profit – pecuniary or otherwise – that is the core of the Olympic ideal and so central to the culture of ancient Greece. Homer, of course, has good reasons to describe this episode in these colors; he is the Educator of Hellas.

A natural environment that permits outdoor activities throughout the year facilitates sportsmanship that becomes an essential element in the life of the Ancient Greek.

A society developing – in the words of Hippocrates – _in privileged climatic conditions_, learns to respect the individual, becomes increasingly detached from theosophy and superstition and cultivates reason; this passionately naturalist culture, enjoys a liberal religion of gods with human weaknesses and humor and cares largely for excellence on earth and little for afterlife.

Excellence develops with the athletic and intellectual pursuits of the youth in the gymnasia of the _polis_ and is ultimately glorified in Pan-Hellenic festivals, the most celebrated of which was held at Olympia. Medicine emerges in parallel and in the service of these activities.

### Philosophy and Sport

Originally the gymnasia were places where the young men would exercise in athletics naked (_γσμνοί_). This, in fact, is the derivation of the word for the modern gymnast exercising on bars. Gradually, as the symmetrical and harmonious training of body and mind became the educational concern of the state, the gymnasia became places of learning and intellectual pursuit.

The _Academy_ and _Lyceum_ in Athens where **Plato** (427-347 BC) and **Aristotle** (384-322 BC) taught were the two most famous gymnasia that influenced in a profound way the whole of the Greek civilisation.

**Aristotle** is known in our universities as a philosopher and naturalist, not as a doctor. He is however familiar with medicine through his father **Nicomachos**, the Royal Physician to **Philip of Macedon** and he is interested in the anatomy and function of living organisms in broad biological terms.

From Aristotle and the lesser known _Hippias of Elis_ we have the early catalogues of the names of Olympic victors. **Koroibos of Elis** was the first man to win the stadion race at the first Olympiad in 776 BC. His name has been associated with the beginning of the Olympic Games.

### Function of the Officials

Aristotle tells us about the tasks of _gymnastai_ and _paidotribai_, the officials in the gymnasia, who were responsible for the training of athletes.

Other officials, the _ἀλείπται_ or _anointers_, were responsible for anointing with oil the athletes who were about to exercise. This initially simple task developed gradually into methodical massaging and eventually into a speciality that was concerned with many aspects of hygiene and athletic routine.

Thus the _ἀλείπται_ gradually became known as _ἰατραλείπται_ (healer-anointers), or doctors of hygiene _ὑγιεινοί ἰατροί_. These interesting paramedics – we shall call them _athliatroi_ – greatly promoted dietetics and the art of caring for orthopaedic injuries and other commonplace traumata in the gymnasia.

Among the best known _athliatroi_ are **Herodicos of Selybria** and **Ikkos of Taras**, men of broad education otherwise known as sophists, who were particularly concerned with athletic hygiene. Ikkos himself may have won the pentathlon in 444 BC at Olympia. Professional rivalries between _athliatroi_ and the more orthodox therapists of the Hippocratic and Galenic tradition were inevitable.

### Hippocrates

The Hippocratic corpus consists of 72 treatises; there are copious references within the Corpus to the words _gymnastics_, _exercise_, _diets_, _athletes_ etc. However no references were found to _Olympia_, _Olympiad_ or _Olympionices_ (Olympic victor).

**Hippocrates** (460 BC) distinguishes between gymnastics and medicine in the treatise, _On the places of man_ (ΠΔΡΙ ΣΟΠΩΝ ΣΩΝ ΚΑΣΑ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΝ) (***Γσμναζηική δὲ καὶ ἱηηρική ὑπενανηία πέθσκεν…***); “Gymnastics and medicine,” we read, “are by their nature opposite, for gymnastics have no need to cause changes [in the human body] but medicine has. For changes are not needed in the state of a healthy individual, but this is necessary in the patient.”

In the treatise _On joints_ (ΠΔΡΙ ΑΡΘΡΩΝ), Hippocrates makes a clear distinction between properly trained doctors, “iatroi”, and those “lesser experts,” as he puts it, who frequent the wrestling rings (***ηὸ ηοιοῦηο δὲ ποιῆζαι μεηρίως ἐπιηήδειος ἄν ηις εἴη ηῶν ἀμθί παλαίζηρῃ εἰθηζμένων***). Elsewhere in the same treatise he advises on a method of reducing a shoulder dislocation, “a method simple and useful in the palaistra” (***Αὗηαι δὲ αἱ ἐμβολαί πᾶζαι καηά παλαίζηρην εὔτρηζηοί εἰζιν.***)

### Special Diets

There are stories about Olympic athletes who achieved high performances and ultimately their victories on special diets. One athlete is known to have had a diet of dried figs and another gave up cheese for large quantities of meat. We do not know the reasons for this choice. In the treatise _On Ancient Medicine_ (ΠΔΡΙ ΑΡΥΑΙΗ ΙΗΣΡΙΚΗ) Hippocrates discusses extensively the impact of various foods on well being and we find an elaborate reference to the intolerance of cheese which can be “a wicked food” (***πονηρόν βρῶμα***) for some people, whereas others tolerate it well and for them can be an excellent nutrient.

### Galen

Some six centuries later, the celebrated Physician **Galen of Pergamum** (129 – 200 AD) and a scholiast of Hippocrates, is concerned with similar issues. The Olympic Games continued uninterrupted to his time and gymnastics, hygiene and athletics were still very much part of everyday life of the Hellenic and Roman world.

In a treatise with the title, “Is health a matter of medicine or gymnastics?” (ΓΑΛΗΝΟΤ ΠΡΟ ΘΡΑ ΤΒΟΤΛΟΝ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝ, ΠΟΣΔΡΟΝ ΙΑΣΡΙΚΗ Η ΓΤΜΝΑ ΣΙΚΗ Δ ΣΙ ΣΟ ΤΓΙΔΙΝΟΝ) addressed to his friend Thrasyboulos, Galen cannot hide his distaste towards the athletes’ trainers. “The most unfortunate of the athletes,” he writes, “who never won a victory, suddenly decide to call themselves gymnastai. Even worse some of them attempt to write and argue about massage and wellbeing or health or exercises”. In another treatise, _Protrepticos_, an “Exhortation on the art,” (ΓΑΛΗΝΟΤ ΠΡΟΣΡΕΠΣΙΚΟ ΛΟΓΟ ΕΠΙ ΣΑ ΣΕΧΝΑ) he addresses the question, does the athlete’s life benefit himself or the state? He makes a case against the athletes and quotes **Euripides** who, in his usual tragic mood, calls the athletes “The worst evil of Greece”. In the same work Galen derides **Milon of Kroton**, a celebrated Olympic victor who allegedly won the olive wreath seven times.

This extraordinary athlete had an extraordinary end. He tried to cut open with his hands a tree trunk. The tree closed up and trapped his hands. He could not free himself and in the evening he was torn to pieces by wild beasts. “A silly man,” says Galen. “but what else can one expect from an athlete?” (Ἐδήλωζε δὲ καὶ ἡ ηελεσηή ηἀνδρός, ὅπως ἦν ἀνόηηος)

Galen is not an impartial witness. He is attacking the athletes probably because he despises their trainers, who interfere in medical matters. He is also unfair to Milon who, apart from his astonishing athletic achievements, was an educated man and a disciple of Pythagoras.

Galen refers to the Olympiad in his book on “Periods.” “Some early physicians,” he writes, “mention that paroxysms of certain diseases happen periodically, but they do not explain what the name period means.” He goes on to give a definition of the Olympic period relevant to medicine in chronological terms.

In another treatise, “On the composition of medicines” (ΠΔΡΙ ΤΝΘΔ ΔΩ ΦΑΡΜΑΚΩΝ ΣΩΝ ΚΑΣΑ ΣΟΠΟΤ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝ Γ), he refers to “the brown medicament of the Olympionice, (Φαιὸν τὸ τοῦ Ὀλσμπιονίκοσ ἐπιγραφόμενον) that promptly relieves great pains and chemoses.” The prescription is obviously not his, because he eagerly states his modification by two additions to the previously described components. It was possible to resurrect Galen’s ointment at the Chelsea School of Pharmacy with the kind help of Dr Jolliffe and Mr Burt. The ointment contains cadmium? (***Καδμείας κεκασμένης καὶ πεπλσμένης δρατμὰς ή***), opium, antimony, zinc oxide, frankincense, aloe indica, saffron, myrrh and a raw egg.

Galen’s medicament had to be really good if it were to be of any use, for injuries in the Olympic Games, particularly in the body contact events, were serious. There were no silver or bronze medallists in those days. Only one of the contestants in each event could win, the rest were losers. The competition for the olive wreath among the athletes was fierce, and casualties frequent and occasionally fatal.

### Deaths and Injuries

We know of at least two boxers who were responsible for the death of their opponents-**Diognetos of Crete**, and **Cleomedes of Astypalaia** who subsequently went mad. The judges denied the latter his victory, not because he killed his opponent but because he broke the rules of the contest. Fatalities were recognised risks in sporting competitions and athletes who accidentally caused the death of their opponent during an Olympic contest were normally immune from prosecution.

Boxers tried to protect themselves during training by wearing ear-protectors called ἀμφωτίδες or ἐπωτίδες. However, these circular pieces of thick leather or metal, fastened around the head and jaw, were not allowed during the actual contest when the most punishing injuries were taking place. Fractured noses, cut eyes and torn ears were common. Derisory epithets of boxers such as “Cauliflower Ears” (Ωτοθλαδίας) have survived in the literature.

Yet, all was not ugly in boxing in those days. We hear of a certain **Melankomas** who was “as healthy and unmarked as a runner” because of his unique style and tactics. His biographer **Dio Chrysostomon** tells us that Melankomas, a favourite of the crowds, used to exhaust his opponents by continually changing position without ever receiving or striking a blow. His movements were simple, light and graceful. He won numerous competitions in various Pan-Hellenic festivals and may have won an Olympic victory during the 206th Olympiad (45 AD).

### The Pankration

Athletes suffered even more devastating injuries during the Pankration, an event combining wrestling and boxing. **Plato** comments on it “as a contest combining imperfect wrestling with imperfect boxing”. The only things that were forbidden during this contest were “biting and gouging”. We hear of **Arrichion of Phigaeleia**, a Pankatiast (the word means all-powerful), who won his victory posthumously. He was captured by his opponent in a terrible hold that was strangling him. In a desperate attempt to free himself, Arrichion seized the foot of his opponent and crashed it, dislocating the ankle. The other man, unable to bear the pain, raised his hand in the signal of a withdrawal, while Arrichion breathed his last at the same moment; he won the victory not because he died, but because his opponent gave up.

Injuries from spectacular falls during the popular horse and chariot races must have added to medical emergencies.

The soil of Olympia may have claimed several victims with tetanus. This disease was well recognised at the time of Hippocrates and is thoroughly described in the Corpus, but we have no written accounts of tetanus episodes relating to Olympic athletes.

Another possible cause of injuries may have been accidents from the throwing of javelins and the discus. Tradition has it that **Oxylos**, the founder of Elis, the Greek province where Olympia is, left his country because he accidentally killed his brother **Thermios** while throwing the discus.

### Sanitation and Medical Services During the Games

Heat, dust, a limited supply of water, rudimentary sanitation and those Mediterranean insects that are determined to spoil the enjoyment of ancient and modern visitors to Olympia, must have added to morbidity among the thousands of participants in the games. The overwhelming majority of visitors slept in the open air or in tents, and for food and drink depended on itinerant caterers.

**Pausanias**, a traveller and writer of the second century AD, gives us an idea of the problem with insects. “They say,” he writes, “that when Heracles was sacrificing at Olympia he was badly pestered by flies, so he invented or was taught by someone the sacrifice to Ζεύς Απομύιος [Zeus the averter of flies]. The Eleans are said to sacrifice to Zeus Apomyios in the same way to drive away the flies from Olympia.”

Zeus cannot have been very effective, however willing to help. The gastrointestinal nuisances, that even in our days can turn the vacations of the most sophisticated of travellers into a disaster, must have been common among the spectators and on occasions may have stolen the Olympic crown from the better man. Nevertheless we have no information about any major epidemics.

We know that among the officials at Olympia a doctor was included during the games. It is unlikely, however, that comprehensive medical services were available to cope with all emergencies; the place must have been a paradise for wandering quacks and healers who were prepared to offer their skills to a massive clientele, returning every four years for the most popular spectacle of the ancient Hellenic world. Under the punishing sun of Olympia the most common medical emergency was probably sunstroke. Philostratos wrote that athletes had to be strong enough “to endure and to be burnt”, implying that they should be able to withstand the great heat at Olympia.

**Thales of Miletos**, one of the wise men of ancient Greece, is believed to have died at Olympia from sunstroke.

### An Honorable End

Intense emotion and heat must have contributed to the death of the famous boxer **Diagoras of Rhodes**. There is a moving story of how this popular athlete, three times Olympic victor, met his end.

He watched his two sons win the Boxing and Pankration events during the 83rd Olympiad. His victorious sons received their crowns and in a magnanimous gesture approached their father, placed the olive wreaths on his head, and carried him triumphantly on their shoulders around the stadium. No mortal could stand the overwhelming emotion of such glory and pride. Diagoras bent his head and died happily on the shoulders of his Olympian sons. This was in 448 BC.

By 261 AD, the last official record of the Olympic Games, times were different.

Soon there would be no place for athletics in the new ethos and social order that an austere monotheism was about to establish. An earthquake destroyed most of the buildings of ancient Olympia around 300 AD, and several decades later the edict of Emperor Theodosios banned all pagan cults and effectively put an end to the festivals at Elis.

The salvationist spirit of the new order was now marching on and the beautiful statues of Olympic gods and victors were soon to be replaced by the ascetic icons of Byzantium. The Olympic Games, and with them medicine, went into a long period of hibernation from which they were revived only in recent times.

### References and Further Reading

ΓΑΛΗΝΟΤ ΑΠΑΝΣΑ: Gottlob Carolus K, ed. Ιn KUHN MEDICI. Lipsiae, 1821-1829 All Volumes as cited in text.

Green RB, A translation of Galen’s Hygiene (De Sanite Tuenda). Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1951

Finley MI, Pleket HW. The Olympic games – the first thousand years. Book Club Associates. London. 1976.

The Olympic games through the ages. Ekdotike Athenon SA Athens. 1976.

Sarton G. Galen of Pergamon. University of Kansas Press, 1954.

Gardiner EN. Athletics of the ancient world. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955.

ΙΠΠΟΚΡΑΣΗ΢ ΑΠΑΝΤΑ ΤΑ ΕΡΓΑ. Ποσρναρόποσλος Γ.Κ. Εκδ. Μαρηίνος Α. ΑΘΗΝΑΙ 1971. Με αναθορές ζηο κείμενο.

Ι΢ΣΟΡΙΑ ΣΟΤ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΤ ΕΘΝΟΤ. Κλαζζικός Ελληνιζμός Σόμοι Γ1 & Γ2 ΕΚΔΟΣΙΚΗ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ. ΑΘΗΝΑΙ 1972.

Homer The Odyssey Translated by E.V. Rieu

### Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Ekdotike Athenon SA for permission to quote passages from their book “The Olympic games through the ages,” particularly the translation of Isocrates’ _Panegyricos_. Also to Chatto and Windus Ltd for quotations from “The Olympic games – the first thousand years,” by M.I. Finley and H. W. Pleket.

My special thanks are due to the Department of Medical Illustration at Westminster Hospital for the preparation of the slides for this presentation and pictures from exhibits at the British Museum, included in earlier publications of this article.

Dr. Jolliffe and Mr. Burt of the Chelsea School of Pharmacy offered valuable help in resurrecting Galen’s “ointment of the Olympic victor.”

There have been several earlier versions of this article which was first published in the journal, _History of Medicine_, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1981 and subsequently in _The Greek Review_ (copyright 1982 – world rights reserved). Also in the Journal, UPDATE, June 1, 1983.

“Medicine and the Olympic Games of Antiquity” was the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony of the _1st International Medical Olympiad_ held in 1996 at the Asclepieion of Kos under the High Patronage of the President of The Hellenic Republic. This Olympiad was organized by Professor Spyros Marketos Editor of the Proceedings.

A version of this lecture was delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Hunterian Society in London in 1997. The text is included in the Hunterian Society Transactions, Session 1996-1997; Volume LV: 117-125.

2018-01-24T07:56:00-06:00June 28th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Medicine and the Olympic Games of Antiquity
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IOA President’s Opening Remarks at the 11th Joint International Session for Directors of National Olympic Academies

Isidoros Kouvelos, International Olympic Academy president

Dear friends, it is a special honor for me to address the 11th International Session for Directors of National Olympic Academies and welcome all of you, participants and lecturers, to the International Olympic Academy. It is a special honor, a pleasure and an obligation for me as the President of the Academy to welcome the members of the larger Olympic Family who contribute with their action and work to the progress of the modern Olympic Movement. The fundamental objective of the International Olympic Academy and every National Olympic Academy is to cultivate and disseminate the Olympic ideal and Olympic education. We are all aware of the outstanding educational work of National Olympic Academies, at national and international level, for the development and promotion of Olympic education. The huge contribution of these institutions to the promotion of the ideas of Olympism and Sport in schools and in society creates high expectations in all of us who are involved in Olympism regarding the redefining and enhancing of Olympic values as a means of improving the quality of life and relations at humanitarian level.

The humanitarian ideas of Olympism represent a safe pedagogical direction for world youth and we all have the duty to support National Olympic Academies and their further expansion. Moreover, the ideas of the Olympic Movement define the cohesion and future course of National Olympic Academies. I endorse this view not only as the President of the IOA but also as the President of the National Olympic Academy that is developing its activity in Greece precisely with the view to disseminating these values. You may rest assured that the International Olympic Academy will always support your work and continue to encourage the creation of more and more National Olympic Academies around the world. This is something that cannot be achieved, however, without the essential support of National Olympic Committees in different countries whose cooperation with National Olympic Academies is certainly an important prerequisite.

Dear friends, I hope that at this Session the analysis and consideration of Olympism and its future in the era of globalization will reveal new facets of an issue that has never stopped to preoccupy the researchers and observers of the Olympic Movement since its inception. Although globalization is not a contemporary phenomenon, the historic, social and political changes that we witness at the beginning of the 21st century need to be renegotiated insofar as we are seeking cooperation in a wider world at the level of values and ideologies. In such circumstances, we need to revisit Olympic ideology and look at its integration in the constantly evolving globalization process. How much can globalization influence the concept of Olympism or to what extent can the principles of Olympism influence globalization? I hope that this Session will be the starting point for a wide debate on these issues, a pleasant stay in a place of historic importance and great natural beauty, as well as an opportunity to revive our human relations.

Dear friends, as you already know, this year the Academy is celebrating its 50th anniversary and given this opportunity I would like to present to you a short video on its history. [Please, view this video at http://www.ioa.org.gr/]

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a pleasant stay and every success in your work during this Session.

2020-06-02T13:33:23-05:00June 28th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management|Comments Off on IOA President’s Opening Remarks at the 11th Joint International Session for Directors of National Olympic Academies
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