Friday, May 26th

 

WE’RE IN SWITZERLAND!!!! *the crowd goes wild*

 

SUPER packed day for the group, but in the best way possible – we got to talk to not one but TWO stakeholders of the Olympic Movement, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the International Federation (IF) World Aquatics!

Shortly after a much more organized and on-time morning – shoutout Zach and Kyle – the group made our way through Lausanne towards the CAS offices. Once finished with listening to Taylor Swift’s and Ice Spice’s new song (6/10 in my opinion), we headed inside to meet our guide for the visit, Fabien Cagnuex. Fabien gave us a brief tour of the very well-kept and modern facility, and he even let us out on the balcony to see one of the best views of Lake Geneva so far. Fabien showed us all the different rooms for hearings and media and translators that may be used in any case depending on the appeal – he even let us sit in the arbitrators and council chairs!! Then Fabien really got down to the nitty gritty. He gave us an in-depth explanation of who CAS is, what CAS does, and how they do it. Plus, he explained the different “departments” within CAS and those that CAS is a part of (i.e. International Court of Arbitration of Sport [ICAS]). Often regular civilians think of CAS only when talking about doping, and they do have an Anti-Doping Department (ADD) because it is such a common and unique appeal, but they also have a specific team dedicated to soccer disputes because the sport is so large globally, and therefore typically has more appeals. Once Fabien opened it up to questions from the group, we mainly asked about their involvement with the Olympics as well as with the Premier League. The highlights of this discussion were CAS’s Ad Hoc Division created during the Games made to focus on and resolve disputes quickly before/after competition and CAS’s jurisdiction/cooperation with fan-“owned” Premier League teams. Unfortunately, Fabien couldn’t give us any info on Russian ice skater Valieva’s doping case… I know you were wondering.

After CAS, we made our way to World Aquatics where we were welcomed with croissants and juice and coffee – World Aquatics definitely won Presenter of the Day. The bulk of their presentation was again on who they are, what they do, and how they do it. As an IF, they are essentially the governing body for swimming, diving, open water swimming, high diving, water polo, and artistic swimming – meaning they set rules and regulations, regularly schedule competitions, and enforce their standards in the swimming world. They also just rebranded away from FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation), so we got to hear a little bit about that process and how they launched their new brand. It was very cool to hear from an IF and to be inside their offices because they are such a powerful organization in the world of sports; plus, they are the most followed sport during the Olympics. Just like CAS, we had the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation, including what their role is at the Olympics (defining the disciplines, bringing judges/officials, approving venues, etc.) and the dreaded ‘Is water wet?’ question… they said no.

The group was then free to get lunch before coming back to the hotel for a rescheduled Zoom meeting with the IOC’s Television & Marketing Services (TMS)! This presentation was all about the jurisdiction the IOC has over all the marketing of the Olympic Games – and it is very intricate. The IOC has created The Olympic Partner program that is exclusive to only 14 global brands (Omega, Visa, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Samsung, etc.) who have the privileged right to be advertised at the Olympic Games. All other brands – unless they are associated with an NOC (USOPC: Ralph Lauren), an IF, or an OCOG – cannot be displayed on any athlete, coach, sporting member, or anything with the Olympic logo during the Games (9 days before the Games, through the Games, to two days after the Games). That said, athletes who have sponsorship deals cannot promote their partnership at the Games, and those companies cannot actively promote those athletes during the Games (Rule 40, look it up!). Very interesting, right!? Overall, there are A LOT of rules and guidelines associated with marketing at the Olympics, and TMS is responsible for monitoring and enforcing them all.

After we had finished the educational aspects of the day, we went on a picnic dinner! The group took roughly 30 minutes to pick out various meats, CHEESE, crackers, fruit, drinks, silverware, and CHOCOLATE for our group dinner on the shore of Lake Geneva. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! The temperature was perfect, and the view was phenomenal. After we GRUBBED on our picnic meal – shoutout grillmasters Kyle, Kirstyn, and Dr. Kim – we played a very hilarious game of volleyball and sat on the rocks bordering the lake. We skipped some rocks, Kyle made some Swiss friends, and we took more and more Instagramable photos. It was a great finish to the day, and it has become the best part of the trip for many of us!

We miss you GM and Prof. Ryan!