If you’ve ever been interested in studying the Olympics and the Olympic Movement, this is the episode for you! We’re talking with Dr. Yoav Dubinsky, professor of sports business at the University of Oregon. Dr. Dubinsky is also the operational director of the university’s new Olympic Studies Hub.
We talk with Yoav about the Olympic Studies Hub, why it’s important to study the Olympics, and–because Yoav is from Israel–the Israeli perspective on the Games.
The University of Oregon Olympic Studies Hub is having an Olympic Studies Week on May 12-18, 2025. It includes events for students, faculty and the general public. Find out more information at the event website:
We also have news from Milano-Cortina 2026, including more curling quotas, hospitality house news, and ticket purchasing woes.
Plus, one country is already squaring away their hospitality house plans for LA 2028.
Team Keep the Flame Alive members have been busy over the last week! In our trip to TKFLASTAN, we hear from:
- Wheelchair racer Daniel Romanchuk
- Fencers Alexander Massialas, Nick Itkin and Lee Kiefer
- Sprinter Kenny Bednarek
- Swimmer Bobby Finke
- Rugby coach Ben Ryan
- Rower Kristi Wagner
- Former shot putter Michelle Carter — check out her cosmetics line!
Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!
TRANSCRIPT
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390-Yoav Dubinsky on University of Oregon’s Olympic Studies Hub
Jill Jaracz: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keep the Flame Alive, the podcast for fans of the Olympics and Paralympics. If you love the games, we are the show for you. I am your host, Jill Jaracz, joined as always by my lovely co-host, Alison Brown. Alison, hello, how are you?
Alison Brown: Who are you wearing today? Did you watch the Met Gala at all?
Jill Jaracz: No, I was working an election. I have democracy as a, as a core value here.
Alison Brown: We had a SH lesi at the Met Gala.
Jill Jaracz: Oh,
Alison Brown: miles Chambly Watson, one of our fencers. I. [00:01:00] Walked the Met Gala carpet and looked very snazzy.
Jill Jaracz: Oh, good. Good. I hope, oh, there are links.
Alison Brown: I’m sure there are.
Dick Cavett’s Olympic Interviews
Jill Jaracz: I have a couple things at the top of the show that, uh, stumbled upon something. Uh, Producer Ben wanted to watch some Paris 2024 coverage, and we pulled up Peacock and discovered that it is no longer on Peacock. Not surprised, but if you search Olympics on Peacock, you will find a playlist of old Dick Cavett episodes featuring Olympians Yeah. Okay. So this would be sixties and seventies. Seventies Olympians seventies pretty much. Yeah. And uh, Dick Kett was a talk show host. He was pretty erudite and.
cerebral is probably the best way to put him, and he was popular back in the day we started watching. There’s only five episodes in this series, so there’s Joe Frazier, which there’s [00:02:00] not a whole lot of Joe Frazier, but there’s enough else to make you go, whoa, seventies.
Alison Brown: But just, you know what, I don’t know how much of Joe Frazier.
Interviews exist, so that’s kind of a nice little nugget.
Jill Jaracz: Then we get to Kurt Thomas from 1979.
Alison Brown: Oh, so after 76, but before the 80 boycott. Yes. Oh, and there’s
Jill Jaracz: all this stuff that you, they kind of talk a lot, a bit about in the run up to 1980 that is going on to promote the Olympics and Dick Ctt did high school gymnastics.
So it’s not just an interview, it’s Kurt and Dick with a pommel horse and parallel bars doing them.
Alison Brown: do they both do Thomas flares? Well, Thomas certainly does Thomas flares,
Jill Jaracz: right? Dick tries. But it’s very impressive what he can do for like a 42-year-old man
Alison Brown: who probably hasn’t done it for 20 years at least. Yes.
Jill Jaracz: And then [00:03:00] the next one we saw was Muhammad Ali. And apparently Muhammad Ali and Dick Kander buddies makes sense and this show takes place on a steamboat in the Mississippi River outside of New Orleans, where also makes sense. There apparently was a PBS executive. Meeting going on. So the show is live in front of, it must have been the nice entertainment for the executives at their conference because that’s what a lot of is going on.
So it’s very interesting is all I can say. It’s, it’s an interesting show. The next one on the list, which we have not gotten to is Jim McKay talking about Munich. And then I believe it’s, it’s, uh, more gymnasts are after that. So that something, if you are, if you have peacock, look for it. it, you just kinda get sucked in to the slowness of what a talk show was.
And, uh, some really interesting insights. [00:04:00]
Alison Brown: I mean, Jim McKay
Jill Jaracz: right?
Alison Brown: You know, you know how I feel about Jim McKay.
Jill’s continued beef
Jill Jaracz: Uh, I have other feelings.
Alison Brown: I am sorry.
Jill Jaracz: What are you apologizing for?
Alison Brown: Because, because I think I threw you, you under the bus a little bit.
Jill Jaracz: Oh, you, oh, a little bit. Oh my gosh. So, uh, if you’ve been following our little beef with Ben Waterworth and off the podium for not talking to us about Roy and HG on uh, Instagram.
Ben was, uh, Ben had a response to, oh, I’m sorry. The Prima Donna Ben Waterworth had a response to, oh, well why didn’t we have him on the show? And if we wanted, if we had listened, we of course would to off the podium, has the audacity to tell us how to run our show.
And say, put me, you should have put me on and I would’ve told you, well, you know, if we put you on at the beginning of our Sydney series, the, there’s always the fear that you’re gonna Raygun it and tank our whole series. So Ben, maybe we’ll have you on at [00:05:00] the end. Maybe if we, if we think it’s worth having an Australian’s opinion about Sydney 2000, once we get to the end of it, then then.
My so-called partner in this adventure. Immediately in response to Ben Waterworth on, on Insta for the world to see says, wait one second. That was all. Jill, I’m totally innocent. I was you. Well, you don’t throw me under the bus.
This.
No, but you, you got, I was a little concerned that maybe you got a little overly emotional about Ben’s lack of sharing. I’m sorry.
Alison Brown: Don’t, don’t be mad at me, Jill. [00:06:00]
Jill Jaracz: Well, you know, listeners giving you a heads up. If we are still around in the middle of the summer or if Alison is still around in the middle of the summer, we are going to celebrate the milestone of producing 400 regular episodes. And I had originally thought it would be nice to plan, have a little party,
Alison Brown: don’t divorce me, we can go to therapy.
Episode 400 celebration coming soon!
Jill Jaracz: but yeah, episode 400 for us will drop on July 17th. So sometime. Ahead of July 17th of the head of that episode, we are gonna open up the phone lines to have, uh, a chat with you about anything related to the Olympics and Paralympics, and we will have more details in the future. Keep an eye on our Facebook group.
Keep the Flame Alive Podcast. But do mark your calendars ’cause we do wanna celebrate 400 with you on the show.
Dr. Yoav Dubinsky interview
Jill Jaracz: Today we are talking with Dr. Yoav Dubinsky, who is a professor of sports business and the operational director of the brand new Olympic Studies hub at the [00:07:00] University of Oregon originally from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Dr. Dubinsky has a background in sports. Journalism and sports research. His education includes a master’s in Olympic Studies, Olympic Education, and Organization of Olympic Events from the University of Peon East, as well as a PhD in sport management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Since 2018, he’s been with the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business, and earlier in 25, launched the university’s new Olympic Studies hub, which is going to be celebrating Olympic Studies Week, May 12th through 18th.
This will include events for the general public. So after the interview, we will share with you what you can get in on there because it looks like a fun week. our interview with Yoav. We will talk about what he does with the Olympic Studies hub, and we also get an Israeli’s perspective on the Olympics. Take a listen.
How Israel views the Olympics
Jill Jaracz: You were born and raised in Tel Aviv.
What [00:08:00] is the Olympics like over there to experience or how do people receive the Olympics?
Yoav Dubinsky: So like everything in Israel, it’s a complex experience. for me, the, the first childhood recognition of the Olympics is just being fascinated by the opening ceremony of the Seoul 1988. Olympics and the martial arts exhibition. But if I’m really going into, uh, to having a more cognizant, uh, view of the Olympics and, and as a sports fan, then it’s 1992, it was, a, the dream team that, finally I can see as living in Tel Aviv in the more European time zone, I can see my basketball idols.
playing in prime time and not, just a few highlights. and yeah, a lot. The chairperson of the Israeli Olympic committee, and, uh, now also an IOC member. She won Israel’s Olympic medal in Judo, silver medal. And uh, right after her, Owen Smudge, who is now the national coach, [00:09:00] men’s coach in Judo won a bronze medal right afterwards.
So, this is where, Israel’s success in terms of, of we can call success to medals, but yes, Israel’s competitiveness started to manifest in medals, in the Olympics. Yael Harad also dedicated that medal, uh, the first Israeli medal to the, uh, to the Munich victims, to the 11 Israeli athletes, coaches and referees that, murdered in the terror attack in Munich, 1972.
And the heritage of the Munich massacre, in 72 is very much part of Israel’s national identity and the collective identity of every delegation moving forward. so with that, we have that balance, or at least I have that, that view and, that manifests through, Israel’s participation in the Olympic Games, seeing it as a, as.
It’s a global celebration and the best athletes in the world compete. Israel is going there to compete and, has, with the exception of [00:10:00] London 2012, has won medals in each summer games since Barcelona, and also, uh, very tight, , into, into the history and the past, the recognition that.
that the Israel, Arab Israeli Palestinian dispute is, manifested through the Olympic movement, part of the, the identity of the athletes, uh, in terms of heritage and continuing the legacy of Munich 1972, and also dealing with Current, uh, implications of, of the conflict, in some games, it’s more noticeable in some games.
It’s less obviously, uh, with the war going on. it had security impacts in Paris. Um, but it depends if we’re looking at, 50 years plus period since 72. It has different meanings and manifestations.
Country shopping and Israel
Alison Brown: I have a question about country shopping because Israel is one of those countries where a lot of athletes who did not grow up in Israel compete for Israel.[00:11:00]
And how is that seen? Israel,
Yoav Dubinsky: so it’s not so much the case in the Summer Olympics. Uh, it’s more of the case in the Winter Olympics naturalization. there are several laws in Israel, the, uh, the law and the citizenship. law, which are laws that grant Jewish people Israeli citizenship. And as a result, Jewish people from the diaspora, Jewish athletes from the diaspora, have received Israeli citizenship and went on to represent Israel, in international sports.
You find a few. in the, uh, summer Olympics, but it’s mostly noticeable in the winter Olympics, where Israel is not a winter country, Israel has mixed feelings towards that. On one hand, Israel sees that as Israel shows participation in the Olympics, the Israeli flag is raised, and also, uh, a mix of [00:12:00] cultures of both, diaspora Jews from ex Soviet Union countries coming together with Jews of North America and some finding some fusion with that, but also because there aren’t a lot of training facilities in Israel and, much of the center happens much of the, especially in figure skating.
Much of the training happens in New Jersey, uh, which raises some questions about, connectivity between some of the athletes and, um, and the state of Israel, especially after games are over. some have strong, strong ties and connections to, to Israel, which is, uh, and they are very much appreciated and some just.
have seen it over the years as a way of, well, we can make team USA or we can make the team and the team somewhere else. You go, they managed to, reach the Olympics, have the Olympic moment and move on with their lives unrelated to Israel. So, so I would say it really [00:13:00] depends on, uh, an individual case.
but The, the, and, uh, the return law and the citizenship law enable, uh, our men to promote aliya, meaning immigration of Jewish people to, to Israel and establish their lives in Israel. And some athletes have been, have been doing that through representation of Israel and staying. Uh, later on, uh, the Macca games play a role in that.
so just because someone was born somewhere else and then moved to Israel and represent Israel, that’s not necessarily seen negative. Seen negatively when there aren’t real, there aren’t authentic connections of manifestation of, um, of connections to, to Israel. And then that scrutinized in Tokyo, Israel had a baseball team that qualified to the, to the Tokyo Olympics and most of them were American Jews or North American Jews.
with some having ties, strong ties to Israel, but some did [00:14:00] not, and, um, there were some, uh, critiques about that or, thoughts, do, do they really represent what, being a, uh, an Israeli athlete means?
Studying Olympism
Jill Jaracz: What made you want to study Olympism?
Yoav Dubinsky: So, it’s not necessarily olympism that I’m Stu that I am studying. I’m in the, the realm of Olympic studies or studying the Olympic movement. Uh, I was a journalist in, in Israel and, uh, in 2008 I was sent to cover the Beijing Olympics in, in China. And for me, this was, uh, very much of a life changing experience because a I, I fulfilled the childhood dream of covering a major sport event.
Uh, so that’s just a check that that is something, you know, uh, that they managed to achieve finally. and it was the biggest sport event that I’ve attended because, uh, prior to that, with the exception of a few. Football games in Europe, soccer games in Europe, [00:15:00] most of the sport events that I have attended were in Israel.
and beyond the, the security and political issues, Israel is just a small country with, uh, with relatively very modest facilities. So going to China and seeing the Olympics for the first time and seeing the Beijing Olympics as my first impression of the Olympics, the Beijing 2008 Olympics, which were bigger than any previous Olympics, left a very profound impression on me on how a country is using the Olympic Games to change its image or to leave a much more complex impression because before that, most of what I read were air pollution, human rights violation and so forth. So it was also my first and so far, unfortunately so far, my only visit to China. and my coverage showed a much more complex view of what China was or is. also enjoying the history and the culture and everything that, uh, the Pearl Market and the Temple of Heaven and the world.
And then coming back, I started to [00:16:00] reflect. Well, did they get to me, meaning did the organization change the way that I cover the games? And that got me into thinking into how do countries and cities, are using sports in a way to, to shape their image. not long after that, I received a scholarship to do the first master program in Olympic studies and sports management by the IOA, the International Olympic Academy, in Olympia, Greece, along with the University of Periponnes, So that got me a lot deeper into the study of the Olympics, understanding what Olympism is, understanding what Olympic studies is, understanding what Olympic education is, uh, later on doing a PhD at the University of Tennessee.
Well, I looked at how Israel uses sports for nation branding and public diplomacy and now teaching at the University of Oregon, where, in Eugene, a city that officially is branding itself as Taktown, USA, because of the connection to Taktown Field, hosting [00:17:00] Olympic trials, hosting, uh, national championships, the world championships of athletics, in 2022, And so far since Beijing, I either covered the research the last five Olympic Games, um, either as a journalist or researcher from Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, and, and, and Paris.
The Olympic effect on host cities
Jill Jaracz: How successful do you think the various cities you have studied have been in changing their image or changing the way the world sees them because of the Olympics?
Yoav Dubinsky: I think success is measured differently and success is definitely a challenge to quantify. also, um, from a qualitative perspective, because the goals of China in 2008 was basically coming up or coming out, opening to the world, showing, showing this is what we can do functionally, technologically wise, infrastructure wise and so forth.
London, four years later, the goal, London was already a global city. They didn’t need the Olympics to be a global city. They looked more of renovating [00:18:00] Stratford area, uh, green, um, sustainability. So these are different goals. Rio de Janeiro, I would say, did not necessarily meet the goals of, or objectives of positioning itself as, uh, the central, uh, Regional capital of South America or whatnot.
There were all, all kinds of social, political, economic problems. Tokyo, uh, you know, Tokyo, there was COVID. they managed to get through COVID and to have the Olympics. The Olympics did not stop. but I, being in Tokyo and coming back from Tokyo, I was very much reflective of, Should these Olympics have even taken place, without fans, so many restrictions, for me that every day was, you know, full of anxiety about all the COVID tests and, it’s not, I wasn’t too worried about getting sick, I was vaccinated a million times, but, I was more, more about, contact tracing and being, um, being isolated in a country where I don’t speak the language or even read the [00:19:00] language.
And so forth. So you can just imagine what athletes were going through. so I’m not sure that Tokyo really met the goals of the organizers in terms of recovery came from the 2011, tsunami and earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster. I don’t think that this, that these games met the goals.
Paris, again, it depends on how you define success. But I would say that these games were games that the Olympic movement very much needed, games that were celebratory, for most with. Despite all the geopolitical turmoil, going on pretty smoothly, obviously, beautifully, visualized on television, on, in Paris, well, um, Um, you know, the opening ceremony was definitely, um, uh, an experience with, with the showers at the Trocadero, but, when I came back to the U.
- and watched it you know, on, uh, on NBC or Peacock or wherever I stream it, it [00:20:00] looked beautiful, so on TV it looked beautiful, but, uh, but also the games themselves, they were well executed on a macro level,
Jill Jaracz: you mentioned this, Paris being the games that the Olympics needed.
That kind of moment has happened many times throughout Olympic history.
what is it that can help shift directions, if that makes sense? Is it an organizing, a good organizing committee or good planning? Or the, the choice of the city turned out to be really good.
Yoav Dubinsky: I think they all come come together. Paris is relatively relatively a safe choice for the IOC, a global city, a city that has facilities that is, hosting regularly, although there were a lot of concerns about how the local community will, receive the gains.
because there are also a lot of of. Protest and, and active citizenship in France. but the French, uh, people, uh, that we saw on the met on the Metro every day, um, were the heroes of the games. They, they created a fantastic [00:21:00] atmosphere. so it, it very much the depends on that, the organizing committee made the games access accessible mostly, um, in terms of close to metal stations.
When I just arrived, I had some concerns because the city was basically blocked, leading to the opening ceremony. I would not recommend other cities doing a CN opening ceremony. uh, despite how it looked on TV, I don’t think that this, should be the lesson here. But, I think that they made the games, they connected it to the, to the community and the community responded.
And I think that this made the game special. I also think that the IOC, um, after Rio not going, uh, exactly the way they wanted, and of course the two COVID games in Tokyo and Beijing, the IOC needed something that resembled the Olympics, without major disruptions. And I think Paris delivered that. so maybe you also need a low point to see some sort of a turning point, as well.
Alison Brown: okay. Calling the French [00:22:00] active citizens, I think is the best euphemism I have ever heard.
Yoav Dubinsky: Well, yeah, the, um, I mean, there were, um, there were concerns about protests on, on a variety of, of issues. Obviously the, um, social political turmoil All across Europe, all across the world. so, there were definitely, concerns there. The level of security was very high, so, um, that also sparks, oftentimes, backlash.
But, overall, looking at the games as macro, um, Parisians and French people very much embrace the games. there were some concerns that, People in Paris will move away from, from Paris to the, vacance, homes and, and so forth. and that’s it, that tourists will not come because, of, said that there was places being blocked or restricted movement, but, uh, from what I’ve seen, that was not the case, or at least, uh, the venues were full and, [00:23:00] and the city was, was full during the games.
Jill Jaracz: When you go to a city to do research, an Olympic city, Yeah. Do you have different things you’re looking at, or are you kind of looking at the same elements every time and building a data set?
Yoav Dubinsky: So it, it very much depends what type of research am I, am I doing? Uh, what is my, my research design? It MPC. with understanding what’s going on, and then, what, oh, I should say that that’s on the ground.
It starts with the research questions and what, what do I want to, um, to answer or address. For Paris, it’s more about writing a book. about a new era of the Olympic movement that uh, I already said that the contracts I need to submit the first draft by the end of 2025. and that, and with that in mind, there are some events that I’m, scheduling in advance, and then.
What’s going on during the games, what are the main storylines, [00:24:00] what are the main touch points, who do I need to talk to, which events, which, are competition events and non competition events do I need to attend, uh, and then following up on that. Um, but in, in Other games, it was different research design.
In Rio, the research design was about, the Israeli delegation. So I joined the Israeli delegation in a lot of their activities in the, in the preparation in Israel and commemoration in Israel of the, of the Munich victims visiting the, for the first time, stones from Olympia were put in the Olympic Village to commemorate athletes who, who were killed during the games or died during the games, not just the Munich victims, also, uh, other athletes, uh, so I visited that, so, and held interviews and, during the game.
So it’s very much depends on the research design, the research question that I’m following.
The International Olympic Academy and University of Oregon’s new Olympic Studies Hub
Jill Jaracz: You’ve studied and taught at the International Olympic Academy. Talk to us about what that institution does and why it’s important. Like, what you’ve learned there that has impacted the work that you do?
Yoav Dubinsky: [00:25:00] Sure. so the IOA, the International Olympic Academy, they sit in Olympia, Greece. I did my first master, my bachelor in political science at the University of Tel Aviv, my first master in political communication at the University of Tel Aviv.
and then in 2009, received a scholarship to do a master’s degree in Olympia, Greece. Which is, a massive, the university behind it is the University of Peloponnese that sits in, in Sparta. It was a fully funded master degree, now it’s not fully funded. they have it annually, um, but now it’s, it was a donation from, I don’t know, some great billionaire.
Um, I, I don’t remember the name, but the program took place in, in Olympia, two terms in person and the third term of writing a thesis, from your home country, an international program, and they bring international scholars to teach different angles on the Olympic movement, history, communication, and.
[00:26:00] philosophy, ethics, marketing, business, political science, both greek lectures and international lectures. and it just exposes you to the, the power of sports To be a common ground between people, between, myself and other students and other facul and, and faculty. and also of course to learn about the different angles and facets and the complexity of, of the Olympic movement.
Uh, and since then I’ve I’ve been a coordinator in the annual sessions between 2010 and 2013. In the last few years since I joined the University of Oregon, I’ve I’ve been a lecturer in some of the summers. I’m coming back this summer, to lecture in one of the sessions. so, it’s a very special place in terms of, giving a deep understanding of the Olympic movement.
And, and for us who, have both a critical view of the Olympic movement, but also believe in the power of sports to be a common denominator between people and, and find a common ground between people that bridges, political views and nationalities and races and genders and, and, a [00:27:00] lot of, of gaps. it’s a fascinating place to be, to be part of and engaged with.
And now here at the University of Oregon, I’ve been founding, uh, and now the operations director of our new Olympic Study Center, the University of Oregon Olympic Studies Hub that we just, launched, uh, that was officially recognized by the IOC Olympic Study Center in late 2024.
Jill Jaracz: What is the process like to get officially recognized? Because there’s not many study hubs. There’s, you’re the only one in the U. S., correct? In the U. S., yes.
Yoav Dubinsky: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the process is quite a process. It was quite a process. It, it, it took, basically the whole idea started in the spring of 2022 as we were coming out of the pandemic.
and, and I’ll talk about how, how that developed in terms of the process. It was, speaking with the o, the IOC, Olympic Study Center. they sit in Anne, in the premises of the Olympic Museum in Luzon. Understanding what this thing is, [00:28:00] is an Olympic Studies and Research Center, what were some of the mistakes that were happening in the U.
- in the past that, led to study centers not keeping their recognition. We are not the first, we are not the first, we are the only, the only, the Oh, only one, but there were in the past Olympic study centers who did not. And then working with the United States Olympic committee to receive their letter of support.
to indeed make sure that we have, working with both the IOC, the IOC OSC, the IOC Olympic Studies Center and the USOPC, to show that we indeed create enough academic content, that meets, the requirements uh, to be recognized as an Olympic Studies, uh, Studies and Research Center, an OSRC.
We call ourselves the University of Oregon Olympic Studies hub, and I’ll explain that, and then just filling the forms and waiting for all the recognitions for everyone to approve and for letters to be sent, and that works. Took quite time as, again, we, there were no American [00:29:00] Olympic Study Centers before we, we applied.
Oh, I should say there were currently no, um, American Study Centers, Olympic Study Center before we applied. Uh, so it took the USOPC also some time to refine their, their guidelines before they sent the IOC their approval letter and they approved us. This all took two and a half years.
It shouldn’t take so long. It will take probably much, uh, now that we’ve went through this, I believe that the protocols are clearer and, uh, it will probably take less time, uh, for others if they want to, to go through this process.
Alison Brown: The IOC is turning the Titanic. Everything with them is, it’s a long time, right?
Yoav Dubinsky: I mean, there was Paris in the middle, so both the IOC, the IOC Olympic Study Center and the USOPC had, and us, as, an academic institution, had, Paris as a priority. but it took time. I’m not sure where it was, uh, the IOC Olympic Studies Center, or I’m not sure exactly where it was in [00:30:00] the United States Olympic Committee, Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
but we got there.
Jill Jaracz: What kind of requirements do you need to maintain, or, you know, like, how did other study centers go by the wayside?
Yoav Dubinsky: So, I’ll speak about ourselves, and then I’ll, uh, explain what, what went wrong with, uh, from what I know with others. we have two points of differentiation of what we do.
First of all, we sit in a business school, as an Olympic Studies hub. And as such, our business school has a very hands on approach of connection to the industry and a lot of what we do as part of our curriculums and our extra curriculum activities in the realm of sports business is connection with different players in the sport business ecosystem from sponsors to broadcasters to, governing bodies.
Olympic committees, uh, science visits, both in the U. S. and abroad. And a lot of that happened with stakeholders of the Olympics. In 2019, I joined a site visit with students [00:31:00] to, Colorado, Denver and Colorado Springs. I’m leading a study abroad course where we go to London and we tour the Olympic Park and learn about sustainability prior to this pandemic.
Other, um, faculty led Let’s study abroad programs to Amsterdam and Berlin and, and Munich and, MBA trips to East Asia to pass host cities, in Asia. So. we have a strong connection, hands on connection to the industry when it comes to that, obviously, to sponsors in the U.
- Obviously, the University of Oregon is very connected to Nike and to the Knight family, as this is where basically Nike was formed and, and Nike is a partner of Team USA. so a lot of hands on connections to the industry that we need. Incorporate during our classes, and our work. We offer a course SBS 255 business of the Olympic games.
I’ve been teaching in the last few years prior to that other faculty development course and taught it. So we have a course on [00:32:00] the Olympics within our curriculum officially, So that’s from the business side. uh, and we do research and present, in related conferences.
so that’s differentiation on the business school. And then we have a, university that has over 100 years of history in the Olympic movement over 100 athletes. from the University of competed in the Olympic games, hosts Olympic tiles, have all kinds of Olympic, players, uh, in the Olympic business ecosystem system coming to campus, whether it’s NBC that, broadcast competition from Heywood field, world athletics, uh, uh, us national championships and, uh, Olympic tiles and so forth.
and in all of these events, our students are engaged, not just in our business students, but students from the School of Journalism or, from other departments who do research on perform on the performance side of the Olympics. so we have all these touch points of engagement with the Olympic ecosystem.
And when we galvanize all of that [00:33:00] together, and that’s why we call ourselves a hub, because we galvanize what’s happening. we aim to galvanize what’s, happening across the university. Then we create enough content on the Olympic movement to reach that, recognition. What happened with other universities, and I don’t want to be specific here, is that there was someone who was very passionate about the Olympic movement, and championed the idea of an Olympic study center, got the recognition because of the great work that that person was doing, and then that person at some point either left the university or found other interests, and as a result this initiative, kind of faded away because there were no people to continue.
And One of our main goals at, as we were just starting as an Olympic studies and research center is to make sure that it doesn’t, it’s not related to just one person, just a few [00:34:00] people who, who are passionate, but, uh, that we authentically connected to the fabric of this university that again, has a hundred years of History of the Olympics and host Olympic tiles and, and authentically does all these scholarly related activities, will we engage with the Olympic movement?
Jill Jaracz: So if I’m a student or prospective student and I want to get involved, is it taking classes? Is it, do you need to be in the business school? How does that work? Did you get it? a minor or there are major programs or what, what kind of results come from this?
Yoav Dubinsky: On some level, we’re still figuring some, some of these things out.
We’re not offering a degree in Olympic studies. There are some Olympic study center who do offer degrees in Olympic studies, including joint degrees. We are not there yet, and I’m not sure that this is where we, we should, we should go. We want to create more touchpoints of involvement of what we’re already doing.
Uh, meaning enhance the [00:35:00] relationships with the different stakeholders, the relationships that we still have to create more opportunities for students and faculty. Uh, we are now, also in the last few years, the University of Oregon has been part of, uh, the global sports, She’s in the global sports network.
Um, you’re in the global sports university network with universities across the world, uh, where we engage with them for students. We mostly want to create more opportunities with our existing stakeholders and build more attachments with new stakeholders to have them engage with, with basically four pillars that we define to ourselves.
Experiential learning, which is the, integration between, scholarly work, the, the classes, and real life, real life. I, I, I mean the industry. Business and Olympism, which relates to, engagement with the community and overall how sports can do good to society. and then understanding some aspects of sports and climate change and sports and gender equality, and social [00:36:00] issues related to sports.
Scholarship and, oh, uh, studies and research, which is basically scholarly work every university does in terms of research and publications and in classes and multidisciplinary collaborations, meaning that this is not just an initiative of, of the business school, but ongoing collaborations for the university through, uh, through our networks of Olympic study centers.
the GC network, the Global Sports University Network. Different stakeholders within Eugene and Oregon, and different, stakeholders within the Olympic movement, whether it’s sponsors, broadcasters, national governing bodies, Olympic national committees and so forth, national Olympic committees and so forth.
Jill Jaracz: Obviously, with LA 2028 and Salt Lake City 2034 coming not that far away, what do you hope that students and faculty will be able to do to connect with those games and, and create some kind of experience that is, beneficial, it’s not a fun word, [00:37:00] but, something different?
Yoav Dubinsky: Yeah, that’s a, that’s a very good, question because LA 28 was very much in mind when this ball started rolling.
I said, we, I started to think about this in the spring of 2022 as we were coming out of the pandemic and starting to live again in a more meaningful capacity than just in, in being in a closed or teaching through zoom and events started to happen on campus. We offered SPS 255 business of the olympic games, for the, um, oh, I taught it for the first time.
Then we taught it a year before, uh, different faculty taught it, online, previous year and our university was preparing to host the organ 22, uh, world athletics. So I saw how our students were getting involved, creating seminars, and then during the competition themselves, I saw students from different parts of the university being involved with organization or with journalism, tasks and collaborations [00:38:00] and and so forth.
So when we went to that, through this, journey of an Olympic Study Center, we said, okay, we have all these activities happening at our school, and this might be the right climate to go through this, because there is a Pathway towards hosted towards the U. S. Hosting all kinds of mega events with the count jewel L.
- 28. Now we also at least I also, assumed based on how the bid was going that the you that Salt Lake City will win either 2030 or 2034. so I thought, okay, there’s a pathway beyond L. A. 28 that we can look. Mhm. years ahead, and say, okay, we have all these touch points to, to build towards these mega events.
our MBA program visits LA, almost annually, uh, meets with LA, uh, 28, as well. in [00:39:00] terms of, learning more, having this hands on experiential learning, experiences of understanding how the preparations for the games as the games will come closer. We hope to have more students engaged in terms of activities with, different stakeholders from sponsors to broadcasters to the organization itself.
I can’t speak about specifics as it as it’s too early for us to, we, uh, we will not there yet, but we hope that these relations that we are building and being an, and a recognize Olympic Study Center will, uh, will open more opportunities for us, for our community, um, and our students, to be engaged.
but I should say LA 28th, that’s the count jewel. That’s something that we are. Definitely, looking at, but there’s also the, the FIFA World Cup and all kinds of rugby, championships, other international championships happening in the us. We will host in 2026, uh, the under 20 world athletic.
- soccer also bidding for the women’s World Cup, uh, in, in the early [00:40:00] 2030s, uh, which, I would not be surprised if they’ll win. so, look at LA, at LA 28, uh, we’re glad that Salt Lake City, was awarded 2034 as this gives us a more long term view of how we can continue and, um, engagement.
but also there are some landmarks along the way.
Alison Brown: Why are your students telling you that they’re interested in studying the Olympics and why it’s important to them versus maybe what we thought of it 20, 30 years ago?
Yoav Dubinsky: I think our students are interested in engagement in sports and in sports business, uh, there is a lot of passion here in Oregon.
I also think that the students in, in Oregon have, a very diverse and, some international perspective or global perspective, on sports, uh, that they want to be part of and intrigued about. Having a university that is. Where [00:41:00] track and field is strongly rooted in its culture, That also goes into using public spaces for, uh, for physical activities, nature and, and running and jogging.
I think that enhances the connection to the Olympic movement as well. But I should say, we’re not all about the Olympic movement. American football is still the most popular sports here. Basketball is full. Basketball is an Olympic sport, of course. Um, but, basketball, both men and women, since Sabrina UNESCO, is getting a lot of hype.
women’s volleyball is also very, very popular in the last few years. Oregon itself is, is very passionate for, for soccer. Portland bronze. Uh, I always tell my students that, as someone who’s. Grew up on European football. Well, I, I won’t talk bad here about, about American men foot men’s football, but, go watch a portant thos, uh, Portant thos game.
that’s special. That’s a great atmosphere. going to watch, Uh, some of the best, foot [00:42:00] players in the women’s game in the world, so, um, and a very passionate fan base, so, uh, there is a lot of authentic passion here, I would say. Being in the Pacific Northwest, uh, there’s also, being remote, it has, different sides.
One of them, though, is that, that you can think of the try things. and y Nike was, created
to shape track shoes and things spiraled from there. So, um, not just, this is simplistic, but that’s part of the roots of Nike. so, innovation and thinking outside the box is also something that our students, um,
Alison Brown: So there’s an advantage to being not in Lausanne and not, you know, kind of in that in that heart. I
Yoav Dubinsky: mean, yes, [00:43:00] it’s a flip side. Obviously, it’s not as central as New York or L. A. You don’t have as many professional sports teams or Atlanta. Well, you don’t have professional sports teams where, we’re looking at LA or Atlanta hosted Olympic games in the past or other, other mega events.
it’s raining a lot. but yes, everything has its, um, its, pros and cons. And if we can, we can understand the opportunities, we can benefit from that. So there are some, aspects of being remote, to try new things.
Jill Jaracz: Even though the school cover all sorts of major sporting events, the Olympics stands out. Obviously it’s mega event, the biggest sporting event with lots and lots of sports. That sets it apart. But what else sets the Olympics apart from other sporting events like the World Cup?
Yoav Dubinsky: I pose such a question to, to my students, uh, a lot to see, to see they, how they [00:44:00] react to that.
I’ll say that in my opinion, I see the Olympic Games as a story about humanity. A story about how we as people, as humans, how we treat each other and our planet. And every Olympic Games is a different thing. chapter about, in this story, that we all can find touch points to, to relate to. it’s just being told through sports.
So who jumps faster or who jumps higher or runs faster or swims faster or, you know, dunks a basketball better or shoots a basketball or, doesn’t need porn better for his or her opponent. Um, it’s Beyond the broadcasting component, every more, there are more countries participating, more delegations representing more countries and regions participating in the Olympic Games than a state recognized by the United Nations.
It’s different [00:45:00] genders and different, um, in different sports. and there’s a whole. cultural festivity around it, that just one sport, regardless of its popularity, cannot meet. and also it is every four years, it’s These are your 10 seconds. Lights go on. you succeed. You get eternal glory.
You blink, wait four years, and then good luck. Who knows what’s going to happen with us four years from now. so there’s this beautiful cruelty in it. that is also part of, you know, the human story. So, that’s How I see it, and um, That’s why I think the Olympics are so unique. It’s not a story with a happy ending or, Necessarily good morals, Uh, but that’s part of the human story and that’s how I see it.
Which Olympics would Yoav go to?
Jill Jaracz: If you could go back in time. Yeah. What Olympics would you like to go to?
Yoav Dubinsky: Oh, I’m, uh, I, I told you I, as, as a kid, I was, uh, uh, [00:46:00] impacted by, by Barcelona. I can give you a more, you know, a more profound answer, maybe Berlin 36 or something like that. No, I, I would like to go to Barcelona. I would like to, to watch the dream team.
I would like to, to enjoy Barcelona. But each games have their own, specialty.
Jill Jaracz: If you could be an Olympian in any sport, you don’t have to be good in it. What would you do?
Yoav Dubinsky: I love basketball. it’s just that Maccabi Tel Aviv is my hometown. you know, my, my hometown club and, and they played a role in, in how, I was shaped watching sports.
So if I could play basketball, that would be nice. I’m, I’m just not that. Good or talented or, or dedicated or eat right or sleep right or basically bad coaching when I grew up. That’s the reason why it did not represent. yeah,
Reaction to Tokyo 2020’s moment of silence for the Munich 1972 Israeli hostage victims
Alison Brown: I’m curious as to this is a little off topic, but I want to ask this in the Tokyo opening ceremony, they did the moment of silence.
for the [00:47:00] 1972 massacre victims and when Jill and I spoke about it, we both said our jaws were on the floor that they had done that. And I’m curious as to both your reaction personally and then kind of professionally what the IOC was doing with that.
Yoav Dubinsky: my Reaction was being grumpy, grumpy in my hotel room.
as I was still, um, I was quarantined in the first three days, uh, as already after I booked my flight. after I already booked my flight, they changed some of the COVID, regulations and, and I think it was three days of mandatory quarantine since, uh, on arrival, and I booked my flight to arrive two days, and only after that I saw that it was three days, so, I was mostly grumpy, but more, more seriously, I think that this was a profound moment For the Olympic movement to a certain degree, if you can call anything a closure, in terms of family trauma this was a moment of, uh, a moment where the [00:48:00] families, got, the formal recognition that they wanted.
They felt closure in, to some extent, in, in Rio with the commemoration in the Olympic Village. but that was, a moment where, uh, that was very profound for the Israeli delegation and, and for the families. This did not continue in, in Paris, and, there were reports in Israel that the families themselves said, in this political climate maybe will, will tone down, in terms of, Public c in terms of the opening ceremony and, and there was just a ceremony that the Israelis held and, and b uh, arrived.
overall, Thomas Bach has been very accommodating and in very good relations with the families of the victims. And that goes back to Thomas Bach being the, head of the German Olympic Committee and, promoting, I believe it was the Munich 2018 bid, or the bid for Munich 2018. Uh, I believe it was that.
Maybe I’m missing the exact bit, but, and through [00:49:00] that, when he was engaged with the families, they asked him, what will you do about the Munich victims when he was promoting a Munich winter bid? And he said, we will recognize them, we’ll show, uh, show the respect. And since then, uh, the families were very supportive of Thomas Bach and they will, and Thomas Bach and the families were working very, alongside each other, which was not the case with Jacques Rogge.
so I believe both, the commemoration in the Olympic Village in Rio and, the moment of silence in, Tokyo were very profound moments that could give some peace to, uh, to the families of the victims. Although again, that’s, it’s a very complex issue, especially with the war going on, and, the.
contested place of Israel in, internationally on every level.
Olympic Studies Week information
Jill Jaracz: So you have, thank you so much.
Thank you so much. This is fun. This was a lot of fun. And it’s really, we’re excited to have some Olympic study stuff in the U S so much success to [00:50:00] you and we’ll keep in touch. Thanks a lot.
Yoav Dubinsky: it was a pleasure.
Jill Jaracz: Thank you so much, Yoav. You can follow Yoav on LinkedIn also learn more about the University of Oregon’s Olympic Studies. How about webpage at, uh, it’s, it’s located through their business college, so, business.oregon.edu and search through it there.
We’ll have a link to that in the show notes. We will also have a link to Olympic Studies Week. Homepage on the uh, show notes. May 12th at 9:00 AM Pacific time, the Olympic studies hub We’ll host an Olympic Studies academic session that will be live streamed, and this is an introduction to the studies hub and what it offers.
If you are in Eugene, Oregon, on May 14th, there’s going to be a tour of the Hayward Hall, the museum within Hayward Field. That’s the legendary track and field venue at the university. the tour is also gonna go to the top of Hayward Field Tower. On May 16th at 10:00 [00:51:00] AM Pacific Time, there’s gonna be an Olympic studies industry session that will also be open to the public, and you can find more information about these sessions at the University of Oregon’s Olympic Studies Week 2025 website.
We will have a link in the show notes.
Milano-Cortina 2026 News
Alison Brown: Amos a.
Jill Jaracz: Uh, the curling mix doubles Week World Championships is over, which means some Olympic quota spots are filled for Milan Cortina 2026. The first eight slots go to Italy, Canada, Estonia, who’s in the games for the first time? great Britain, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and USA two spots are still up for grabs.
Alison Brown: And my favorite, Amos Moser and Stefia Constantine won the World Championships,
Jill Jaracz: which is excellent for them. And they already had a host slot for the quota. But, that’s a bonus going into an Olympic year looking good for you [00:52:00] guys. we have some news on country houses from our friends at house Party Debt blog.
The Corina cluster will include the Deutsches House at the Cornish. Cortina Golf Club and the Milano cluster will include Team Netherlands, house at Super Studio, pew House of Switzerland. Ha. Plans to have a site in both Milan and Cortina, but those are to be determined. I. Early bird ticket pricing ended this week for Milan, Corina, and uh, there’s a little controversy over what tickets were available on Instagram, the McKayla Schiffrin Fan Club, Federica Bri Fan Club, and some other large ski enthusiast groups.
Put out an open letter that said it’s been almost impossible for fans to purchase individual tickets in category A or B, not hospitality, just individual. for alpine skiing, especially for women’s events. Men’s events are also affected by this, even skier Breezy Johnson chimed in saying that [00:53:00] she struggled to get tickets for friends and family.
She’s only seen them in hospitality portals, which are four times as expensive as a regular ticket. So fans are kind of upset at the lack of access they’re getting. Apparently they said this has been multiple games, this has happened. I don’t know if they, if 2022 is in there, but it shouldn’t be. But if 2018 and 2014 were issues for fans getting tickets and some.
These fans do travel around to World Cup events, and they want to go to the Olympics to see their favorite skiers. So why is it so hard to get tickets? And they wonder why.
LA 2028 News
Jill Jaracz: We have some LA 2028 News Hospitality House news already several years in advance. I know. Talk about Go Silver Ferns. Right. According to Rich Perlman of the Sports Examiner, the New Zealand National Olympic Committee has signed a memorandum of understanding, so it’s not a done [00:54:00] deal yet, but.
They’ve got the initial talks sealed. they wanna put their house and fan zone in downtown Culver City. the house hopes to be at the Culver Hotel with the fan zone adjacent to it at the Hill. And the Town Plaza, uh, formal agreement still needs to happen, but this is the first step.
Alison Brown: They’re coming in early, they wanna be prepared.
TKFLASTAN News
Alison Brown: Welcome to Stan.
Jill Jaracz: It is the time of the show where we check in with our team, Keith, the Flame Alive. Uh, these are past guests and listeners of the show who make up our very own citizenship of our very own country. Shuk Stan. Daniel Roman. Chuck placed fifth in the London Marathon just six days after racing in the Boston Marathon.
Alison Brown: Alexander Macias, Nick Ikin and Lee Keefer competed at the FIU Foil World Cup in Vancouver. Maci won gold in the individual and teamed up with Nick Ikin, Garrick Meinhardt and Bryce Louis to win Team Gold.
[00:55:00] Keefer won silver in both the individual and team events.
Jill Jaracz: Sprinter Kenny Bednar won his second 100 meter race at the second grand slam track meet in Florida. He also won the 200 meters with a world leading time of 19.84.
Alison Brown: Fink won the 1500 meter free and the 800 meter free. And the 400 meter I am
at the Tier Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
Jill Jaracz: rugby coach Ben Ryan and his wife Michelle Kerley, announced that they will be welcoming a baby. In October
Alison Brown: rower, Kristy Wagner gave birth to a daughter, Benedetto May Amando on May 3rd. Mom and baby are home and doing well,
Jill Jaracz: And, former shop putter. Michelle Carter has launched her own cosmetics line called Podium Cosmetics. Right now it’s a line of lip glosses, but there may be other products in the future. We will have a link to that in the show notes, and that is going to do it for this episode.
Let us know what aspects of the Olympics or Paralympics you would want to study.
Get in touch!
Alison Brown: We do love hearing from you. You can chat with us and [00:56:00] other listeners on our Facebook group. Keep the Flame Alive Podcast. Email us at Flame Alive pod@gmail.com and the voicemail and text line is always open at 2 0 8 3 5 2 6 3 4 8.
That’s 2 0 8. Flame it. And if you need more Olympics and Paralympics in your life and who doesn’t sign up for our newsletter@flamealivepod.com. We’ll have a link to that in the show notes.
Jill Jaracz: Next week, we are going back to Sydney 2000 to explore whether these games were really the best ever. Even though we don’t have commentary from Ben Waterworth in this episode.
there’s some surprises in football and women’s weightlifting and para power lifting are new, so how could anything go wrong? We’ll find out next week. Thank you so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive.