United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

ABSTRACT

With the dramatic economic changes taking place in China there is a move to promote sports and the sports industry through individual and corporate support. Curriculum must be established on the university level to accommodate these needs. The purpose of this research was to investigate the interest in a sport event fundraising program by undergraduate and graduate students at Beijing University of Physical Education (BUPE), Beijing, China. Results indicate an interest in initiating fundraising events at the respective institutions. Students require education on potential careers in sports marketing and fundraising in order to enhance their potential success in the field.

Introduction

As pointed out by Soonhwan Lee (2001) in a recent issue of The Sports Journal, there exists a great deal of debate about the validity of economic impact studies on sporting events. Economists widely believe that league and event-sponsored studies exaggerate the economic impact of professional franchises and large sporting events on local communities. These overstatements are a result of several factors. First, the studies often ignore the substitution effect. To the extent that attendees at a sporting event spend their money on that event instead of on other activities in the local economy, the sporting event simply results in a reallocation of expenditures in the economy rather than a real net increase in economic activity. Next, studies usually ignore the crowding out effect. Many large sporting events are staged in communities that are already popular tourist destinations. If hotels and restaurants in the host city normally tend to be at or near capacity throughout the time period during which the competition takes place, the contest may simply supplant rather than supplement the regular tourist economy. Third, the studies may fail to address whether the money spent at a sporting event stays in the local economy. Much of the money spent by out-of-town visitors goes towards hotel rooms, rental cars, and restaurants. To the extent that these firms are national chains, profits earned during the event at these businesses do not increase the welfare of citizens in the local economy but rather accrue to stockholders around the country. Similarly, revenue from ticket sales is often paid to the league or the sports ruling body instead of local organizers. Fourth, non-economic costs such as Atraffic congestion, vandalism, environmental degradation, disruption of residents' lifestyle, and so on are rarely reported. (Lee, 2001) Finally, since economic impact studies are often used by sports boosters to justify public expenditures on sports infrastructure, ultimately, the real question faced by any observer is whether an analysis conducted by agents with a vested interest in the outcome of the study can ever be considered an objective examination of the true economic impact of an event.

It is right and proper that cultural programs are a required part of the Olympic Games. History has, to a certain extent, driven the integration of cultural programs into the Olympic Games. And, just as we highlight, in both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the accomplishments of athletes, so too is it noble and right that we celebrate the achievements of artists in Cultural Olympiads.

ABSTRACT

The general problem of this study was to determine the effect, if any, music may have on heart rate, lap pace, and perceived exertion rate (RPE) between trained and untrained subjects during a 20-minute self-paced run.

Abstract

Incidence of anabolic steroid use among college athletes is about 1%, with another 12% considered at-risk in that they would use such drugs under the right circumstances. This study aimed to determine if volunteer drug testing, without fear of penalty, would result in positive identification of drug use, or if the testing alone is a deterrent. A group of 197 college athletes, all of who denied drug use, voluntarily and anonymously supplied urine samples. Average T/E ratio was 1.33 ± 0.86, with two cases (1.1%) above the accepted ratio. We conclude that T/E ratio testing is effective in detecting use of performance-enhancing drugs and that testing itself, although an effective deterrent to drug use, may not eliminate drug use among college athletes.

Introduction

The demands for rebounding, jumping, shooting, and playing defense require a decent level of strength and power. In order to claim that a basketball player is in great condition, the players should have the endurance to run tirelessly on the court and possess the strength to engage in the physical battles underneath the basket. There is no doubt that strength training plays an important part in building up the power for the specific demands on the court (Fulton, 1992). College basketball has emphasized strength training to a great degree because it increases overall strength, power, lean body mass, and flexibility (Fulton, 1992). The objective of implementing strength training to improve vertical jumping ability and thereby enhance overall sport-performance appears well founded (Renfro, 1996). This explains why college coaches prefer their players to stay involved in strength training even under the restrictive practice schedule of the NCAA.