There are a number of events which seek to assist youth to develop and enhance their leadership skills through sporting activities and/or an educational program. Some programs try to blend the two forms together, while others keep them separate. The Australian Scholar Athlete Games (ASAG) sought to achieve a balance between the two. ASAG was an event which sought to bring together youth primarily from the Asia-Pacific region with the intention of facilitating opportunity through sporting activities and an education program designed to expose participants to the cultural, economic, social and environmental differences experienced by delegates. Offering a sports development or creative arts development program in conjunction with an educational program with a focus on leadership skills, ASAG provided delegates with a forum to learn and enhance skill sets from international sports and creative arts personalities and to dialogue with peers about international issues and concerns.
Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire which examined their experience of the ASAG. A series of follow up in-depth interviews were also conducted to further probe certain issues of interest pertaining to the ASAG experience as a vehicle to promote peace, understanding, acceptance and friendship amongst the youth of the world. This paper documents and analyses the experiences of the participants of the Australian Scholar Athlete Games and provides a series of recommendations for future Games ventures.
The findings indicate that participants were satisfied with their experience at and that the program of events and activities were found to be a useful vehicle to promote and enhance participants‟ understanding and skill sets related to the aforementioned core issues. The paper provides some implications for consideration for other events which try to blend activities that are formal program requirements with more informal social networking opportunities, as well as ensuring that communication about the event is properly managed. This will ensure maximum satisfaction for event participants and ensure the event is successfully staged.
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