Today, two UF professors will leave on a mission to extend The Gator Nation to Beijing, China, as volunteers for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
James Zhang and Daniel Connaughton were selected by the International Olympic Committee in April to work as volunteers during the games, which begin Aug. 8 and end Aug. 24.
Both professors teach in the College of Health and Human Performance's Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management.
Connaughton, who has a background both as a swimmer and a manager in swimming competitions, will manage the training facility for the U.S. men's and women's swimming and diving teams.
Zhang, who played professional basketball in China for a year before moving to the U.S. more than 20 years ago, will help manage the men's basketball training facility where the U.S. and Chinese teams will practice.
The two left on a 15-hour flight from Washington, D.C., early this morning.
Zhang said he thinks they were picked because of UF's exchange program with Tsinghua University in Beijing, a relationship that began three years ago.
Like UF, Tsinghua has an impressive sports management program, Zhang said. Olympic athletes will practice at the university's sports facilities while the games are going on, and many of its faculty members are volunteers and staff members, he said.
Last year, Zhang and Connaughton brought a group of UF students to Tsinghua to learn about the Olympic facilities while they were being built.
Zhang said it was then that Tsinghua faculty encouraged the professors to apply for the volunteer positions.
Nearly 75,000 volunteers from 98 countries and provinces are expected to volunteer in Beijing for the Olympics, which is an all-time Olympic record, according to the Beijing Games Web site. More than 1,125,000 people applied to volunteer.
"We're honored both personally and professionally," Connaughton said.
Both professors said they hope to gain valuable experience from the "mega" sports event back to the classroom in Gainesville.
"I can teach the students with actual on-site experience rather than just reading from a textbook," Zhang said.
Zhang said they also hope to make connections, so students can study how the venues are used and managed after the Olympics. He said it will be good experience for students to see how the venues serve the community after the event.
Unfortunately for the volunteers, their time in Beijing may be all work and no play.
Connaughton said volunteers are not given tickets to any of the actual Olympic events.
"We're hoping we can find some cheap tickets to some preliminary events," he said.
Connaughton said the first four to five days in Beijing will be devoted to training, but Zhang said all they have been told is to expect long days and boxed dinners.
Both professors plan to show Gator spirit while at the games. The two have to wear uniforms while on duty, but each said he was packing orange and blue apparel to wear off duty.
"I want to make sure that I truly spread our Gator Nation overseas," Zhang said.
