A Case Study of the International Triathlon Union from 1989-2000 Sean Phelps
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For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION The creation and development of an international sport federation: A case study of the International Triathlon Union from 1989-2000 By Sean Phelps A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded Spring Semester 2006 Copyright © 2006 Sean Phelps All Rights Reserved The members of the committee approved the dissertation of Sean Phelps defended on 29 March 2006. ________________________(signed) Aubrey Kent Professor Directing Dissertation ________________________(signed) Jeff Milligan Outside Committee Member ________________________(signed) King Beach Committee Member ________________________(signed) Jeffrey James Committee Member ________________________(signed) Cecile Reynaud Committee Member Approved: _________________________________________________________________ Charles Imwold, Chairperson, Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management and Physical Education The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii While the process of researching and writing a dissertation can at times isolating, there were a variety of people who had either direct influence or indirect influence on me throughout this process. I need to thank: • Both my parents, Dean and Gladys Phelps, who stressed education and allowed me (and supported me) as I eventually came to the realization that getting the PhD was indeed im- portant. o Mom: For tolerating my restlessness and wanderlust. o Dad: For passing on a little of your writing ability and encouraging me to finish the master’s degree and go after the doctorate. • My brother Scott, who because of his success with the family business provided me the opportunity to chase my Olympic dream by working the Salt Lake City Winter Games, which solidified my desire to get this degree. • My brother Corey, the first Dr. Phelps, who demystified much of what it meant to be a doctoral student (and provided a little sibling rivalry to motivate me to get the degree). iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No one gets to this point without having had a tremendous amount of help along the way. • Dr. Aubrey Kent, as my advisor and guide, who allowed me to take off in a direction that incorporated my passion as wells as permitting me to explore other possibilities when it came to writing this dissertation. • Dr. Jeffrey James for challenging me academically and demanding that good enough is not good enough. • Dr. Cecil Reynaud for the practical and real world insight that can only be obtained from having worked with national governing bodies and international federations. • Dr. King Beach for clearing the cobwebs and misinformation surrounding qualitative re- search and for making class entertaining, worthwhile, and productive. • Dr. Gary Gray, who was both my undergraduate and master’s professor. He was the first to show me that sport had an interesting academic side to it as well as showing me that volleyball is the greatest team sport ever. • Paul Allan, who tolerated my mistakes as a graduate assistant in sports information and helped me achieve that Olympic dream. • Mark Sisson, who took a real chance on a young, unproven 20-something, gave me the largest program budget at Tri-Fed/USA and then gave me the freedom to create and man- age an officials’ program. • Tim Yount, whose insight, experience and friendship over the years kept me grounded in the sport of triathlon. • Steve Locke, who provided honest insight and opinions. • Loreen Barnett and Les McDonald of the International Triathlon Union for allowing un- fettered access to the organization’s archives that made this dissertation possible. • The faculty and staff of Northwest College (connu avant as Northwest Community Col- lege). I remember from whence I came. • Dennis Albrecht who introduced me to the sport of triathlon. • Beth, Mark, and the rest of the MMC/PRSO gang for making it worthwhile. • Mary who reminded me that ABD means all you have is a master’s degree. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface viii Definition of Terms ix Acronyms x Timeline xi Abstract xiii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Background to the Problem 1 Theoretical Framework 4 Purpose of the Study 5 Significance and Implications of the Study 6 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 8 Defining Institutions 8 Development of International Federations 9 Institutional Theory 11 Isomorphism 12 Institutional Theory in Sport Management 19 Legitimacy 21 Other Viewpoints 25 Other Variables to Consider 31 Leadership 31 Culture 38 Summary 45 3. METHODOLOGY 47 Research Design 47 Research Questions 47 Case Study 47 Heuristic Inquiry 49 Constructionism 51 Data 53 Limitations 59 Delimitations 59 4. RESULTS 60 Citius, Altius, Fortius: The Quest for the Olympic Games 62 First Attempts 63 Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon 68 v Forming the International Triathlon Union 77 1990 87 1991 95 1992 99 1993 104 1994 109 1995 113 1996 115 1997 118 1998 124 1999 127 2000 129 Post-Sydney 140 Leadership and the ITU 142 The International Triathlon Union and USA Triathlon 172 5. DISCUSSION 193 Coercive Isomorphism 194 Mimetic Isomorphism 201 Normative Isomorphism 204 Leadership 205 Culture 210 Of Interest 218 Interaction and Simultaneous Influence 220 6. CONCLUSIONS 222 Institutional Theory Challenges 225 Alternative Explanations 226 Practical Applications 227 Future Research 229 Unique Case 230 Finis Coronat Opus 231 APPENDIX 232 A: Interview Questions 232 B: HSC #1 Approval 233 C: HSC #2 Approval 234 D: Release Letter 235 E: Informed Consent 236 F: Copyright Permission 237 G: Copyright Permission 239 BIBLIOGRAPHY 240 vi BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 254 vii PREFACE As is often the case with any industry the language inherent to that business is unique. The world of international sports and the Olympics is no different. Acronyms and abbreviations abound and one may become confused by the alphabet soup of letters representing the various entities that operate in an around the Olympics. To help the reader understand some of the pri- mary groups involved and highlighted in this paper the following lists are provided. viii DEFINITION OF TERMS Aquathlon: Sport comprised of swimming and running. Duathlon: Sport comprised of running and cycling. Traditional format is run-bike-run. Dis- tances vary. DWC: Duathlon World Championship Triathlon: Sport comprised of swimming, cycling and running. Distances vary but the so-called Olympic-distance triathlon is composed of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and a 10K run. TWC: Triathlon World Championship ix ACRONYMS Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF): Organization representing the International Federations whose sports are in the Summer Olympics. European Triathlon Union (ETU): Regional organization representing European National Gov- erning Bodies which are members of the International Triathlon Union. Federation International Triathlon (FIT): American led, first attempt at creating a world govern- ing body for the sport of triathlon. General Assembly of International Sports Federations (GAISF): Organization whose members include all International Olympic Committee recognized International Federations. International Federation (IF): Also known as International Sport Federation. An IF is the world governing body for a sport as recognized by the IOC. An IF may be recognized by the IOC and still not have its sport a part of the Olympic Games competition program. International Olympic Committee (IOC): Stewards of the Olympic Games. International Triathlon Union (ITU): IF for the sport of triathlon. National Governing Body (NGB)/National Federation (NF)/National Sports Organization (NSO): Organization responsible for a particular sport within a country that is recognized by its National Olympic Committee. National Olympic Committee (NOC): Governing organization within a country responsible for sending athletes to the Olympic Games and acting as the umbrella organization for all the NGBs. Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG)/Local Organizing Committee (LOC): Organization responsible for hosting the Olympic Games in a particular country. Pan American Triathlon Confederation (PATCO): Regional organization representing Pan American National Governing Bodies which are members of the International Triathlon Union. Triathlon Federation International (TFI): Outgrowth of FIT’s demise and second attempt at the creation of an IF. Union Internationale de Moderne Pentathlon et Biathlon (UIMPB): IF for modern pentathlon and biathlon. United States Olympic Committee (USOC): The NOC for the United States. USA Triathlon (USAT): US National Governing Body for the sport. Previously know as Triath- lon Federation/USA (Tri-Fed). x TIMELINE 1984 ETU forms 1984 October FIT forms in Kona, Hawai’i 1984 FIT presents to GAISF 1987 February FIT & ETU meet in Dallas: TFI is the compromise 1987 November 15 TFI officially constituted in Amsterdam, Holland 1988 January TFI meets in Vancouver. Tri-Fed/USA doesn't attend. Only 5 attend: Les McDonald (CAN), Phil Briars (NZ), van Zanten (HOL), O'Callaghan (IR), and Jeff Konings