Recently we have been talking about sports diplomacy, and more specifically the way the Olympics plays a role in the world. We had a guest speaker in class to talk about her role and the role of the United States Department of State in the unification of people around the world with sports. Her name was Trina Bolton and she is a program officer there at the diplomacy, where she promotes sports and the lessons you learn by playing, all over the world. Some of the things that she does is go to third-world countries and teach them different sports such as soccer, baseball, and even skateboarding, to name a few.

Their goals are not only to promote the benefits of sports to the less fortunate, but also to unite the world on a global level that is greater than what any political meeting could convey. Her presentation was very cool, and it was nice to learn that there are actually governmental organizations that care about giving opportunity to those in countries who can’t afford it. I also find it really cool how they bring professional athletes and coaches over on their envoys to teach the game and inspire those learning to play.

More specifically to what Trina actually had to say, two things stuck out to me. One of them was that when they went to a country to promote the sport of skateboarding, they turned it into a girl’s sport, where over here in North America it is very much a boy’s sport. I think that that is really cool because it just proves that you can teach people anything, and anyone can do anything that they put their mind to. This gives me hope because I never really knew that people, especially people from the government, were out there trying to teach and spread the game. Another thing that stuck with me from her talk was when she said, “They asked if we could send an NBA star tomorrow and we said we could send a WNBA player in six months.” This struck me because there is still that gender inequality because they were asking for the top of the popularity hierarchy by the next day, and instead they sent an unpopular women’s basketball player in half a year. I don’t know if it is easier for them to send female athletes because they are more willing to go or if it’s because they are easier to convince, but it just struck me when she said that.

Overall though, her whole presentation gave me lots of hope in the faith of humanity. I have learned so much through playing sports that I don’t even know where to begin if I were to share everything. At home, I am a part of an organization called Jumpstart, which buys equipment and runs clinics for children who can’t afford to play. So, the US Diplomacy of State reminded me of Jumpstart and that was something I also found that I could relate to.