Rugged Success. A Story of Romanian Rugby

The Aspen Institute Romania organized on January, 31, 2012 an informal debate on the role of sports in society. The meeting, entirely dedicated to rugby, was the first in a series of dialogues within the Aspen Institute Romania Sports and Society Dialogues program.

Mr. Octavian Morariu, President of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, proceeded with the opening presentations, followed by Mr. Alin Petrache, President of the Romanian Rugby Federation, and Mr. Steven van Groningen, President and CEO of Raiffeisen Bank and executive board member of Aspen Romania, former sportsman and Olympian. The debate was moderated by Mr. Bogdan Olteanu, Partner and Managing Director, Borțun Olteanu, and former rugby player.

Among participants to the event were representatives of the Romanian sports and business environment, Romanian Rugby Federation officials, Aspen Institute Members who support the role of sports in a good society. Starting from the lasting effort of a generation of athletes, coaches and partners to relaunch rugby in Romania, the discussions have explored the needs, motivations and the experience of those who identify themselves with this sport. The Aspen Institute will organize a series of such dialogues, each designed to deal with a certain sport, team or sports event. The end goal is to put together a series of analyses and recommendations based on these informal, but systematic dialogues. The positive experiences, but also specific problems of various branches, teams, clubs or sports federations, as well as of grassroots sports, sports practiced in schools, universities and olympic sports, will be integrated into a White Paper of Romanian Sport.
The discussions focused on the significance of sports in society, the values it fosters and the major role it can play in defining a collective identity. The participants in the debate have explored the ways in which high performance sports can become a source of inspiration for social development, solidarity and moral force nowadays, in Romania. They touched upon the relationship between business and sports and the similarities between the two types of approaches in what concerns planning, financing needs, respecting rules, as well as the values and the skills sports can foster and which can be transferred to the business environment.
The starting point of the discussions was identifying the pressing problems of the Romanian sports domain and especially in the area of rugby, at each of the three levels of practicing sport - schools, clubs and national teams. Thus, participants to the discussions have pointed out difficulties concerning financing, infrastructure, the lack of a volunteering culture, the decrease in sports club membership, an unfavorable legislative framework and the growing gap between the evolution of society and that of sports.
In order for change to occur, we need a change of attitude at the level of the society, greater involvement of the youth, imagination in finding alternative solutions for financing, given the limited resources of the state. In the same time, we need to invest more in supporting and stimulating grassroots sports, on the one hand, and in helping develop strong clubs, on the other hand.
Change is possible, and the revival of rugby is an example in this respect. The success story of Romanian rugby, which has gone through an intelligent process of rebranding and reconstruction, perfectly illustrates how a niche sport, built on fair-play and mutual respect, can change the behavior and the attitude of supporters towards sport.
The importance of planning, of rebuilding the selection pool and of facilitating the access of children to team sports, as well as the model that rugby can embody when it comes to participants' academic, professional and social success, were among the debated topics. It was further argued for the importance of infrastructure and the major role it plays in the development of sports. Potential funding models, as well as patterns suitable to organize mass sports and the role that schools, parents and local communities play, were also analyzed. The ingredients of successfully rebuilding Romanian rugby begin with tradition and science, which are overlapped by the enthusiasm of those involved, by a pre-existing plan, a very well-thought project, by efficient planning, expertise and external support. The fact that the representatives of the corporate partner of the Romanian Rugby Federation, CEC Bank, attended the event, emphasizes the convergence of values, objectives and attitude between sport and business. For both companies and federations, the quality of this relationship is essential in order to achieve their specific objectives.
An interesting conclusion of the evening was that the organization, financing and communication of sport need to evolve from the dysfunctional post-communist model towards a contemporary one, where sport is situated at the border between professionalism, business, and civic and community involvement. For this, we need financing to be predictable and an increase in the visibility of sports in society. Recreating the legal provisions which have implications in the field of sport is a complex procedure. However, without it, success in the world of sport will remain subject to simple randomness. A reformed approach might use the native talent potential, together with the existence of a science of sports and a motivational tradition. Rugby offers an excellent example.
The AIR Sports and Society Dialogues program consists of a series of informal debates and addresses subjects on performance, physical culture and good society. By initiating this series of dialogues, Aspen Institute Romania aims at promoting sport as a social institution and as a model of performance and competition in Romania. The goal of the program is to bring together leaders, to foster dialogue and to offer solutions in order to overcome the barriers that limit the participation in sport activities at community or national level.

Romanian

Institutul Aspen Romania a organizat in data de 31 ianuarie 2012 o dezbatere informală pe tema sportului in societate. Intalnirea, dedicată rugby-ului, a fost prima dintr-o serie de dialoguri din cadrul programului Aspen Institute Romania Sports and Society Dialogues.

In deschiderea dezbaterii au avut prezentări domnul Octavian Morariu, Presedintele Comitetului Olimpic si Sportiv Roman, domnul Alin Petrache, Presedintele Federatiei Romane de Rugby, si domnul Steven van Groningen, Presedinte si CEO Raiffeisen Bank si sportiv de performantă, membru al boardului executiv Aspen Romania. Discutia a fost moderată de domnul Bogdan Theodor Olteanu, Partener si Managing Director, Bortun Olteanu, fost jucător de rugby.

La eveniment au participat persoane din mediul sportiv si mediul de afaceri din Romania, reprezentanti ai Federatiei Romane de Rugby, membri ai Institutului, care sustin rolul sportului intr-o bună societate. Pornind de la efortul unei generatii de jucători, antrenori si parteneri in reconstruirea rugby-ului romanesc, au fost explorate nevoile, motivatiile si experienta celor ce se identifică cu acest sport. Institutul Aspen isi propune să organizeze o serie de asemenea discutii, fiecare in jurul unei discipline sportive, echipe sau eveniment sportiv. De asemenea, institutul isi propune să adune o serie de analize si recomandări pe baza acestor conversatii informale, dar sistematice. Experientele pozitive, dar si dificultătile specifice ale diverselor ramuri, echipe, cluburi sau federatii sportive, precum si a sportului de masă, scolar, universitar sau olimpic din Romania, se vor traduce intr-o carte albă a sportului romanesc.

Discutia s-a concentrat pe importanta sportului in societate, valorile pe care acesta le cultivă, si rolul pe care il poate juca in definirea identitătii unei colectivităti. Participantii la dezbatere au explorat modul in care sportul de inaltă performantă poate să fie o sursă de inspiratie pentru dezvoltare economică, socială, solidaritate si fortă morală in Romania de azi. S-a discutat despre legătura dintre business si sport, despre asemănările dintre cele două tipuri de abordări in materie de planificare, nevoile de finantare, respectarea regulilor etc., precum si despre valorile si abilitătile dezvoltate prin sport si care pot fi transferate in mediul business.

S-a pornit de la identificarea problemelor din sportul romanesc, si, in particular, din zona rugby-ului, la fiecare dintre cele trei nivele de practicare a sportului- scoli, cluburi, echipe nationale. Astfel, participantii la discutie au semnalat dificultăti legate de finantare, infrastructură, lipsa unei culturi a voluntariatului, scăderea numărului de membri ai cluburilor sportive, cadrul legislativ nefavorabil, decalajul dintre evolutia sportului si cea a societătii.

Pentru o schimbare e nevoie de modificarea atitudinii la nivelul societătii, de o implicare mai mare a tinerilor, de imaginatie in găsirea unor metode alternative de finantare, in conditiile resurselor limitate ale statului. In acelasi timp, trebuie investit mai mult in sprijinirea si stimularea sportului de masă, pe de o parte, si in dezvoltarea unor cluburi puternice, pe de altă parte.

Schimbarea e posibilă, un exemplu in acest sens fiind revirimentul rugby-ului. Povestea de succes a revenirii rugby-ului romanesc, un sport al puterii, spiritului de echipă si competitiei pană la ultimele resurse ca o conditie de performantă, este un model pentru alte evolutii in societatea romanească. Echipa natională de rugby, ce a trecut printr-un proces inteligent de refacere si rebranding, ilustrează perfect transformarea pe care un sport de nisă, construit pe fair-play si respect reciproc, poate să o producă in randul comportamentului si atitudinii suporterilor fată de sport. S-a discutat despre importanta planificării, a refacerii bazei de selectie si a accesului copiilor la sportul de echipă si despre rolul de model pe care rugby-ul il poate avea in succesul academic, profesional si social al practicantilor. De asemenea, a fost analizată importanta infrastructurii si rolul central pe care aceasta il joacă in dezvoltarea unui sport. Au fost analizate modele posibile de finantare si organizare a sportului de masă si rolul care revine scolii, părintilor si comunitătilor locale. Ingredientele succesului refacerii rugby-ului in Romania pornesc de la la existenta traditiei si stiintei. Pe aceastea s-au grefat entuziasmul celor implicati, existenta unui plan, a unui proiect atent gandit, planificarea eficientă, expertiza, sustinerea externă. Prezenta la eveniment a reprezentantilor partenerului corporate al Federatiei Romane de Rugby, CEC Bank, subliniază natura relatiei de convergentă de valori, obiective si atitudine intre sport si importanta acestei alegeri. Atat pentru companii, cat si pentru federatii, calitatea acestei relatii este definitorie pentru realizarea obiectivelor specifice.

O concluzie interesantă a serii a fost nevoia ca organizarea, finantarea si comunicarea sportului romanesc să treacă de la modelul disfunctional post-comunist la unul contemporan, unde sportul este situat la granita intre profesionalism, business si angajament civic si comunitar. Pentru aceasta, este nevoie de o predictabilitate a finantării si de o crestere a vizibilitătii rolului sportului in societate. Refacerea cadrului de reglementare si a ansamblului prevederilor legale cu implicatii in domeniul sportului este o operatiune complexă. Fără aceasta, insă, succesul sportiv va rămane la nivel de intamplare. O abordare reformată ar putea să folosească potentialul nativ de talent, existenta unei stiinte a sportului si o traditie motivantă. Rugby-ul oferă un excelent model.

Programul Sports and Society Dialogues al Institutului Aspen Romania constă intr-o serie de discutii informale ce abordează subiecte la intersectia dintre performantă, cultură fizică si buna societate. Prin initierea acestei serii de dialoguri, Institutul Aspen Romania isi propune să promoveze sportul, ca institutie socială si ca model de performantă si competitivitate in Romania. Misiunea programului este de a reuni lideri, de a sustine dialogul si a oferi solutii pentru a infrange barierele ce limitează participarea in activităti sportive la nivel comunitar sau national.

Institutul Aspen Romania face parte din reteaua internatională Aspen cu sedii in SUA, Franta, Germania, Italia, Spania, India si Japonia, retea dedicată promovării unui tip de leadership bazat pe valori, aprecierii valorilor si ideilor universale, precum si dialogului deschis privind subiecte contemporane.