I am currently an associate professor in sport event management at Bournemouth University Business School. The focus of my 2007 Fellowship was the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I travelled to Australia to explore The Educational Power of Sport, with specific reference to links between the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Games. As a sports fan, who was already working within higher education, I was interested in better understanding the impacts and legacies of mega sports events, with specific reference to young people.

During my Fellowship visit to Australia, I was able to meet a variety of Olympic stakeholders and have since developed a strong network of both sport, event and tourism contacts and lifelong friends. Upon completion of the Fellowship, I was then able to apply my findings within the UK context in preparation for the 2012 London Games. I was also able to publish numerous academic and industry-based publications linked to the Olympic Games.

One legacy of my Fellowship was that I was appointed as a visiting scholar at University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia, where I continue to work on projects linked to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Australian friends.