Johan Cruyff Institute supports the initiative of its sport management students in organizing a paddel tennis event that encompasses academic training and team dynamics
One of the first impressions a Johan Cruyff Institute student gets at the beginning of a master’s or postgraduate program at the Institute is that it is not about memorizing theoretical concepts about sport management. Rather, it is about discovering all the possibilities offered by the sports industry and preparing to lead management projects. In this continuous learning, initiative, teamwork and the support of the institution are essential.
The students of Johan Cruyff Institute decided to take action and organize a different kind of day, in the style of those to which they are usually invited by the Institute. Together with a group of classmates, Pablo Martín, student of the Official Master’s Degree in Sport Management, led the organization of a fun day on the historic mountain of Montjuïc: a route through the most emblematic facilities of the Olympic area, a paddel tennis tournament at the CN Montjuïc sports club, and a talk by the president of the Catalan Pickleball Association, Alejandro Jiménez Iriberri, explaining all the ins and outs of this new sport discipline that, combining elements of badminton, table tennis and tennis, is taking the United States by storm.
“The idea of organizing the tournament came up in a very spontaneous, organic and natural way. In the end, we are about 20-30 students from the Master in Sport Management, the Official Master and the Blended Master, who have formed a good group and decided to carry out some kind of activity,” explains Pablo. The diversity and mix of backgrounds of the master’s students was, in a way, the key component in preparing an activity that would foster their integration. “Within the group there are many students, especially from Latin America, who are in Barcelona for the first time and may not return. We wanted to take advantage and create, beyond a paddel tournament, an experience for them that would combine sport and education,” adds Pablo.
“The participation of Johan Cruyff Institute has been exceptional and also that of the CN Montjuïc for letting us use the facilities. Such an event promotes what the centre wants to transmit: knowledge and values through sport and sport management” – Pablo Martín, student of the Official Master’s Degree in Sport Management
The CN Montjuïc sports club kindly provided its facilities for the tournament, in ‘American’ format, and Johan Cruyff Institute was in charge of the branding and prizes: a welcome pack with T-shirts for all participants; jackets for the winning pair, sweatshirts for the finalists and T-shirt for the pair that came third. “The participation of Johan Cruyff Institute has been exceptional. When we presented the proposal, they immediately gave us the green light, both Johan Cruyff Institute and the club itself, the CN Montjuïc, whom I thank for letting us use the facilities. In the end, I think it promotes many of the values that the club wants to transmit to us: knowledge and values through sport and sport management,” says Pablo.
