Doctoral Student Helps Olympic Committee Promote Social Change

Shiling Lin, a first-year doctoral student in the sport management program, has been working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote culturally distinctive sports such as dragon boat racing through GreenNwild, a social business she founded in 2022. Her experience has brought her across the world and even earned her the title of IOC Young Leader, the first ever from mainland China.

Hailing from Quanzhou, China, the hub of Chinese sports footwear and apparel, from a family working in the sports product industry, Lin has been engaged in the athletic field her whole life. Her favorite sports include snooker, tennis, and fishing.

Beginnings in Sport

In 2017, Lin began her work in athletics as an overseas sports marketing representative in the basketball unit for ANTA, a Chinese-based sports equipment company. Her work included handling sponsorship deals that ANTA held with NBA all-star players including Klay Thompson, Rajon Rondo, Gordon Hayward, and Kevin Garnett. “Working with top tier players made me feel the global influence of sports,” said Lin. “These role models not only inspire their fans in their community but also enlighten fandom from developing countries like China to participate in and enjoy sports.”

Lin’s work with ANTA inspired her strong interest in sports’ impact in underrepresented areas. To further dive into this topic, she realized that she needed more education in sport, so she began her master’s degree in sport management at the University of San Francisco in 2020. During her time as a master’s student, Lin co-wrote a chapter of Marketing Communications and Brand Development in Emerging Economies Volume I titled, “Sponsorship: Practices and Benefits in Emerging Markets,” with Dr. Michael Goldman.

Coming to Isenberg

With a newfound understanding of academia within the sports industry, Lin decided to pursue her doctoral degree in sport management with the goal of becoming a sport management professor. Her master’s thesis advisor, Nola Agha, a 2010 graduate of Isenberg’s sport management PhD program, strongly influenced Lin’s decision to pursue her doctoral degree at Isenberg, which is where she decided to continue her work and education.

In February 2021, Lin was chosen as one of 25 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Young Leaders for her drive to create positive social change through sport. The Young Leaders consist of 25 changemakers from 25 different countries, half of whom are athletes from Olympic teams. She was chosen out of a pool of 3,000 applicants due to her background in elite sponsorship, academia work for the underrepresented, and a social business plan helped her to be titled a young leader. Then, in 2022, Lin was appointed as a member of the IOC Digital Engagement and Marketing Commission by IOC President Thomas Bach. Because of her role in the IOC as a young leader, Lin served as a 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games torchbearer. “Being an IOC Young Leader and torchbearer sparked a small flame in my heart, which encouraged me to have more academic global influence in the sport management field,” said Lin on her time with the IOC thus far.

GreenNwild

Since being named an IOC Young Leader, Lin’s IOC-supported project, GreenNwild, a sport-related social business committed to promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) sports and Olympic sports in youth through content marketing, has taken off. With an emphasis on film production, GreenNwild has planned a series of ICH sports and Olympic sports fusion events to increase awareness surrounding ICH sports and show support for ICH athletes achieving more dignified incomes and, ultimately, promoting rural revitalization. In 2021, GreenNwild produced its first artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) short film showcasing three culturally distinctive sports: dragon boat racing, kayaking, and canoeing.

The IOC recently highlighted Lin’s work with GreenNwild surrounding the sport of breaking, an ICH sport and new Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 games, on its website homepage. The 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games’ program will include baseball and softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash, all of which are ICH sports as well, with roots from different communities.

To learn more about GreenNwild and Lin’s work with the IOC, please visit https://olympics.com/ioc/young-leaders/shiling-lin.