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Description
Leading up to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, China commissioned 100 Norwegian winter sports coaches and supporting staff to develop and prepare 200 Chinese athletes for the upcoming Games. The winter sports collaboration between Norway and China began in 2017 and was terminated in 2022. The objective was to develop Chinese winter sport athletes who could attain medals in Beijing. To achieve this, Chinese cross-country skiers and biathletes were sent to Norway, and Chinese athletes from endurance sports (running and rowing) were enlisted to transfer to winter sports. Norwegian coaches were hired to select Chinese endurance sports athletes thought to have the potential to transfer to winter sports, teach them skiing, and coach them to become winter sport Olympians. This study investigates the experiences of Norwegian coaches who worked with Chinese athletes during the collaboration between Norway and China. We examine how conflicting coaching cultures impact the coach-athlete relationship and what strategies coaches employ to adapt to a sports culture with different values and traditions. The study is based on qualitative interviews with Norwegian winter sports coaches and administrative staff involved in the project. The analysis investigates what happens when coaching cultures with different ethical values and traditions converge. Our findings show that values were adjusted from both sides throughout the collaboration and that the coaches found creative ways to solve cultural conflicts in the coach-athlete relationship. Despite establishing well-functioning coach-athlete relationships, tensions between the collaborative partners remained due to the vastly different institutional systems of sports in Norway and China.
