Exploring shared experiences as citizen sport diplomats: a collaborative self-ethnography

Research purpose: This study was a critical analysis of the lived experiences of three American university professors who served as volunteer citizen diplomats in a bi-lateral U.S. State Department sport exchange program with North Macedonian volleyball coaches. Research methods: With the aim of capturing the experience of serving as citizen sport diplomats and making sense of it to inform future practice, this research utilized a collaborative self-ethnography approach. This reflexive approach brings together: (a) analytic autoethnography as individuals themselves are engaged in the ethnography and study, and (b) collective ethnography as a team collects and makes sense of shared data regarding the same context and phenomena. Results and Findings: During the outbound exchange, we each created journal entries about our experiences, followed by daily discussion of entries, and highlighting possible emerging themes. This process was repeated nine times. The discussions were recorded and transcribed and we used a reflexive thematic approach to uncover the first three teams of Odyssey, Border Straddling, and Throwing Seeds/Planting Rows. Representative quotes for Brush Sets, the fourth theme, were identified using a deductive thematic analysis approach. Implications: Our findings revealed the need for future research to understand how planning, preparation, and resource allocation impacts the long-term success and sustainability of sport diplomacy exchanges. From a practical standpoint, each theme provides a framework for the required mental and physical resources of a sport diplomatic exchange and highlights that deep levels of transformational learning can occur during these programs.