‘Wonder Woman’ eager to study RP sports

British Universities American Football League (BUAFL) head of research and development Dr. Elesa Argent, a Heart of England bodybuilding champion, is excited to visit the Philippines and share her knowledge on how to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics.

Dr. Argent’s father Rod is the keyboards player of the fabled ’60s rock group The Zombies and composer of the hit song “She’s Not There.” The Zombies performed in Manila two years ago and will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their second album “Odessey and Oracle,” featuring “Time of the Season,” in concerts at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London on March 7, 8 and 9.

“I know of the development program for elite athletes in sports in England as I have been involved in research for UK Sport,” Dr. Argent told The STAR in an e-mail. “There is a range of programs in the UK that relate to grassroots participation and talent identification. These are interesting programs and many Olympic athletes have been through this type of program. I was also involved in UK Sport research relating to sport schemes identifying athletic talent in schools. I have never looked at the national sports program of a Third World country although I believe it would be a very interesting exercise.”

Dr. Argent said if invited, she could come to Manila and lecture on various sports-related topics. Her doctoral thesis in Sport Science at Loughborough University was the first and only study on whether sport develops skills, such as leadership, could be transferred to a corporate environment. Another topic may be how London won the bid for the 2012 Olympics and how the city is gearing to host the event.

“I made three fascinating models and research showed some extremely interesting results, for example, collegiate athletes demonstrate higher leadership ability than collegiate non-athletes and all sport coaches and business managers I interviewed think skills developed in sport are fully transferable to the corporate environment,” she noted.

Last year, Dr. Argent was assigned to supervise the strategic development of the one-year-old BUAFL which is composed of 36 clubs split into eight divisions in two conferences. She works closely with the Higher Education sector in identifying key targets for the development of the university game and establishing the systems, structures and programs necessary to meet the goals.

“I am very familiar with the British collegiate sports leagues,” she said. “Loughborough University completely dominates British collegiate sport and has won the men’s and women’s championships for 30 consecutive years. I am also quite well-versed in the difficulties facing US franchises in Europe, such as the National Football League.” 

Dr. Argent said she follows boxing and is a big Manny Pacquiao fan. She continues to compete in bodybuilding and is a coach in aerobics, spin, step, pilates and aqua and body conditioning with a personal training qualification. Dr. Argent used to train YMCA fitness instructors.

A problem that Dr. Argent is conversant with is political bickering in sport.

“I know this is a common problem and carries wide implications in sport,” she said. “The UK also experiences some of these problems and it is interesting speaking to different stakeholders regarding why this happens and how it could be solved. American football is a great example of how local and national governing bodies are bickering and failing to achieve a sound grassroots participation program.”

Dr. Argent earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies, major in marketing, with honors at the University of Hertfordshire Business School then a Master’s degree in exercise and health behavior at the City University in London before completing her doctorate in Sport Science at Loughborough.

Informed about Dr. Argent’s interest to visit Manila, a leading Filipino sports official said her insights would be helpful in sharpening the vision of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Philippine Olympic Committee, National Sports Associations and leagues like the PBA, PBL, UAAP and NCAA.

Regarding the Olympics, Dr. Argent said she lectured for a semester on Olympic Studies and often integrates Olympism in her Sport Event Management and Sport Business curriculum. She has attended the Olympic Postgraduate Academy and has worked closely with Professor Ian Henry who heads the Center for Olympic Studies at Loughborough and is involved in high-level Olympic research.

Dr. Argent is the author of several published works, including an econometric analysis of team performance, market characteristics and attendance in the English Soccer Premier League, a study on developing leaders through sport and extensive reviews on books about boxing. She previously worked for IBM Global Network in a sport sponsorship project, lectured at Loughborough and City of Westminster College and promoted academic initiatives in South Africa for an investment bank consultancy.

“My main research interests focus on the transferability of sport skills to business, the development of skills through collegiate sport, sport leadership and sport management,” she said.