Vice versa

SportsAmbassadors' visit to the USA in 2010

myAmerica highlights initiatives that promote US-Belgian exchanges and wants to recognize the efforts of individuals who have distinguished themselves in this area.  A few days ago we interviewed Dominique Notebaert, the mastermind behind SportsAmbassadors.

myAmerica: Could you tell us something about yourself, who you are, what part of the country you are from, and where you position yourself professionally?

Dominique Notebaert: My name is Dominique Notebaert, I'm living in Kuurne, West-Flanders with my wife and two kids. Working as a purchaser for a big company in spare parts for fork lift trucks in Waregem, I come into contact with suppliers from all over the world. Together with Tom Ghiesmans I founded SportsAmbassadors.

myAmerica: Please describe Sports Ambassadors?  Is it a local organization, or is it part of an international organization?  What role are you playing in this organization?

Dominique Notebaert: SportsAmbassadors is a local organization founded some 15 years ago, but the vzw SportsAmbassadors was founded after the 2004 trip. We’re affiliated with the Cape Cod Sports Ambassadors from Massachusetts, USA.  Since July I’m acting as chairman of the organization.

myAmerica: You organize an annual exchange program with the Cape Cod Sports Ambassadors.  How long has this been going on and how did it originate?  How many people participate in each year's exchange?

Dominique Notebaert: The roots of the exchange program is to be found in Orleans, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Jon and Beverly Fuller have been setting up trips to Europe since the early 80’s. Every two years they took a group of basketball players (of which Jon Fuller was the coach) to explore Europe culturally and to play some basketball against local teams.

During each trip they stayed in Kortrijk for some days. The kids stayed in home stays and learned the habits and way of live in a real family situation. Together with Tom Ghiesmans I got involved in the program looking for families that wanted to host the American kids -- that was in the early 90's.  Jon and  Beverly Fuller suggested that we would set up a similar trip to the States. It took some preparations but in 1996 the first trip was a fact. Since then we’ve organized the trip 5 times (since 2004 we went every 2 years with between 30 and 40 kids each trip. We're getting ready for the next trip in 2012.  The American visit to Kortrijk was cancelled the last few year's due to the economy and the euro-dollar rate that made the trip expensive.

myAmerica: What is the purpose of bringing young people together?  What is the underlying philosophy of SportsAmbassadors?

Dominique Notebaert: The purpose is to bring the Belgian kids (Basket ball players from Kortrijk and broader area) in contact with the American way of live. We take our kids to Cape Cod and there they stay in home stays for about 5 days. While staying there the kids play basketball games and visit the region. That way they learn a lot about the real kind of america, the America that they don’t see on TV. It’s a cultural and sports trip.

After our stay on Cape Cod we take them to Boston and New York so that they can see as much as possible. We also go to a NBA game of the Boston Celtics and this year we went to see the New York Knick's in Madison Square Garden also. It’s amazing to see how our young kids (14-16 years old) live towards this trip and come back with several bags of new experiences, friends, impressions...

myAmerica: Besides your organization, are there any other groups in Belgium and in the USA involved in a similar Belgian-American sports exchange program?

Dominique Notebaert: As far as we know there are no non-commercial organizations that work the way we do.  It’s really thanks to the close contact we have with Mr and Mrs Fuller that this project can keep working. It’s a unique system that we cherish very deeply

myAmerica: What are the advantages of participating in an exchange program from a participant's perspective?

Dominique Notebaert: It’s a once in a lifetime experience.  To use the words of our kids when they get there: ‘whaw’!  They get to see in real live what they hear and see on TV, playing their favorite sports against local teams, meeting new kids in the same age groups.  Although the kids on both ends of the program are raised in relative similar democratic countries ,  grow up with the same music, TV programs,  and such, they learn that there are still a lot of differences between them. They visit big cities such as Boston and New York, they learn about the history, get to see NBA-games, and much much more.  But what really gets to them is the time they spend in the host families. In only a couple of days they become a part of the family, a new family they can’t say goodbye to. Several of the kids have returned on their own to spend their holidays on Cape Cod. Needless to say that they like it very much.

myAmerica: Are there any observations you want to make about things you learned, or projects you are working on?

Dominique Notebaert: What we learned from the trips and the comments we get from kids and parents is that we must keep on trying to make these trips possible, although they are very expensive (transportation). The feedback we get is so overwhelming that we can’t ignore them. Already we have a lot of kids lined up of for the next trip. Parents are already planning fundraising this, creating a close connection between them. It’s a perfect example of community work.

Actually we’ve adapted the way of working that Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have been doing for over 20 years. It’s thanks to their never diminishing efforts that we can keep on going with this program.

myAmerica: Who should young people interested in this program or adults interesting in setting up a similar program get in touch with?

Dominique Notebaert: They can visit our website http://www.sportsambassadors.be and contact us through there. We’re always looking for new contacts in the United States, preferably in a region close to a big city. A good network is the keystone. You can do a lot through the internet, but a local contact is indispensable.

myAmerica: Thanks very much.