Skating Carnivals and Club Bulletin Boards: Values at a glance?

Abstract

As a participant, parent, or observer bulletin boards and trophy cases are commonplace in skating arenas. Who appears on the bulletin board? Are all participants showcased equally? Similarly, many figure skating clubs hold a year end skating carnival to showcase the club’s skaters and finish up the skating season. Who receives a solo in the club carnival? Few stop to consider the meanings that may be inferred from these objects and ceremonies. Studying organizational culture attempts to explore an organization in depth thus gaining an understanding of how people interpret the meanings of the environment around them (Martin, 2002). Schein (1992) explores organizational culture through three levels: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. The various levels represent an increasing depth of understanding the culture of the organization. Artifacts, such as bulletin boards and club carnivals, are the visible manifestations of the culture and may give insight into organizational values. The purpose of this study was to understand the values of a figure skating club as seen through artifacts. Data were collected through systematic observations of the home club lobby and year end skating carnival. Results showed that skating ability and accomplishments were a dominant value at this club. Skaters with significant achievements throughout the year were highlighted on bulletin boards and received solos in the carnival. Potential implications of this dominant value on club development will be presented. Bulletin Boards and Carnivals which are commonplace at figure skating clubs may give insight into the club values. What messages are they sending to club participants?