New EcoAthletes Champion Oppong Hemeng Fences for Ghana, Promotes Green-Sports in USA
Oppong Hemeng is a dual citizen of Ghana and the United States. He fences for the former; grew up, studied, lives and works in the latter.
This duality gives him a unique perspective when it comes to climate change.
Oppong Hemeng in action (Photo credit: Oppong Hemeng)
His annual visits to the West African country for fencing competitions have allowed Hemeng to see climate injustice — how the impacts of climate change are felt most heavily by people who are least able to adapt and react — up close and personal. And as a fencer at both the University of Houston and the University of Florida, and now as sports-sustainability specialist at North Carolina State, Hemeng has seen the power of sports, with its massive reach and influence, also firsthand.
Hemeng feels a personal responsibility to do what he can, both in athletic administration and as an athlete, to make a difference on climate, especially for the most at-risk communities. That is why he has become EcoAthletes’ newest Champion and its first fencer.
“Addressing the intersectionality of the climate crisis, from social, racial, economic and environmental injustice points-of-view, is important to me,” the world class foil[1] specialist related. “Being part of an organization like EcoAthletes that helps bring these issues to the fore is exciting.”
His circuitous route to becoming a world-class fencer prepares him well for, with apologies to the Beatles, the long and winding road that is the climate fight.
“Most fencing Olympians are between 18-30; I started at 18!” recalled Hemeng. “I had played basketball and football growing up in Arlington, Texas. Never gave fencing a thought until I was a freshman at the University of Houston and saw the fencing club practicing at the rec center. I wanted to try something different and really enjoyed it. It was a lot harder than I thought, taking power, strength, and the ability to read the opponent. It made me think. Somehow, I was able to qualify for national Division III tournaments.”
Hemeng continued has fencing career as a grad student in sport management at the University of Florida. And he added sustainability to his academic work.
“My thesis topic was ‘Bringing Sustainability to Recreational and Varsity Sports,” Hemeng shared. “So, from that point forward, I knew I wanted to work in Green-Sports because large sporting organizations have a responsibility to promote sustainability to their fans. I mean, when the Florida Gators play a home game to a full house of 92,000 fans, the stadium becomes the 30th largest city in the state. We have a captive audience for positive sustainability and climate messaging.”
He helped deliver that messaging while working in the sustainability office at the University of Florida in 2015.
“I worked on special projects with the Athletics Department under the forward-thinking Athletics Director Scott Foley and Sustainability Director Matt Williams,” offered Hemeng. “Our goal was to make the entire sports platform as sustainable as possible. From waste diversion to working with the marketing department on sustainability-focused promotions, to hosting Green Games, to engaging athletes, to bringing our approach to our Southeastern Conference (SEC) rivals and more.”
After working at Florida for five years, Hemeng moved on to North Carolina State University of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), where he was asked to lead sustainability efforts on the Raleigh campus. One of his major initiatives is to help athletics play an important role.
“The ACC office supports our efforts from the top,” Hemeng noted. “NC State hosted the first ACC Sports-Sustainability Conference in 2019 and will continue to lead going forward.”
Looking to the future, Hemeng will work to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics for Ghana — he qualifies for dual citizenship through his parents — and to accelerate the #ClimateComeback at NC State, where he’s finishing a second master’s degree in ‘Climate Change and Society’, and as an EcoAthletes Champion.
“I look forward to working with my fellow Champions to bring positive climate messaging and solutions to sports fans worldwide,” Hemeng said. “Athletes have the power to make a difference; now we have to use it.”
EcoAthletes founder and CEO Lew Blaustein is excited to add Hemeng to the Champions squad.
“Oppong is the rare sports-sustainability practitioner who is also a world class athlete,” Blaustein noted. “That experience will be invaluable to us as an organization and to his fellow Champions as we work to build the #ClimateComeback.”
[1] Foil is one of three disciplines in fencing; epee and sabre are the other two.