After a rigorous selection period, aspiring sports marketing professional Ollie Silverton has won the dream sports industry apprenticeship with GMR Marketing in what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

As part of the title of the “Ultimate Sports & Entertainment Apprentice”, Silverton will attend and report on major sports and entertainment events around the world for the next 12 months. These include the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco, the 2016 UEFA European Championships in Paris and a whole lot more.

After entrants opened in August, applicants went through an application process that lasted approximately six weeks in which Siverton passed with flying colours, including a 24 hour challenge at the Rugby World Cup in October.

He will commence in the position from December when he will fly to Sydney for the Extreme Sailing Series.

Conceived by GMR Marketing, in collaboration with SportBusiness Group, the apprenticeship will provide Ollie with 10 years’ experience in 12 months, whilst providing the next generation of sports marketers and the industry at large with enlightening insights.

The selection process was rigorous with a range of challenges judged by a panel of experts from GMR Marketing, SportBusiness Group and the Youth Sport Trust.

Silverton said that it was an incredible opportunity that is literally the dream job.

“I’m ecstatic I have been selected, the feeling is incomparable to anything else. I don’t think it is going to sink in until I am on the plane to Sydney” he said.

“This job is simply unbelievable, it combines quite literally every passion of mine with a mix of sport, travel, marketing, writing and presenting. I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve had from friends who are delighted for me but also a bit jealous.”

Ollie begins his apprenticeship with a media training week with SportBusiness Group where he will be spending time with the ATP and LTA at the World Tour Finals at London’s O2 arena.

Editor of SportBusiness International Owen Evans said that Silverton possessed the quick thinking to deal excellently with the unpredictable.

“The final three candidates were all excellent, but Ollie stood out for his quick-thinking at the final challenge in the Rugby World Cup fanzone,” he said.

“We knew from the outset that whoever won this needed to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations, whether that be filming on board a boat in the extreme sailing series in Sydney or interviewing Hollywood celebrities on the Oscar’s red carpet, so I was impressed by Ollie’s creativity in this area.”

Interested people can follow Silverton around the world at www.gmrmarketing.com and on Twitter via @GMRMarketingUK.