TORONTO - Even though the 2012 Olympics in London, England should be culturally quite comfortable for many on the Canadian team — especially compared to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China — there are still challenges and potential distractions to worry about and plan for.
That’s the message the Canadian Olympic Committee is sharing with nearly 150 of the country’s top coaches, team leaders, mental performance consultants and media attachés at a three-day Olympic preparation workshop in Cornwall, Ont., from Monday to Wednesday this week.
“Canada’s success at the Olympic Games is contingent on coaches and support staff deeply understanding the Games environment and building strategies on how their contribution will shape an athlete’s performance,” said Caroline Assalian, the COC’s executive managing director of sport and NSF (national sport federation) relations. “With Beijing, I think they expected a lot of things to be different, and those that have been to London expected things to be more familiar than they actually have been. The food is a little bit different. The transportation, they have to take that in to consideration. Things take longer than what is expected.”
The workshop is an effort to set the stage for a successful performance environment for the Canadian team at the next summer Olympics, to be held in London, July 27 to Aug. 9, 2012. The gathering marks the shift from an intense focus on winter sports, over to summer sports. The change is due, yet the COC also wants to carry the momentum from hosting the Vancouver Olympics to benefit its summer program.
“The summer athletes absolutely deserve that support that Canadians have shown the winter athletes,” said Assalian. “It’s their turn to be at the centre of our attention, centre of our consciousness and more than anything else, that’s what the winter athletes want for the summer athletes.
“Speaking to the athletes, what came out of Vancouver was how much the support from Canadians actually had a positive impact on their performance. That’s something we didn’t expect to that extent.”
It’s also something that could be replicated to some degree in London — since about half a million Canadians are based in the UK. The Canadian team is looking at ways to leverage the involvement of those expats.
“We’re building relationships with the High Commission, because these Canadians want to help,” noted Assalian. “That’s something that’s quite new to us in an Olympic environment.”
One challenge with an Olympics Games where the athletes feel comfortable in their surroundings and speak the host language is the temptation to leave their high performance bubble and go visiting or exploring. For example, the fact that athletes could stroll down the street in Vancouver and go to Starbucks was convenient, but also risked fracturing the team. Officials countered that by putting a spirited effort into creating a united Canadian team.
“The athletes said that was the greatest positive impact on performance,” Assalian noted. “We’re trying to build that (again), so even though there are the distractions, the athletes are focused first and foremost on competing. They’ve got each other to rely on.”
The workshop is designed to examine the vision and mission of all 32 Canadian summer sports competing in London. Speakers include General Rick Hillier, Olympic rowing legend Marnie McBean and 2010 Olympic bobsleigh champion Heather Moyse.
It is the second part of the COC’s Olympic Preparation Series. The first took place in Ottawa in May 2010, with invitations extended to coaches and team leaders. The next will take place in November 2011 in Toronto with the Olympic Excellence Series, where athletes, coaches, team leaders and support staff will meet for an intensive Olympic tune-up.
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