Alex Baumann's hiring as executive director of the Road to Excellence program is a case of substance over style, according to some of Canada's prominent Olympic athletes.
"I don't think it's a celebrity thing at all," said kayaker Adam van Koeverden, an Olympic gold medallist. "I know he's incredibly talented at what he does. He's been an amazing sports administrator."
Baumann, the accomplished Canadian Olympic swimmer, has worked in the Australian amateur sports system for the past decade, most recently as the executive director for the Queensland Academy of Sport, which produced many of Australia's best Olympic athletes.
Canada's summer athletes were looking longingly at the millions being pumped into Canada's winter sports programs as part of the build-up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
To them, Baumann's hiring, on top of the ambitious Road to Excellence blueprint -- looking to see more than $88 million in new annual funding pumped primarily into targeted Olympic and Paralympic sports deemed most likely to produce medals not only in 2008 but in London at the 2012 Summer Olympics as well -- is a needed shot in the arm in a nation where winter sports is the priority.
Yesterday Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer Chris Rudge announced the COC was kicking $5 million to the summer cause.
"After 2010 was announced, a lot of focus was put on the winter sports, a lot of money was put into that, and some of us (summer Olympians) were saying, 'What about us?,' " said Keith Beavers, the Olympic swimmer and reigning Canadian record holder in the 200-metre backstroke. "There was frustration. It's nice to have a program (for the summer athletes). I think to get this structure and organization behind us, and for them to communicate that plan to us, with more funding, is a good step for all of us."
Putting more money into Canada's training infrastructure should be the priority, van Koeverden said. Canoeist Tamas Buday Jr. said Baumann's hiring and additional funding for summer athletics is as much for the younger athletes coming up. "We need to feed the youngsters' hope and desire, to give them opportunities," Buday said.
Said Curt Harnett, the former Olympian: "Ultimately this announcement is an indication that any frustration should end. If people are still concerned or frustrated that the investment isn't there then they're out of touch."
