The moment the world, especially Canadians, has been waiting for is nearly upon us. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games are just over a month away and the organizing committee, along with the many participating nations, are feverishly preparing for this massive collaboration of people and sport. The Canadian delegation is no exception and, unbeknownst to most, one of the key individuals resides just down the street from UNB. Betty Norris, the Director of Team Operations, was kind enough to sit down with The Brunswickan and talk about her experiences with the Olympic Games.
Norris has risen in the ranks of Olympic organizers from the grassroots level. She played an important role in managing the New Brunswick rowing team in the 1985 Canada Games in Saint John and was approached by a manager from the national squad. Her managerial skills developed as she worked with the national rowing team where she was able to experience World Championships and the Pan-American Games, where her skills were noticed yet again.
“They did ‘87 Pan-American Games in Indianapolis and the ‘91 Games in Havana, and I fostered a good relationship with the Canadian Olympic Association, now the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the staff working at the time. Leading up to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, I got a call a year before and it was the Canadian Olympic Association. They were recruiting volunteers to be a part of their mission team.”
Immediately, Norris was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity. The experience was a positive one for both her and the Olympic Committee, and she was recruited for the ‘96 in Atlanta, the ‘98 games in Nagano, and was appointed the assistant chef de mission for the 2000 Games in Sydney. “Leading the team in Opening Ceremonies of the Games [in Sydney] with the chef de mission, Diane Jones Konihowski, I thought ‘Nothing is better than this. This is the ultimate.’ I thought in terms of international experience that this was the pinnacle, but two months after the Games was over I got a call from Mark Lowry, the Executive Director for the Games Unit. He asked if I would be interested in doing a secondment with them leading into the Salt Lake City Game.”
The Olympic Committee was going through some turnover in staff, and Norris was asked to fill one of the vacant positions. Taking a leave of absence from her government job, she then proceeded to manage all village operations in Salt Lake City.
“I got bit the by the bug. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I had to make a decision to stay with the province or the organization, but I just felt I was ready for a change in my career. So, I started working with [the COC] full time and my role has evolved in terms of being in a management position. I’m now the Director of Team Operations.”
With her new position, Norris has reaped the benefits of working for the Canadian Olympic Committee.
“Having the opportunity to travel all over the world is great. Mind you, during a lot of the visits you see the airport, the hotel, the meeting room and you’re back home. But I do take advantage sometimes to spend a few extra days to get familiar with the community and the environment we’re going in. Also, the people -- for me it’s just amazing. Although, there are a lot of differences in terms of culture and whatnot, human beings are human beings and it’s those long-lasting friendships that you develop with people.
I was particularly moved by the people of China and how open and forthcoming they were with us. Those are the special moments. I learn and I grow from watching what other people do. I’m in constant awe with the team that is supporting me and their skill set.”
She recalls meeting, interacting, and aiding some of the top athletes.
“One of our high profile medal athletes came to our office one night asking if we had an extra pillow. Even though they were very stringent with the allocation of pillows, this athlete with medal potential needed an extra pillow and you go searching for that pillow. And at the end of the day, he wins that medal and I wonder if that extra pillow helped. And it probably did.”
Even though Norris experienced many wonderful aspects of her job, she still feels the toll of traveling and being away from her husband Kim and her dog Max.
“Traveling does take a lot out of you and being away from family. But I have an incredible amount of support from Kim. It gets on you sometimes, but when I’m away, I’m in Games mode, and your adrenaline sets in and the next thing you know you’re traveling back home because it goes by very quickly. Over the past few years I have been away for quite some time, but that’s my choice.”
The Committee asked her to move to Ottawa for her job, but she was able to remain in Fredericton with her family and currently works out of a home office that could only be described as cozy. Technology has helped her close the gap and has let her work from home. Technology has drastically changed in the past twenty-five years, and Norris was able to watch the progression first hand.
“I remember my first Games in Barcelona where we didn’t have access to computers. In terms of communication, we only had landline telephones or those large military monstrosity walkie-talkies. Things were done through photocopies. We would get results only on paper and in our mail slots. The progression is incredible. In terms of what we do now, everything is instant.”
The Olympics are becoming a viral market and the technology being used to broadcast and report the Games is moving steadily in that direction. However, broadcast technology is not the only technology to progress.
“The other thing from a sports perspective is performance technology. This is an area that we’ve been moving into since Torino and we’ve been working very closely with the Own the Podium Program. We’ll have people capturing the run of an alpine skier, and within minutes the coach will be able to watch the run on camera and take that clip and superimpose it on the leading athletes and actually watch them run side by side and do an analysis. Performance technology is critical now.”
Today, safety issues have risen to the forefront of concerns when organizing the Olympics. Norris recalls being at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, the first Games after the 1972 Munich Games terrorist attack, and seeing the intense security blanketing the events. From then on, issues of security have grown and Norris advised spectators to be patient.
“[Security] has evolved over time because of world events. The level of security at every Games goes up a number of notches. The progression has made things much tighter and you must be patient. If you’re coming into the village and there’s lineup to get in, don’t lose patience. They’re doing the checks for obvious reasons.”
Protests revolving around the Olympics have increased in the past few years as well. Recently, protesters forced the Olympic Torch Marathon to alter its course as they created a blockade in downtown Toronto. However, Norris feels that if the appropriate measures are taken, they Canadian Team will not have to be affected. “They don’t hinder what we need to do, but we are very sensitive to it. We need to prepare our athletes and spokespeople to address the issues when they do come up. It was quite prevalent leading into Beijing with the Tibet and Human Rights issues. We need to provide all the facts to our spokespeople and our athletes so if they are approached on an issue, they can answer appropriately.”
Norris has received a wealth of experience in her travels and work. From discussing how the Olympic uniform fits with Sidney Crosby to hiding a Loonie in the Great Wall of China, she has been very grateful and appreciative of her good fortune and success.
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