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Alta states: Re-defining the ‘Olympic Family’

Getting it right for 2010
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Will the parents of the Olympic athletes be in the stands in 2010?

At first, I wasn’t going to write about it. After all, when 10,000 of the world’s most voracious journalists had finished gnawing on the bones of the Beijing Games, there wasn’t much that hadn’t been written, talked about or filmed. Still, I thought there were a few things Whistlerites could learn from the most recent Olympic show.

Can anyone say “over the top”? OK, so the Summer Games are much, much bigger in scope than their winter cousin. In fact, it’s fair to say that the 2010 edition will be a far more modest affair — in every category. Indeed, speaking strictly in terms of competition, more than half the world will be absent. Kenyans? Forget about it — they don’t do winter (at least not our version of winter). Jamaicans? No way — other than their bobsled incursion in 1988, these fleet-footed sprinters just aren’t comfortable when the thermometer dips below zero. Same goes for the Brazilians and Mexicans and Moroccans and Algerians and just about anybody else living south of the Tropic of Cancer. Even Australia (that great summer sporting power) struggles to put together a competitive team for the Winter Games.

In terms of global spectacle, the summer version is truly unique. And that brings on a whole freight of weighty issues. To see how the leaders of the world’s most populous country chose to spend their hard-earned billions to showcase China’s emerging power really made me wonder about the future.

Are the Summer Games sustainable in the way they seem to balloon in cost at every quadrennial? Will the modern version of this classic sports fest eventually implode under its own weight? Is it really about sport anymore? Only time will tell…

Safe to say, though, that the North-of-Cancer Games will be less of a big-money extravaganza than what we saw in Beijing. Nonetheless, there are a few important lessons for Whistlerites here — as well as an opportunity to correct a longstanding Olympic inequity that is both unreasonable and unpardonable. For once again both the IOC and the Chinese forgot to acknowledge the most important members in the Olympic family.

Picture this: for the last 10 or 15 — or even 20 — years, you’ve completely invested in the sports dreams of your son or daughter. Whether swimming or skiing or badminton or luge, the buck has stopped at your front door. You’re the one that’s gotten up at 4 in the morning to drive your kid to practice; you’re the one who’s frozen your butt off on the side of the hill “volunteering” your time as a gatekeeper or a referee; you’re the one who has driven halfway across the country yet again to make sure your child gets to compete in this special race or attend this necessary training camp; and finally, you’re the one who’s shelled out $10,000-$15,000 (in after-tax semolians) every year to make sure that your athlete has a chance of “moving up the ladder” with better coaches or finer facilities or a more competitive environment.

But it hasn’t been only an investment in time and money. You too have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous sports fortunes. You’ve cried by the hospital bed while your child has had to face the reality of missing a season due to a broken leg; watched the devastation of an athlete being told that they’re not going to a Games event because of politics rather than performance; struggled to convince educators that missing three or four months of school was also “educational”; wondered, in awe, at how much hard work and injuries and disappointment your kid could take — and all in the service of becoming a world class athlete. It’s a brutal lifestyle. And certainly not suited to everyone. After all, for every Olympic podium finish, there are at least 10,000 tears…

I can see those of you who’ve been there nodding in agreement. Doesn’t matter whether you’re from Whistler, Paris, Oslo or Shanghai — doesn’t matter whether you’re a former skier, gymnast, hockey player or a sideline cheerleader — being the parent of an Olympic-class athlete is all about sacrifice. And sports parents (particularly the high performance sports parents) can recognize each other almost immediately. Sure, there are lots of highs. But the costs (emotional, financial, social even) are staggering.

Still, if you’re like me, and you believe that sports is a means not an end, you understand that reaching the podium is just one (very) small by-product of a much more important experience. As Olympic champion Hugh Fisher told me recently, “ For me, winning an Olympic gold medal was a very important thing. But I realize now that during all those years of competition, I also got to experience things that today I value much more than my gold medal…”

So, after all that effort, your kid finally makes an Olympic Team. All those hours, all that suffering: now your child’s dreams of international glory are before them. One would think that as a parent of this young Olympian, you would be an honoured guest at the Games. I mean, unless you live in a country where the kids are taken away at three and trained in a state-run sports gulag, there is no one more responsible for your child’s athletic success than you. Right? Besides, the IOC aggressively promotes its own version of the “Olympic Family”. Hell, the best seats at every event are reserved for the special VIPs with that all-encompassing “Olympic Family” accreditation…

Alas, few Olympic parents ever get that kind of accreditation. And once the Games have begun, you’re on your own, pal. There’s no limousine waiting, no fancy VIP lounge, virtually no accommodations made for you and your spouse (and/or your other kids who’ve come to cheer their sibling on). But what really gets me, is the fact that no one in any Olympic organizing committee ever considers the parents of athletes important enough to justify giving them free access to the events in which their children are competing.

Talk about short-sighted…

And it’s not getting any better, believe me. As a proud alumni of C-SPOT (Canadian Swim Parents Organizing Themselves), I heard horror stories this summer of mums and dads literally begging for tickets at the venue doors in order to get the chance to watch their child compete in the biggest event of their life. “Was I worried about buying from scalpers?” one parent e-mailed me. “Hell no! All that mattered to me was getting a ticket…”

Meanwhile, the official Olympic Family’s seating area remained half-full at best. Why? Because the Visa and McDonald’s and Samsung executives — who had absolutely nothing invested in the athletes — were all too busy schmoozing together at some fancy cocktail party to actually bother attending sporting events.

Do you see where I’m going here? Because of the more intimate nature of the Winter Games, Whistlerites have an opportunity to provide the world with a whole new wrinkle on the Olympic Family theme in 2010. Indeed, with some progressive thinking and a little creative interaction, Whistler could introduce a groundbreaking initiative during our two-week sports party that could, potentially, revolutionize the way athletes’ parents are recognized and honoured for the work they’ve done in getting their kids to this point in their sporting careers.

An aside: most of the parents of Olympic athletes that I’ve interacted with over the years are hardworking, uncomplaining individuals who believe it is their responsibility to provide these kinds of opportunities for their kids. Few would ever expect to be treated with any degree of ceremony or pomp just because they stepped up to the plate and helped their children achieve their dreams. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to acknowledge their hard work and dedication too?

I mean, how many times did we hear Canadian journalists complain about our lack of podium hardware in Beijing? How many times did we hear politicians bemoan our modest standing in the world’s biggest sporting event? Well, politicians and journalists be damned, if it wasn’t for these Canadian parents putting out for their children — and doing so with very little fanfare or attention — our status as a sporting nation would be even more risible.

So what do you say Whistler? Ready to get radical?

Imagine, if you can, a special viewing area at the base of the downhill course reserved for the parents of athletes: Austrians, Slovenians, French, Japanese, Americans, Italians and Canadians. Special accreditation, unique social events, an opportunity to exchange views with people from vastly different cultures — a whole new edifice could be constructed acknowledging the vital role played in the overall Olympic gestalt by sporting parents.

Conceptually, it’s a slam-dunk. And we have a great advantage on our side. For I know for a fact that VANOC boss John Furlong is more than a little sympathetic to the concept…

Now I also know that there are initiatives afoot in the valley to host athletes’ parents from other countries during February 2010. And I think it’s a wonderful idea — and one that we should all embrace enthusiastically! But why stop there? Why not go all the way and provide FREE tickets to people who actually deserve them? I think it could make for a great Whistler story. What do you think?