Locals setting off for Olympics
By: Jeremy Nolais
As the world descends on Vancouver for the 2010 Games, Cochrane will have its fair share of individuals involved in the world-class event in some capacity.
And while the Games will span 16 days across dozens of venues, Cochrane’s Paul Dorotich is more concerned with hundredths of a second. Dorotich works as a performance analyst with Canada’s national long-track speed-skating team.
He is tasked with videotaping and reviewing training runs in hopes of providing constructive feedback to athletes that could shave precious fractions of a second off their finishing times.
“My role is really to support the coaches in terms of what they do with the athletes for feedback, results, testing and so on,” he explained.
Dorotich, who did similar work in biathlon before funding cuts forced him to look elsewhere, believes Canadian skaters are ready for the pressure-packed races looming ahead of them.
He predicted that veterans of the Canadian team — Denny Morrison, Kristina Groves and Clara Hughes just to name a few — will bring home multiple medals from the Games.
“We’re going to do great,” Dorotich said. “We have got some really, really strong skaters . . . they are a really solid team.”
Cochrane's Paul Dorotich will be trackside at the Olympics, working as a performance analyst to help Canada's long-track speed-skaters achieve their top times. Photo submitted
Much like Dorotich, Cochrane’s Stephanie Collins will deal with Canadian athletes in Vancouver on a daily basis, only she will be more concerned with the marketing and accommodation side of things. Collins, who has lived in Cochrane since 1990, works for a sport marketing firm called Agenda.
Stephanie Collins
The upstart business, founded by Russell Reimer and Colin Young, will represent five Canadian athletes at the Games: long-track speed-skaters Morrison and Groves, short-track speed-skating brothers Charles andFrancois Hamelin, and the world’s No. 1 snowboarder cross athlete, Maelle Ricker.
“It’s not your typical Jerry Maguire-type job,” Collins said. “It’s a very tight family feel at Agenda. (The athletes) are just so humble in what they do, they’re down-to-Earth people and are a lot fun to work with.”
Coming out of high school, Collins realized she had a knack for business and had always played numerous sports.
Sport marketing seemed like a natural fit and thus she decided to obtain her business degree at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
“Sports have always been a big part of my life,” said Collins, who will man Agenda’s office operations for the first week of the Games and then head to Vancouver for the second week.
“They really can break barriers and bring people together.”
Cochranite Kathleen Wright knows firsthand the impact that sports can have on an individual’s life. She competed with Canada’s top female bobsled team from 1998-2001 and 2004-2006.
Wright was originally supposed to go for gold in the Canada 1 sled at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, but personal matters forced her to watch from the sidelines.
Now, she will work in the press relations office in Whistler, helping to get photos and stories out to the media for all bobsled, luge and skeleton events.
“It’s a minimum of 10-hour shifts with the possibility of them being 14-16 hours,” Wright said. “It’s going to be a long haul.”
Having said that, Wright has fond memories of attending both the 2002 and 2006 Games as a spectator and looks forward to return to the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Like Wright, Springbank snowboarder Michelle Brodeur knows how tough it can be to miss out on the Olympics.
The 20-year-old was primed to take a run at qualifying for the Olympics this season until she tore her anterior cruciate ligament during training in December.
Now, Michelle and her father Chris Brodeur will work as volunteers for the snowboarding events at the Games.
Michelle Brodeur, left, and her father Chris will work as volunteers for snowboarding events at Cypress Hill during the Olympics. Photo by Jeremy Nolais
“It kind of sucks but at least I’ll be in the action sort of,” said Michelle, who is currently in rehab and hopes to be back on the slopes in a few months.
“It’s kind of about filling my space by doing something interesting.”
Michelle will likely work in the information booth at Cypress Mountain, the official snowboard and freestyle skiing venue for the Games, while Chris will serve as a course worker.
“Twenty-five thousand volunteers are needed for the Games to run smoothly,” Chris said. “It’s not that exclusive of a gig. I thought if I am going to do I might as well be on the hill we are used to.”
Joining the Brodeurs at the Games will be Grade 12 Bow Valley student Stacey Morris.
A winner of the ATCO Celebrating Excellence Program, Morris was one of 166 students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 who submitted a short essay on how they are a leader in their community for a chance to attend the Games.
“(The essay) was on how volleyball has impacted my life,” said Morris, adding the sport has shaped her life and how she relates to others.
The students get to bring one parent or guardian along with them, and Morris is bringing her 18-year-old best friend because her parents are in Orlando, Florida, at the time.
Morris said she is not sure about what she gets to attend, but they have been told they are going to a Canada/Sweden women’s hockey game.
“I am really excited,” she said, especially because she is an athlete. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it’s on Canadian soil.”
There was also 83 runner-ups in the contest, including Cochrane High’s Grade 12 student Jessica Greschner, who won a laptop.
Cochrane's Mackenzie Greenwell stands outside of BC Place as he gets ready to tap dance onto the world’s biggest stage at the Olympic opening ceremonies Feb. 12. Photo submitted
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The Olympic games are starting right now. So far its off to a rough start with the death of a man from Georgia. Keeping him in our prayers!