2015 Pan Am Games Needs A Strong Ombudsman

As one of its first acts in organizing the 2015 Pan Am Games, Toronto needs to appoint an effective and unfettered ombudsman.

These projects are way too rife with opportunists and nepotism -- not to mention a whole lot of other “ists” and “isms” -- and it’s critical that the committee that runs this project to not only be seen to do the right thing but TO DO the right thing.

There’s a lot of skepticism about the Games and every decision taken has to be made with the best interest of the city, sport, kids and athletes at the forefront, not personal interests or ambition.

Please send along any suggestions as to who you think would fit the bill. I'm sure those running the 2015 Pan Ams would appreciate the help.

One person who comes to mind from personal experience is Doug Hamilton, an Olympic rowing bronze medalist and world champion who is now a successful lawyer. He was Rowing Canada’s high performance director during the glory days of Marnie McBean, Silken Laumann and Derek Porter during the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

He got involved because the rowing program was a mess at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where he last competed. He did it all as an unpaid volunteer and declined to travel to events because he knew the coaches and athletes didn’t need him there to do their jobs. In other words, he definitely was not there for personal glory.

He was heavily involved in Toronto’s unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Olympics -- the athletes and others who worked with him sang his praises. Again, it was all unpaid volunteer work. He was part of the 2015 Pan Am bid, but apparently walked away because he found too many people with their own agendas.

Sounds like a perfect ombud to me – if he would take such a role. Also sounds like the kind of guy some people involved with the Games might not want around.

A Touch of Klassen: There was a very good sign that speed skater Cindy Klassen is on the right path in her difficult comeback from double knee surgery at the World Cup in Berlin this past weekend, her first competition in nearly two years.

Klassen was paired with Christine Nesbitt on Sunday in the women’s 1,500 metres and she stuck right with her teammate off the start, which is usually Nesbitt’s strong suit at that distance. Nesbitt thought she wasn’t going fast enough because she hadn’t put more distance between herself and Klassen after one lap, but she’d underestimated her teammate.

Nesbitt wound up winning by nearly a second and a half, while Klassen was a solid ninth in the race.

“To be honest, she’s way further ahead than I expected her to be at this point,” said Nesbitt.

Sweet Ride: The Canadian speed skating team takes about an eight-hour bus ride from Berlin to the Netherlands today for the next World Cup, but it should be a sweet one.

The medalists at the Berlin World Cup all got big chocolate bears on the podium along with their medals and flowers. Nesbitt and teammate Britanny Schussler, third in the 1,500 metres, planned on cracking open the hollow bears on the bus ride to share with their mates.

Blurring Lines: The Globe and Mail has an article on Olympic ambush marketing, always an interesting topic. The only thing they forgot to mention is that the Globe is the “official” newspaper of the Olympics.

Wonder if that has any effect on all their fawning coverage of the torch relay, in which nine members of the Globe – including Phillip Crawley, publisher and ceo; John Stackhouse, editor-in-chief and prominent columnists Roy MacGregor, Stephen Brunt and Gary Mason – are carrying the Olympic torch.

Blurred lines, indeed.

Comments

[bob richardson]

think that is an interesting and useful idea randy. doug hamilton did great work on both bids. cheers.

[Michael Clifton]

I'd like to put the name of Fernando Pardo out there as a candidate for the Ombudsman's role.

I know few people who are as fair minded or have as much integrity as Fernando (I'd trust the lives of my children to his care), and to go along with that he has significant experience as a coach (I am aware of his work in Alberta, Puerto Rico and Waterloo), working on sports facility development, sporting events, and currently is a sports marketing professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson Univeristy.

Plus, it is my understanding Fernando was part of the team that delivered Toronto's intial proposal to bid for the Games. His fluency in Spanish and knowledge of many of the key players facilitated that delivery.

In addition to being born in Chile, Fernando has lived in Peru, has family in Costa Rica. He has great understanding of the cultures and countries of many participants in the games. At the same time, Fernando has lived in Canada (Alberta and Ontario) since his early youth.

In short:

- as a coach and sports marketing expert, he has excellent understanding of athletes and athletic events;

- having worked with many young athletes, he understands their ambitions, issues and needs;

- as a project manager for the development of sports facilities, he brings skills and knowledge that could help this aspect of the Games to be done right;

- as a "Canadian Latin American" he has understanding of the cultures and countries that most other candidates might not have, and the credibility that goes with that;

- as an academic by profession, he has a neutral position, with no ambitions that would undermine carrying out the requirements of this office with integrity;

- and besides all that, he is an honest and fair man; a rare commodity almost anywhere these days.

[Nick Thierry]

2015 there will major world championships in swimming and track and field, probably many others.

When the Pan Ams are scheduled will be crucial in attracting the best available athletes. Canada has been sending B swim teams in 2003 and 2007, same for the USA. There are just way too many international opportunities for the top athletes with appearance and prize money.

Any new facilities will need legacy funds for future upkeep and reasonable access for community use.