New COC president Marcel Aubut loves a parade

Turns out that new Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut loves a parade.

Actually, that's no surprise as Aubut is definitely a showman. The plans he unveiled Wednesday in Montreal for a parade of Canadian Olympians along the Stanley Cup parade route used by Les Habitants in their glory days definitely fit his modus operandi.

He also showed his penchant for doing things on a grand scale by inviting the entire 206-member team for a two-day celebration in Ottawa on Parliament Hill on April 22 and then Montreal on April 23, where a gala will feature such performers as Sarah McLachlan, Tom Cochrane and Simple Plan.

The Aubut detractors – and they are many – will see this as another sign of him satisfying his ego. For one thing, Aubut takes over officially as president during this time so they're viewing this party as a coronation for the new king. And one definitely has to wonder about the expense of the whole thing.

But in many ways, this is exactly what Canadian Olympic sport needs. They need to promote themselves. They need to find ways to keep the amazing momentum of the 2010 Winter Olympics going. Those athletes do definitely deserve a parade.

Let's hope it's planned well so there's a huge crowd – especially school kids – along the route. Let's hope Aubut isn't going to be at the front of the motorcade.

The real proof of Aubut's legacy, though, will be in the bottom line. The COC needs to generate a lot of sponsorship dollars to replace all the money they'll be missing now that they're no longer hosting an Olympics. It's Aubut's success in this regard, his ability to rouse the business community that will ultimately define his legacy.

Own The Podium has proven itself to be a great success. Aubut's attempts to to have the COC take control of that program failed, but it's the COC who ultimately will be providing much of the funds needed by OTP to help the athletes move forward.

This is going to be an interesting ride for sure. And it all starts with a parade.

Comments

[diana]

Hi Randy. You sound as if you approve of all this.
If only we could see the price tag for this weekend....we won't, as you know, since the COC doesn't divulge financial info.
There's no question that Olympians need a higher profile, and greater public support, constantly. The COC can help make this happen, but, at what cost?

[Colin Ford]

While it may seem extravagant, the entire cost of funding Olympic athletes is only a fraction of the money wasted by such ventures as eHealth in Ontario. And the irony is that the performance of our athletes made me feel better than all of the medical efforts over the past 10 years.