Ken Read: The legacy of the ’88 Games — How Calgary and region can elevate sport to benefit all

On the Calgary Olympic journey, it’s important to reflect on where we came from.

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When Frank King boldly applied to compete for the Olympics in late 1979, it’s important to remember what Calgary had to offer back then. The region had three local ski resorts in the mountains, with only Norquay hosting a World Cup in 1972. We were able to host hockey tournaments at the Stampede Corral, but not at an international level. We have hosted Skate Canada events in figure skating. We could host national events in the grounds.

And precious little else. No flames. Very few indoor gyms.

Few could have imagined that four decades later, the winter of 2018-19 would be the busiest international sporting year for Calgary and the region. Sixteen World Cup events have been confirmed. Canadian teams in 11 winter sports used the old 1988 Games facilities as well as newer training and competition facilities. Paralympic participants from the five core sports are fully integrated into the program.

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Five National Sports Organizations (NSOs) now call Calgary or Canmore home. First to move was Alpine Canada, followed by Hockey Canada, Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined Canada, Cross Country Canada and Biathlon Canada. Managing directors, technical directors and sports specialists populate the headquarters.

The Canmore Nordic Centre, Olympic Oval, Canada Olympic Park and several ski resorts – including Lake Louise, Panorama, Norquay and Nakiska – are bustling with activities, filled with athletes of all skill levels, from aspiring Olympians/Paralympians to recreational athletes and families.

The Canadian Sport Institute, based in Canada Olympic Park and with a branch at the Canmore Nordic Centre, is now Canada’s largest and serves 580 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, 173 of whom are representing Canada at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games and the Tokyo 2021 Summer Games. Leading sports services are provided in the areas of coaching, nutrition, medicine, physical therapy, monitoring, instruction and outreach – professionals recruited from Calgary and around the world.

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The Human Performance Lab at the University of Calgary is recognized as one of the premier centers of high-performance sport worldwide, with a list of leading academics who have chosen Canada with a focus on biomechanics, altitude training, medical research and leadership of Canada’s high-performance programs.

Across the broader communities of Calgary and Canmore, coaches, physical therapists, leading sports medicine professionals and sports practitioners in all aspects of sport—from recreational to developmental to elite—populate our hospitals, recreation centers and athletic venues, providing incredible access to our community to sports knowledge.

How much sports infrastructure was there in Calgary in 1980 when Olympic bid was a dream? Nearly nothing. And what there was in alpine skiing, ice hockey and figure skating in 1980 was primarily regional.

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My active years with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team were from 1974 to 1983. There were facilities for physical training, snow training and competitions, but they were basic and certainly not world class. Physical training during the snow-free months was mostly field work – outside – on the University of Calgary campus. I had access to a dirty, rather smelly free weights gym in the basement of the fitness building.

On snow, we did all of our training in Europe or the southern hemisphere, as our existing ski resorts had limited snowmaking facilities and few suitable training locations. While Canada had a core competency in hosting events, it had limited experience at the large international level.

I competed against Europe-based programs that had access to glacier summer venues, national training centers for physical training and monitoring, and several winter venues. Luckily we were able to reach many of these places through the generosity of other nations, but not only did we feel the lack of facilities back home, but also the fact that we couldn’t compete at World Cup level in Canada.

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The same was true for the other sports. no flames No ISU Grand Prix. No World Cup events except Alpine.

Winning the 1988 Olympic bid was the turning point. Venues and facilities were now needed in all Olympic sports. Personnel for the operation was essential. Volunteers had to be trained for events. Officials had to be trained and certified to conduct pre-Olympic events and assist international officials at the Games.

Building that legacy took time. The 1988 Games laid the foundation for building the necessary sports infrastructure. With the venues, the rest could follow.

The sport has an enormous web of human resources that are used not only to support the athletes, but also to run events, organize event logistics, manage budgets and oversee medical and technical aspects. Officers need training. Volunteers need training. The ratio of support to number of athletes in a competition is typically 100:1.

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That was Calgary’s secret weapon: our volunteer ethics.

This is a tremendous legacy that we rarely speak of in Canada but is widely appreciated in the world of international sport. Our volunteers and officials have been the backbone of Canadian sport for more than 35 years. They are important recruits for the international sports federations in Olympic, Paralympic and World Cup competitions in all sports. Hundreds of Canadians who came to Calgary have earned their certification and continue to serve regularly around the world.

And then there is training. Our region is known for the reliable provision of pre-season training for alpine, cross-country, biathlon and speed skating. The attraction of international and national athletes to our area has spawned an industry that has grown beyond Nakiska, the Olympic Oval and Canmore Nordic Center to include Panorama, Lake Louise, Norquay and Castle Mountain. Preseason revenue from any one of these venues for the four weeks of operation before opening to the general public totals over $1.5 million per season and counting.

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The sports sector, while not the magnitude of the oil slick, has grown from almost zero – no national staff and few events in 1980 – to a thriving industry populated by highly skilled professionals and athletes and generating more than US$400 million annually dollars brings into our economy.

From a tourism point of view, the worldwide presence in relation to the cross-country skiing or alpine world cup events is overwhelming. The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Lake Louise reaches an audience of over 200 million at the six events. The audience for cross-country skiing is similar, that for biathlon even larger. Calgary and the surrounding area is known and loved throughout the winter sports world thanks to our annual events.

Now, 35 years after the 1988 Games, we are at a crossroads. The 2018 referendum was clear.

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While I am disappointed that we have decided not to embark on a new journey to the Games, I contend that we do not need the Olympics and Paralympic Games to sustain and continue to grow the sport in Calgary.

We need our politicians at all levels – local, regional and federal – to recognize that sport happens every day, all year round, supported by sponsors, donors, families and significant support from TV and marketing rights to broadcast major events in our community. We have a huge, internationally respected and vibrant sports sector that lives, works and competes in our region. We have thousands of dedicated volunteers and officials who are highly involved in the sport every year. We are distinguished hosts of several annual World Cup events. We host hundreds of lower-level sporting events in multiple locations across our region – Continental Cup, internationally sanctioned events, developmental events – for hundreds of thousands of developmental and recreational athletes in our winter and summer sports communities.

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Sport can be an integral part of our country’s economic goals. Alberta’s 10-year strategy aims to double tourism revenue to $20 billion by 2030. A healthy sports sector can contribute significantly to this.

And to our sports community: We don’t need an Olympic/Paralympics bid to strengthen our planning and vision. It is time for the sport of our city and region to sit together, speaking with one voice for our province and for the interests of the region – to articulate a vision of where we see sport in 2030 and beyond want.

There are several messages that are critical, and an independent voice bringing together venue operators, sports organizations, service providers and the sports community can objectively share the vision.

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It’s a message about how to maintain and improve our existing sports infrastructure without relying on the Games, and to carry that message of the importance of events – at all levels – to our governments and society at large. The messages from athletes, coaches and the sports service community are critical. It is important to articulate what it means to have top athletes next door, how this will inspire the next generations and how this will benefit the community at large with better medical services, recreational facilities and affordable access to sport.

Let’s borrow from the late Frank King. Now is the time to be bold. Raise our hand and call for an initiative that can act as a new catalyst to energize our sports community to examine how we innovate and how we continue the important work of lifting Canadian athletes to make our community and nation proud .