Gee-Gees staff heading to Olympic Games

As the countdown to the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games winds down to single digits, two Gee-Gees staff members are on their way to Beijing to work at the Olympic Games. Roger Archambault and Greg Kolz are adding to their already impressive Olympic resumes and will be working at the biathlon, figure skating, and speed skating events.

The pair join fellow uOttawa alumni Dawn McEwen and Lisa Weagle (curling), Rachel Homan (curling), and mental performance consultant Kim Thompson (women's hockey) as Garnet and Grey representatives in Beijing. For more information about Gee-Gees at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, see the historical list here. 

For Archambault, who is the Assistant Director of Varsity Athletics at uOttawa, Beijing will mark his eighth Olympic Games and the veteran expects it will be his last. In Beijing he is working within the sport presentation and protocol section of the organizing committee as a venue announcer at biathlon – he also held this role at the 2014 Games in Sochi.

Archambault previously attended Games in a Canadian Olympic Committee, technical director, or coaching role, and the 2014 experience provided, as he says, "huge learning regarding the environment of what happens behind the scenes to orchestrate a games and entertain the world. Production, practice, scripting, protocol, minute by minute planning and execution; it was all very new to me and a great experience."

The preparation, however, was not new. "There is so much to plan and consider for a Games," says Archambault, putting his high performance sport technical hat back on. "The preparation, qualification, planning, fine-tuning, dedication, and no-stone-unturned approach over a quadrennial is where you learn the most."

Kolz has been working with the Gee-Gees since the 2019-2020 season and has captured many memorable Gee-Gees moments through his lens. He is making his third trip to the Olympics, and his second as the official photographer for Skate Canada and Speed Skating Canada. Kolz began his Olympic portfolio as a volunteer at the Vancouver 2010 Games and returned to the Games in 2018 at PyeongChang.

"One of the many things that our Canadian Olympic athletes have taught me over the years is that nothing worthwhile is ever achieved by accident," says Kolz. "Positive results, not just in sport but also in life, stem from the pursuit of excellence. This requires focus, discipline, and resilience; three attributes that I admire greatly, and that our Olympians possess in spades." 

Both Archambault and Kolz are acutely aware of how their roles support the athletes competing.

"For most athletes, this is the summation of their careers, what they have worked on their entire lives. We need to mindful and respectful of that," notes Archambault. "It is often the same for the staff, it is Olympics for them as well."

"[The athlete's] dream is also generally shared by those who've supported them throughout their journey," adds Kolz. "At a time when family members and friends are not allowed to travel to China and attend the Games (due to COVID restrictions), I feel compelled to capture the moments that the athletes' loved ones won't be able to witness first-hand."

The pair are also heading to Beijing with a shared sense of gratefulness, understanding what the opportunity to be at the Games means. 

"Getting a chance to do this once last time and knowing it will be my last is a rare opportunity," says Archambault, who will no doubt be invoking his credo of "positive, present, process" to make the most of his final Games. 

"I'm grateful to Skate Canada and Speed Skating Canada for entrusting me with this assignment. I'm also very thankful for the support and encouragement I've received from so many people, including the staff at uOttawa Varsity Athletics," says Kolz.

"I'll certainly be doing everything I can to make the most it, since opportunities like this don't come around very often… for athletes or photographers."

(photo of Greg Kolz by Sean Sisk, used with permission)