It’s up to everyone to help Calgary find that Olympic magic again

City’s volunteer mentality knows how to get things done, Kathy Macdonald writes

The city was recently criticized for secrecy and a lack of transparency. This time, it was about the Olympic bid exploration committee’s failure to disclose the full list of staff hired to work on a study to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Well, Rick Hanson, the committee’s chair, shut down the conspiracy theorists when he released the names and explained he just didn’t get the names of “these higher-ups out there fast enough.”

These Games may go to a citywide referendum right before the October election, and it will be the job of Hanson and the exploration committee and staff to present the results and perhaps bring back the magic of the Olympics to Calgary.

Yes, Calgarians undoubtedly would love to host the Games again. Jerry Joynt, senior vicepresident of communications for the 1988 Calgary Games, has fond memories and a wealth of experience from the Olympics.

He offers some sage advice for the bid committee: “This bid is Public Relations 101. They’ve got to keep this submission so squeaky clean, and so good, that nothing will antagonize the public’s confidence. Disclose everything that is in the public trust.”

Joynt knows a lot about what it takes to bring people together for a cause, and is proud of what Calgarians did last time.

“Every person in the XV Olympic Winter Games Organiz- ing Committee, or OCO’88, was known for their commitment — right down to the person bringing the coffee. Those people were proud to say they were involved, and regardless of who was paying the bill — the government, sponsors, taxpayers or media — the Games were in the public trust and every penny was accounted for in the public dialogue.”

Anyone who was around in 1988 likely remembers the great wave of civic pride that took over the city. The Games received many accolades, but one of the most significant, according to Joynt, was that, “Calgary is only one of a handful of Olympic Games in history that ever made a profit ... Canada Olympic Park would likely be condominiums right now if it weren’t for the $150-million legacy of the 1988 Calgary Olympic organization.”

Joynt says his friend, Bill Pratt, the former Olympic Games chair, ran the endeavour like a business. Pratt personally signed every travel voucher and made sure there were no politics, favouritism or cronyism.

He remembers Pratt often saying, “When you run an Olympic Games, everybody goes for gold, and I’m not even talking about the athletes.”

There is an untapped expertise in this city for organizing largescale sporting events, and there are thousands of volunteers ready to contribute to another Olympics. Many of us have skated on the Olympic Oval ice, taken advantage of the ski facilities at WinSport and visited the public luge and bobsled tracks at the 1988 Olympic bobsled track.

Common sense tells us that the exploration committee needs to tap into the potential that our community holds.

Calgarians are steadfast and would be excited and proud to host the Games again, but we are also somewhat more pragmatic and reserved than in 1988. With 40,000 people unemployed in our city, the economics must be carefully analyzed.

Joynt thinks Calgary could hold the Olympics tomorrow. “We still have a volunteer mentality, we can get things done and we will not overspend.”

He adds that we can leave a greater legacy for Calgary through the spirit of many people, volunteers and organizations that would love to pitch in again to bring success to a potential bid.

Hanson has a big job ahead of him and it’s up to all of us to help him find Olympic magic again.

Visit www.shouldcalgarybid.com for more information about the bid exploration committee.