Q&A: The Star’s new amateur sports writer
Kerry Gillespie is picking up Randy Starkman’s mantle as the amateur sports writer for the Toronto Star. Gillespie, who started her career at the newspaper in 1998, honed her skills covering political games at Toronto City Hall and Queen’s Park before becoming one of the Star’s editorial board writers.
Q: What about Randy Starkman’s coverage of amateur sport inspires you the most?
Gillespie: Following in Randy’s footsteps won’t be easy. He, in the words of one of Canada’s amateur athletes, “loved us and we loved him right back.” But I’m looking forward to the challenge and writing about a subject I’m passionate about. Randy showed this country that amateur sports should be covered more than in just the lead-up to the Olympics. Randy, through his years of effort, has shown how great amateur sports are and how interesting amateur athletes can be. Q: What draws you to this beat? A: Amateur sport — well, sport in general — is full of pure stories, drama. About the athletes, about their drive, their challenges. The sheer range of amateur sports from track and field to figure skating makes this one of the most exciting jobs in the sports department. I’m looking forward to writing the compelling stories of Canada’s amateur athletes as they train and go through the thrill and heartbreak of competition. But sports and this job is about more than that, too.
Q: What’s your personal connection to sports?
A: I’ve always been active in sports. I’ve wrestled (University of Calgary women’s team for one year). I loved it. I didn’t know women’s wrestling existed until my final year of university. I discovered it, joined the team. It was a growing sport and it’s grown in leaps and bounds and now is in the Olympics. I participate in a lot of sports. I bike. I canoe. I run. I’ve only run one half-marathon: two hours 24 minutes. Not good. I’m training for my second half-marathon. Q: Why is sports interesting to you? A: It’s not just the skier bombing down the hill, or the runner who’s hoping to get across the finish-line first, against all odds. What I’m interested in is all the stuff that happens behind that: the coaching, the parenting, the community support that got that skier to the top of the hill in the first place. The training regime, technology and medical advances that keep them in the game and the issues, from doping to gender testing, that affect their sport.
Q: Given your political background, do you see any comparison between politics and sports?
A: Absolutely. Politics is full of big personalities, big egos, a lot of strategy. Sport, to some degree, has that as well. The athletes are giving their all for some main event in the same way a politician does in an election. It’s just that the stakes are different. But a lot of the same stuff is in play with associations and athletes.