Logistics of getting Team Canada to Olympics

For some Canadian athletes, being at the Olympics marks their first visit to Pyeongchang.

Now that they’re there, everything is ready for them: Accommodations, clothing, transportation, food, support services.

Andrew Baker has been there often and for ages, making sure that’s the case. In fact, this latest trip is his 14th to Pyeongchang since 2013. He likely leads the Canadian team in that regard.

Baker is the Canadian Olympic Committee’s director of games and as such heads up a 14-person logistics and support team charged with moving Team Canada from Games to Games, be they Olympic or Pan Am.

“Our focus is always on creating the best possible performance environment for our athletes at the Games,” he said in mid-January. “We look at that from start to finish, working with the national sport federations to find a plan that meets the needs of their team.

“There is a ton of moving pieces to this puzzle, but that’s what makes it fun.”

His team performs all the setup and all the wrap-up and will be on site until March 2, long after the last Canadian Olympian has posed on a podium with his or her medal.

They work closely with the local organizing committee, in this case POCOG, and set up Canadian operations at various sites including the Olympic Village, Canada Olympic House and some off-site hotels.

His advance team moved into the village Jan. 26 to prepare for the team’s arrival. Their setup duties included unpacking the 18 shipping containers jammed with clothing, equipment and supplies that will sustain Team Canada through the Games.

To first fill those containers, Baker and his crew collected cargo for months from across Canada and consolidated it at a COC warehouse. During what they call Cargo Week, they summoned all hands on deck to pack, palletize and manifest the freight inside the containers.

The cargo includes Mondelez snacks like Oreo, Ritz crackers, mini Chips Ahoy! and Maple Leaf cookies, as well as furniture from Canadian Tire that has found a home at Canada Olympic House. Baker calls those things the comforts of home.

There are also eight-foot high moose statues. Because it’s Canada.

The ocean-going containers, which were moved by Rocket Cargo, landed in Korea on Christmas Day, passed through customs and were waiting in a warehouse prior to delivery. Baker and his people knew exactly where everything was stored and where it needed to be.

“We can essentially tell you what box is on what pallet in what container. We have pretty good tracking.”

And he chuckles that they have never lost a container.

“You’re going to make me knock on wood.”

The Olympic village opened Feb. 1 and Baker and his crew were on site, welcoming Canadian athletes.

And, though his team is now totally focused on Pyeongchang, they have already done a significant amount of planning for Tokyo 2020, working as they do on five-year cycles.

Air Canada plays a big role too, with 25 branches of the organization involved for months in ensuring a seamless trip for Team Canada athletes, coaches, mission staff and their equipment.

In early February, their “Going for Gold” squads shepherded 362 Team Canada members, with 517 bags and pieces of equipment — including biathlon rifles, exercise bikes, skis and massage tables — through airports in Toronto and Vancouver en route to Korea.

“They are there simply to facilitate and support the athletes, coaches and mission teams through the process, making sure they are taken care of,” said Catherine Brassard, Air Canada’s senior director of operations excellence.