busy?

Woops! Six days since I last blogged? And one week until the due date?! Eeeeeesh! Time is flying. I don't think I've been too busy to blog, but the past week has held a schedule almost as inflated as my belly. On Wednesday night I spoke in front of a few hundred people at the Ottawa Fusion Volleyball Club's opening night, which was not on fun-par with, say, going down a waterslide, but, well, I enjoyed myself. Isn't it strange, that, at least for most people, getting up in front of a large crowd is a source of anxiety, nerves and general uncomfortableness? I wasn't too nervous or apprehensive or anything, and I feel that the message I can send to younger athletes by talking about my/our sport experiences is worth a few steps out of my comfort zone. So yes, it was a few steps out of my comfort zone, but nothing major. And then since Thursday I've been helping out at the annual Sport Leadership conference, which has, for the most part, been fabulous. I've been in charge of session management - making sure presenters have what they need, that gifts are distributed, blah blah blah - which involves basically sitting in a room, directing volunteers and managing problems when they arise. This equals some short bursts of flurried activity and demand amid long days of near nothingness. So, boredom, sort of. But! I had Mme Ramotswe and all of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series characters to keep me company, and I can't really complain about that. This morning someone took over my post so that I could attend a session - one session! - and it was great: Advancing the Canadian Sport System: Investigating Critical Issues, run by Roger Jackson, the former CEO of Own the Podium. And now, I'm back in the room at my post, with a few hours of conference to go.

There is so much great dialogue here, so many questions about our sport systems and how we can make things better across the board; it's a great networking opportunity too, that is, unfortunately, almost completely lost on me since here I sit in this room. But, lots of seeds have been planted and ideas and questions and to-google lists formed with thoughts of a potential future or at least involvement in sport administration. I will always want to coach, but there are so many ways to contribute and make sport in Canada better... it's a dynamic and exciting field. With lots of potential. Ramble ramble ramble. And that's all I've got for now - back to my volunteerjob!