Q&A with departing Own the Podium CEO Alex Baumann

share

Alex Baumann steps down as CEO of Own the Podium Saturday. Canada's two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer, who suffered a second bout of cancer earlier this year, is taking up a similar position in leading high-performance sports in New Zealand, a move he's making to be closer to his wife Tracey's family in Australia.

After announcing his resignation, Baumann talked to Sportsnet about his departure, his proudest achievements after five years with Canada's Olympic sports programs, and the future of high-performance sports in the country.

Since you announced you're leaving, there have been a lot of comments from the Canadian sporting world that you've helped change the culture of the country's sports system. Do you feel you've made that kind of impact?

Baumann: It's nice to be valued and to be seen as having made a difference. It's very humbling for sure, but I have to say that, you know, I haven't solely done this. It's not just me that's kind of moved the system from where it was in 2005 or 2004 ... I think setting a fairly ambitious target at the Vancouver Games, I think that really helped start us focusing on excellence and making some hard decisions in terms of targeting and prioritization, and starting to change to a more focused culture on excellence. So I think in the last five or six years that transformation has been very positive, and I think sports have reacted to it as well as a performance-based culture. And from the comments and obviously the increase in performance as well I think most national sporting organizations and Canadian sporting centres would feel that this is the way to go.

How far has Canada come in the elite sports world in your five years with Own the Podium?

AB: I think we are in a better position in that we have proper systems, the structure is sound, we have all partners aligned with a common vision, a common goal. So it is better, and I think we've progressed a long way ... When I came here in 2006, (Own the Podium) really only had $22 million on the winter side and $12 million on the summer side, so that was $34 million total. Now we're up around the $74-million mark. So we have progressed. Having said that I still think compared to other countries, compared to the U.K., compared to Australia, we're still behind, so there's still some work to do.

What's lacking? What work still needs to be done?

AB: Obviously you always want more resources, but I think part of it is making sure we prioritize and target those resources so we get a positive outcome ... I think the performances in 2008 were very good, moving from 12 medals in Athens in 2004 to 18 in Beijing was very, very pleasing ... The results in Vancouver were fantastic. We didn't reach our goal of being the No. 1 country based on total medal count, but we won 14 gold medals and were the first nation on the gold-medal count, and that's an amazing feat given that when we hosted the Olympics two times before that in '88 and '76 and we never won a gold medal. That's an incredible legacy and that shows that the system is working.

What other changes do you think need to be made to Canada's sporting system?

AB: Well I think in high-performance sport you're always kind of looking at continuous improvement. I think we're starting to shift the summer side; the winter side we've got to make sure we're not complacent post 2010. But there's always (questions): how do we streamline the system more, how do we ensure that we have robust services delivered to our athletes both in the centralized environment, decentralized environment, all those kinds of things. Making sure that the right competitive opportunities are there for our athletes, making sure that national sporting organizations have the capacity to be able to deliver these high-performance programs. Those kinds of things I still think we can improve upon.

In the past you've been a vocal critic of Canadian athletes not having the "will to win." Is that still a problem?

AB: Right, the will to try to be the best in the world, and you know I don't think we're totally there yet, but I think we've come a long way ... Our athletes want to win, there's no doubt in my mind that our athletes want to win. That culture has changed in the last five years and obviously with the success of the 2010 Games, athletes see what standing up on that podium does to a country, what hearing that national anthem does to a country.

You wrote a couple of fiery letters to Canadian sporting entities over the years, including in 1990 when you criticized Canada's performance at the Commonwealth Games and said officials "sugarcoated" the results and hadn't allocated resources properly, spending too much on administration and not enough on the athletes themselves. Do you think you'll ever write another letter criticizing Canadian sport?

AB: I don't think so (laughs). I think we're on the right path. You know, in the last five years the system has improved dramatically. There's been some very, very positive improvements, so you know, I'm very comfortable with where things are. I would like to see Canada perform well, certainly in 2012 and the Olympics in 2014 in Russia as well.

Are you confident the improvement will continue after you leave, or do you think Canada will always be "behind"?

AB: I'm hoping it continues, yes. I think so, I mean we have a good management team in place and I'm fairly comfortable that the staff at Own the Podium can continue the evolution of Own the Podium, because still really a number of things have to happen to Own the Podium. It has to become a not-for-profit organization, it should become its own legal entity ... I've always believed that Own the Podium has to be a totally independent entity that can make decisions free from any kind of political influence.

What do you wish the organization had done better in your time there?

AB: I still believe that we can be more coordinated and integrated. I still believe one entity should have all the high-performance funds, and you know it shouldn't just be enhanced excellence funds, which Own the Podium has.

Among the progress that's been made in elite Canadian sporting circles in your five years with OTP, what are you most proud of?

AB: I really think a couple things. One is to drive an uncompromising attitude that we have to focus on excellence and we have to be the best that we can be, and that we can compete with the best in the world. That's one thing. I think also really introducing the accountability for performance, so there's no doubt post 2008 a number of sports were cut, but our mandate was medal potentials, and they were hard decisions, but it's really based around performance and whether those sports and athletes can actually attain medals at the Olympic and Paralympic games. So that's been good. We have introduced a performance-based system, so national sporting organizations know what they have to do to get within that targeted group, and I think it really protects against complacency.

So just going to the Olympics for the experience isn't really acceptable anymore.

AB: This participation, you know, I think that's gone, right. I mean you'll still have it periodically but I think just to make the national team isn't good enough. It's really, we want to be the best in the world, and an Olympic medal, an Olympic gold medal or a Paralympic gold medal, is the ultimate.

The COC's goal of having Canada finish among the top 12 nations in the medal count in London -- do you think it's attainable?

AB: I think it's attainable. The challenge I think is there's about seven countries that are in between that 11-17 range and there's only about a two-medal split right now between all of them (looking at this year's world championships) ... I think it's achievable but we still have some work to do.

So, you're leaving Canada again. Do you think you'll ever move back?

AB: I don't know at this point in time. It's always an option but as you know my decision was based on family, and all the family really, because I have no one here, is in Australia. We'll see. I'll definitely miss Canada and my family will miss Canada as well.

Why do you think different countries are courting you to run their high performance sports programs; Australia, Canada and now New Zealand?

AB: I think one is the experience in two countries, Australia and Canada. Having been an athlete, coach and administrator as well, and having been a CEO in a successful organization certainly helps. It's all really based on experience and I think also from my perspective the ability to make hard decisions, obviously get the right input, but then I always believe that leadership is about making difficult decisions and not being afraid to make those kinds of decisions. And obviously there's a way to do that, but I don't believe in consensus decision making. I think if you're going to lead you've got to lead, you've got to make hard decisions. Sometimes people won't like those decisions but really you want to get results, and I'm very outcome focused.

When you look back, what's been the highlight of your time with Own the Podium?

AB: Certainly the Alex Bilodeau gold medal stood out because that was the first gold medal that Canada won (on home soil), but also the friendships that I've developed, you know Adam van Koeverden and Simon Whitfield, those are athletes that to me are great role models. I've really enjoyed their friendship, and other athletes as well obviously, but it's always nice to see that they perform and do well and are also fantastic role models for Canada.

Do you see a bit of your drive and determination in those two? Is that what helps set them apart?

AB: Their determination to be the best in the world, there's no doubt. And I think also the capacity for work probably sets them apart, and they're very focused, they know exactly what to do. And it's not dissimilar to Victor Davis and other athletes that we've had, but you know it's this "no-compromise" attitude, and our athletes have to do that, they have to give up a lot, they have to sacrifice a lot, but there certainly are a lot of rewards as well.

Do your kids (Ashton and Tabitha) have that Baumann "no-compromise" attitude?

AB: (Laughs.) I think they're getting it. I try to stay away from that, but they're doing very well. I think the other thing is as long as the athletes enjoy what they're doing, then they're going to be successful.

Can you still beat them in a race?

AB: Not anymore because I can't keep up -- for sure they beat me. They're pretty good, they won Senior Nationals this summer. I used to beat them, but I think that moment has passed. If it was about two years ago I still could keep up to them, but you know, now I can't. I don't swim with them ... well, periodically I'll get in and swim with them but I normally swim with the Masters group in the other end of the pool.

OK, last question: It's the 2012 Olympics and there's a Canadian swimmer and a swimmer from New Zealand, neck in neck. Who are you cheering for?

AB: (Laughs). That's a very tough one. That's a very, very tough one. I don't know, I mean, you know, I want Canada to do well, there's no doubt, and hopefully they're in different events (laughs). But I know there's a couple of sports that Canada concentrates on and New Zealand concentrates on, like rowing for example. But I think they're slightly different events. So yeah, I want both to do well, obviously.

So... you're not answering that one?

AB: No, I'm not answering that one (laughs).