Last year, had anyone asked Kelly Vanry if she was expecting to go to the 2018 PeyongChang Olympics, she may have called them crazy. But the B.C. resident is now less than a month away from the experience of a lifetime.
Vanry, a touring manager with Field Hockey Canada, has been accepted into a most-unique professional development opportunity with the Canadian Olympic Committee. She and seven other representatives from Canadian national sport organizations will be heading to PeyongChang this February for the Winter Olympic Games as a part of the 2020 Tokyo Emerging Leaders Familiarization Program.
According to Vanry, she feels very fortunate to be included in the program and is looking forward to the opportunity. She said she’ll be taking in the experience and trying to learn and improve herself along the way.
“I feel so excited and super lucky to be a part of the program,” Vanry said. “…to be a part of this amazing program where I get a chance to go to the Olympics in PeyongChang and get a behind-the-scenes experience and really familiarize myself with what happens at the Games.”
The program is designed to give potential 2020 team mangers and support staff the opportunity to experience the Olympic Games before they have to tackle it as staff. Vanry is in line to be the touring manager with Field Hockey Canada’s Men’s National Team should they qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games. For Vanry, the opportunity to tour with the team has been a great experience and she’s looking forward to more in the coming year.
“My favourite part about touring is hanging out with the players,” Vanry said. “It’s such a good energy, such neat people…I like looking after people, I love sport and I love hockey so it’s a good fit.”
The Winter Olympics takes place February 9-25, 2018 in PeyongChang, South Korea.
