While working as a performance analysis and technology specialist for the Canadian Olympic Committee at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Samantha Pritchard shoved equipment inside her jacket with hot hand warmers while she stood outside.
The February cold was, quite literally, freezing her analysis equipment.
“We’re outside ... we had to work off of battery-powered and WiFi systems, and everything kept shutting down because it was so cold,” said Pritchard.
Pritchard, the UBC sport science and sport medicine senior manager, is now attending the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as a performance analysis and technology specialist, with the goal of supporting coaches and athletes in their performances.
Understanding and empathizing
While studying kinesiology at McMaster University, Pritchard worked as a student volunteer coach for the university’s men’s soccer team and was involved in the athletes’ training sessions and ensuring they were “doing the exercises properly and in a safe way.”
Pritchard said her experiences as a student volunteer help her understand student experiences more, specifically now at UBC. “It helps me better understand ... how we can develop or change ... and how I can understand but also empathize with the students and know where they’re at,” said Pritchard.
Pritchard also completed a master’s in biomechanics at McMaster and a women in leadership certificate from Cornell University.
Pritchard said she wanted to make sure she could set herself — and her team — up for success since “most workplaces, not just sport ... are heavily male dominated.”
According to the International Olympic Committee, the Paris 2024 Olympics are the first ever games to reach gender parity. Only 13 per cent of coaches were women during the Tokyo 2021 games, and research from Loughborough University estimates that 25 per cent of Paris 2024 coaches will be women.
“It’s just really important because a lot of my mentors through my career were men, a lot of my managers through my career have been men and some of them have been really, really fantastic, but I’ve not always had a strong female leader in my career,” said Pritchard.
“I think it’s important to provide opportunities for female students to see what is possible and [to] see someone else as a female leader, so I wanted to be able to be that person ... and the only way I feel comfortable doing that is making sure I’m educated and empowered to do so.”
At UBC, Pritchard oversees athletes’ performance services including strength and conditioning, sports medicine, athletic and physiotherapy, nutrition and mental performance and health.
“The key part of my role is overseeing the staff that are employed in those areas, managing them [and] working with coaches on how those different staff members integrate with their teams ... helping support the athletes [in reaching] their goal,” said Pritchard.
Supporting and informing
That goal doesn’t change at the Olympic level. Pritchard has attended the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in addition to the 2024 Paris games. And though the games, seasons and locations change, the base of Pritchard’s role stays constant — she’s there to assist the Canadian teams.
“We’re really there to support the teams, specifically the coaches in any of their video and technology needs. We also support analysts ... so this can be working with them through video clipping and getting the technology set up ... or this could be analytical support,” said Pritchard.
Pritchard’s role as a performance analysis and technology specialist means she works with team coaches to analyze game play and data to inform their decisions moving forward in competition.
“In the simplest of terms, a lot of the time I’m following athletes around to the camera and taking video of them,” said Pritchard. “A good portion of what I do is linked to video and video analysis, so I spend a lot of time either with a video camera or watching and flipping video for teams.”
When asked what she’s looking most forward to this Olympics, Pritchard said she’s excited to see UBC athletes and alumni compete — among other things.
“The cheeky side of me wants to say croissants,” laughed Pritchard. “But honestly, I think it’s just experiencing a summer games again ... just being back in that environment ... and just being able to watch all the stories unfold.”
“Unfortunately, they’re not all going to be happy stories, but I do really enjoy being able to sit and admire all of the wonderful things and all the athletes have been able to accomplish.”
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