Athletics Ontario Virtual Race Director Summit

Paving the pathway to a smooth and healthy recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for the running event industry.

Athletics Ontario will be hosting our 4th Annual Race Director Summit (virtually) on Saturday April 17, 2021 from 11:00am-2:00pm EST and Tuesday April 20, 2021 from 6:30pm-9:00pm EST to collaborate and discuss best practices for your 2021 races and beyond.

Grab yourself a coffee or drink and be ready for a two-day interactive webinar series with short talks followed by Q&A's, and a hands-on social media workshop on Tuesday evening.

Speaker schedule, question survey, PDF background material and webinar links will be provided via email post registration. All registrants will receive a link to the recorded webinar after completion for reference. All sports and events are welcome to attend

EMCEE

Steve Fleck, Race and Event Announcer

Steve Fleck is one of the leading Endurance Sports Race/Event Announcers in North America. Each year he is on the Microphone at over 35 running, cycling and triathlon races. He's also an in-demand Commentator in the fast-growing Live Streaming Sports webcasting business, for running, and cycling races - working closely with both Athletics Canada and Cycling Canada in this area. He's been involved in running, triathlon and cycling in one way or another since his mid-teens, as a participant/competitor and in business. He lives in Aurora, Ontario with his wife, and their dog Gravy!

Keynote Speaker

Krista DuChene

Chris Troyanos

Medical Coordinator, Boston Marathon; Executive Director, International Institute for Race Medicine

TOPIC : “Navigating a Safe & Sensible Return to Mass Participation Event”?

Founder and President of Sports Medicine Consultants, Chris Troyanos is a successful entrepreneur who has served as the Medical Director and Coordinator for a number of large-scale athletic events. As the Medical Coordinator to the Boston Athletic Association, he has been the architect for the Boston Marathon medical program for the past 30 years.

He has over 30 years of experience when it comes to the medical care, logistics, and public safety needs for several endurance events. He is a sought-after lecturer on the subject of health care for large-scale athletic events, and has extensive experience working with local, state and federal agencies as it relates to mass casualty concerns for major marathons.

He has been the primary liaison to the various cities and towns supporting the Boston Marathon medical needs. His ability to bring people together and forge relationships has truly allowed many competing agencies to act as one during this historic marathon.

Chris has also taken on the role of Executive Director for the International Institute for Race Medicine. He leads an international group of medical directors that are working to improve the safety for all road race participants.

Kevin Jones, Odyssey Medical

TOPIC: Logistical outlooks for 2021 events held in Ontario

Every race regardless of size or jurisdiction will need to have a COVID Safety plan for the foreanle future. Engaging with stakeholders early, gain the confidence of the community and create a safe race experience in these extraordinary times. Join us for to start the discussion.

Kevin Jones is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Odyssey Medical. Odyssey provides event medical and risk management services for the mass gathering industry in Canada. Kevin has extensive experience in risk management, emergency communication and event operations. Kevin’s experience spans from remote wilderness expeditions to large scale urban events. He has lead event medical programs for many large obstacle course events, live music events and triathlons. Building on a background in insurance and education, he is committed to evidence based decision making and systems development.

Charlotte Brookes, (National Event Director - Canada Running Series)

TOPIC: Return to in-person racing registration policy discussion: What are races considering as far as refund policies, deferred entries & credits from cancelled races in 2020?

Since 2012, Charlotte Brookes has been the Event Director for the Canada Running Series and climbed her way up from Participant Services in 2005 to this role. She is responsible for organizing and managing the entire event and the CRS team across the country, which includes the IAAF Gold Label Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. To successfully manage the event, her main focus and role on race day is Emergency Management, Crisis Communication and Event Dispatchers through their Event OperationCentres. It is the only Command Centre in Toronto that is operated by a private company and brings together all the different City agencies into one room to make quick and collaborative decisions on race day. Most recently, she received the Industry Leader Under 40 Award from the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at the National Sports Safety Conference in July 2017 and has been asked to be on a panel for Safety and Security at the Running USA conference this coming February.

Albert Ngai, Course Dynamics

TOPIC: Information Sharing: COVID Mitigation Strategies in Race Operations
A summary and information sharing on steps that have been implemented by a number of large races which were permitted to operate.

Albert has been working in the race management industry for over 10 years and has been involved in course operations in numerous race series ranging from 5Ks to marathons. He has also been a runner in a good number of marathons, half marathons and 30K races over the years. In each event he operates in, Albert focuses on executing a course that is safe and easy to navigate. He is passionate about improving the runner experience. Albert currently runs his own company – Course Dynamics – which offers services in event consulting and course management.

Jacob Puzey National Race Director 5 Peaks Trail Running Series

Jacob Puzey is a lifelong runner with over two decades experience race directing and coaching. He is currently the national race director of the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series as well as the director of the TranSelkirks Run and Peak Run Performance - an online coaching service.

Jessica Collins Director of Customer Success, Race Roster

TOPIC: Making virtual technology work for you, hybrid events and how to sprinkle virtual into an in person race season

Jessica is proud to manage a dynamic and caring group of people at Race Roster and together with her team, she is committed to helping event organizers and community enriching events succeed. Leveraging her background in the non-profit sector, her passion for running and a global perspective on industry trends, Jessica is excited to share how virtual events can continue to elevate your brand now and post-pandemic

Rebecca Cotter: Manager, Communications Operations & Events, City of Markham

TOPIC: Summary of Post-Season Community Festivals and Events COVID-19 Impacts Survey and Summary of Best practices using "Networking for Municipal Event Planners: Return to Events Guide"

Rebecca Cotter is an established event production and strategy professional and post-secondary event management instructor. Her experience includes the production and delivery of large-scale festivals, concerts and community events in both the public and private sectors; municipal event strategy development; and, the development of and instruction in several post-secondary event management courses. Rebecca is an Executive Team member of the Ontario Network of Municipal Event Planners (NMEP).

Emily Sitarz Athletics Ontario Marketing and Communications Coordinator Athletics Ontario

TOPIC: A workshop on the effective use of social media in marketing your event and communicating with your participants.

Emily brings experience in brand management, event coordination, marketing and social media to this role and this positions her well to promote athletics across the province. Emily has a long standing history with AO, having been a competitive member from 2010-2014. She spent six years at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, earning a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, and participating as a member of the women’s cross country and track teams for four of those years. Prior to joining AO, she worked as an athletic marketing assistant across 13 NCAA Division I sports in the Southland Conference

TOPIC: Paul Osland and Sheryl Preston from Athletics Ontario will provide updates from within the Ministry and Provincial Sport Organization with strategical priorities, and potential opportunities in the short and long term to help support Ontario's running event industry

Paul Osland, CEO Athletics Ontario

Paul has been a competitive athlete in the sport of athletics for a number of years. He was a member of the Canadian National team (1987-1992) at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games and many other international events. He currently holds the Ontario Open Indoor 600m record, which he set back in 1985.

Paul brings a wide-range of experience in business development and corporate experience combined with his entrepreneurial venture capital experience, and these skills will help him drive the continued development and promotion of athletics in Ontario. Additionally, he has 25 plus years of progressively responsible leadership roles in both the business world and athletics community.

Sheryl Preston, Road & Trail Running Coordinator, Athletics Ontario

Sheryl, Athletics Ontario's Road and Trail Running Coordinator is the organizer of this event. With Athletics Ontario, Sheryl helps to build bridges in the Road and Trail running community provincially, and nationally. She connects race directors, clubs, athletes and members with credible resources to ensure safety and accuracy of events. Providing provincial sanctioning and race day insurance is also a large portion of her role. As a retired Canadian national team rower and having completed over 20 road marathons/ultramarathons throughout Canada and the US, and as a member of a few running clubs in Ontario and BC, Sheryl deeply appreciates the positive impact that races, and our connected running community can have.