2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
1
2
3
K1M
CZ J. PRSKAVEC
PL M. POLACZYK
US M. SMOLEN
K1W
CZ K. KUDEJOVA
DE R. FUNK
DE M. PFEIFER
C1M
GB D. FLORENCE
SI B. SAVSEK
GB R. WESTLEY
C1W
AU J. FOX
CZ K. HOSKOVA
ES N. VILARRUBLA
C2
DE ANTON/BENZIEN
FR PICCO/BISO
FR KLAUSS/PECHE

Canoe Sprint

Interview with ICF Chair Canoe Sprint Frank Garner

frank garner icf chairman canoe sprint kayak sportscene

Recently I (Doris Corbin) had the pleasure to sit down for a cup of coffee and a conversation with one of Canada’s most experienced and influential Olympic Officials: Frank Garner of Waverley, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Frank Garner has attended three Olympic Games as Canada’s National Coach and three as an International Canoe Official. In 2012, Frank will go to the Olympics for the seventh time. He will be the Chief Official for the Flatwater Sprint events to be held in Eton, England in August.

He was born in Port Credit, Ontario and his journey has been anything but ordinary. His paddling career began in Mississauga at age 15, which is old by today’s standard. He wanted to pursue his dream to be a football star and saw paddling as a way to build up his muscle mass.   Frank beamed as he recalled his paddling years in Mississauga. In 1965 Mississauga began winning National titles and they would remain on the winner’s podium for the next decade.

Frank’s greatest achievement as a competitor was winning a Bronze Medal at the World Junior Championships with his C-2 partner, Dale Sharpe in 1962 in Esson, Germany at age 17.

frank garner ICF President Jose Perurena Charles Yatman canoe kayak sportsceneMeanwhile, Frank was accepted to play football at both St. Francis Xavier and St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia. He chose St. Mary’s and went on to be the Captain of the Football Team in his final year and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1968 and Bachelor of Education in 1969. Reflecting on his time with the St. Mary’s Huskies, Frank says,”Football was influential in my life. It taught me Mental Toughness. It challenges athletes to be tough, not through hate but by beating yourself.”

In the summers, he worked as a Canoe Coach in Mississauga to make money to continue his education. Three paddlers stood out from those early days, all of whom were coached by a very young Frank Garner and all of whom play key roles in Canoeing.... John Wood, Patron of the Canadian Canoe Association, a 1976 Olympian and Hall of Famer was one of his athletes, along with Dean Oldershaw who  became “the Coach with the most wins at National Championships in Canadian history”,  and Mac Hickox who went on to work with Canoe  Development in The United States.

After graduating from St. Mary’s University, Frank was offered the job as the first Head Coach of a newly established canoe club, Cheema, located in Waverley, Nova Scotia.  Within 2 years, Frank coxed two C-15’s to National gold medals. In his eighth year as Head Coach at Cheema, Frank’s club went on to win the National Championship defeating his boyhood club of Mississauga. As a coach Frank believes in year -round coaching and training for athletes and was the first coach to offer dry land training.

During his years at Cheema, Frank coached Olympian Ann Dodge from Waverley who was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Frank was also inducted into the Nova Scotia sports Hall of Fame as a Builder in the same year and in 1995 was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.

While at Cheema, Frank met and married Cheema’s swimming instructor, Paula Fenerty and together they have raised three daughters in the Waverley community that they have called home for thirty-nine years. Frank proudly tells about his four grandchildren and often supports them in their sports dreams.

frank garner canada icf canoe sprint kayak interview sportsceneFrank looks back fondly at his ten years of teaching Physical Education with the Dartmouth School Board. At the same time, he was the provincial Head Paddling Coach of the Canada Games Team for Burnaby and worked with the National Team.

In 1975 Frank was offered a job as Canada’s Olympic Canoe Coach and left teaching to work full time preparing his team for the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games.  Under his leadership, Frank Garner‘s athletes won six Olympic medals in 1984 and over 50 International medals during his tenure.  Frank felt that Canadian athletes lacked mental toughness when competing in International events and to that end he summoned experts like Dr. Terry Orlick, renowned Sports Psychologist, to work with the athletes and to improve their mental performance during competition. Frank believes in the team approach and a key factor in his leadership success has been surrounding himself with good people who are “doers”.

During his tenure as a coach and member of the ICF Racing Committee [1996-2008], Frank had observed officials at the International level “who were not there for the athletes “and decided he should “either shut up about it or get in there and make things better”.  And thus, Frank Garner catapulted onto the International Officiating scene. Frank has always believed in fairness....it is the Canadian way.

According to Frank the highlight his Canoeing career came in 2000 when he was encouraged to go for the Chairperson’s position of the International Race Committee by Ann Merklinger, Executive Director at Canoe Kayak Canada. His leadership style had also been noticed by John Leukeman’s who was the current Chair of the ICF Race Committee. John who had been the Chair for many years mentored Frank, along with other members of the ICF Race Committee. In 2002 Frank was successful in his bid to become Chair of the ICF Racing Committee and became the first non-European to hold that position.

Professionally, Frank left full time coaching in the mid 1990’s and became Executive Director of Events Halifax which was an organization dedicated to attracting major sporting events to Nova Scotia and Halifax in particular. As Executive Director of Events Halifax from 1998-2005, Frank was instrumental in bringing many world-class sporting events to Halifax including 2003 IIHF World Junior Hockey, the 2003 Nokia Brier and 2004 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championships.

frank garner canoe kayak sportscene interview Cecilia Farias Dwight CorbinHe was the General Manager for the Junior World Canoe Championships in 1999 and the Senior World Canoe Championships in 2009 held on Lake Banook in Dartmouth, Canada. Two innovative ideas were implemented. One was the highly successful Festival by The Sea which showcased local artisans and talents and is now part of most International  World Championship events . The second was an environmentally-friendly endeavour where 100, 000 plastic water bottles were saved from our waste management facilities by introducing “spigots”. These are water fountains which were directly attached to the Water Supply so that athletes could fill sponsor-donated water bottles as often as they wished. The lakes were protected and our environment was left as it started.

Recently Frank served as the Chef de Mission of Team Nova Scotia for the 2011 Winter Canada Games which is the largest amateur multi-sport competition in the country, a job which he proudly did for the province he came to love.

Frank’s passion and long-serving commitment to sport over the last fifty years is outstanding. Frank’s strong leadership skills have taken him to the Olympics many times. He was the Chief Official for the 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and looks forward to being the Chief Official in London as well. He says that he has the unique attributes for being a Chief Official, “Being fair......having mental toughness....and creating a level playing field are the best things I can do for an athlete.”  Frank says,

My door is open to Coaches and Team Leaders. You may not like my answer but I will be truthful and fair. 

Frank sees himself as a problem solver and as a “Situation Leader”, basing his decisions on good listening skills combined with years of experience as an Athlete, Coach, Team Leader and Official.

Frank has visited the London Regatta site in Eton six times including the Test Event as the Technical Delegate for Canoeing. He says that the intimate venue is sold out with 10,000 spectators on one side and another 2,000 Olympic family spectators on the other.  His team of 23 expert officials combined with Host Organizing Volunteers and National Officials are ready to ensure that this event will be one of the best. The weather is always a concern in an outdoor venue. The excellent competition combined with the beautiful English countryside along the Thames River will be very appealing to the audience. Frank says that he is “looking forward to seeing world-class performances”. “The venue at Eaton Dorney will be a legacy for rowing which is unfortunate for canoeing.” says the Chair of the ICF Race Committee.”One thing new at the Olympics this year will be the 200 metre races which promise to be exciting for all.” The races will be preceded by a Festival of Paddle craft from around the world, including the British Rob Roy kayak which was used in the early 1900’s and the ever-popular war canoe from Canada.

Although Frank is humble about his many accomplishments in sport, there is nothing ordinary about him. He has friends on every continent and he has left his mark on International Canoeing forever.  As for his role as Chairperson of the ICF Race Committee, his term is up for election this year. He feels that there is more to do with the introduction of Para Canoe at the 2016 Olympics, more equity for athletes and training younger officials. Presently, Frank is looking ahead to Rio and planning his election platform to continue the work he has started. Whatever is in Frank’s future, based on his past, it is bound to be an adventure.