Olympic athletes dedicate their lives to their sport. They embody commitment, determination and professionalism. But what happens when their athletic careers come to an end? Transitioning the skills of an Olympian to a post-athletic career represents several concerns for these athletes: What am I going to do from a career perspective? How am I going to support myself financially?
To address these concerns, Ivey has partnered with the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to deliver its Game Plan initiative for Canadian Olympians. Game Plan is designed to provide athletes with the tools and skills needed to transition into formal employment. The program includes five key elements involved in the employment preparation process: career management, networking, education, skill development and mental and physical health.
Game Plan is delivered across Canada by the Canadian Sports Institutes (CSIs), supported by the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and Sport Canada. Professional services firm Deloitte has also teamed up with Game Plan as its presenting partner.
Blaine Woodcock, MBA ’07 and Senior Manager at Monitor Deloitte, contacted Sharon Irwin-Foulon, Executive Director, Career Management and Corporate Recruiting for Ivey, during the conceptual stages of Game Plan.
The team at Deloitte and COC saw the parallels between the high-achieving pool of talent and the need to transition into a formal career, which lead to the opportunity for Ivey to be a delivery partner on Game Plan’s career management-focused pilot project.
Irwin-Foulon is working jointly with Jerimiah Brown, former Olympian and Athlete Wellness Manager at COC, to help plan and organize Game Plan’s inaugural summit to be held on November 6th and 7th in Vancouver.
“What Ivey brings to the table is subject matter expertise on career management,” said Irwin-Foulon. “But secondary to that is program design help. A big piece of where we’ve been helping Jerimiah and the Deloitte team is to address the question, how can we make this summit cohesive?”
The two-day summit will be held in streams, where athletes can participate in a career management stream, a brand management stream or a financial management stream. Brenda Pearson, Associate Director, MBA Career Management, will lead two sessions on building personal narratives and interviewing.
“By virtue of having a game plan, we’re helping athletes get into place to be confident that there is something at the end of being an athlete,” said Irwin-Foulon.
For more information on Game Plan, visit mygameplan.ca.
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