ABSTRACT
During her undergraduate studies, Milena was certain she would go into sports medicine. All of her courses were in physics, chemistry, biology, physiology, and biochemistry – except for one. In the first year of her Masters in Cellular and Molecular Medicine she realized, as she was toiling on a 24-hour experiment, that she no longer wanted this career. What she also discovered while doing some web research for a requirement of her Masters programme was a Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics link and a prompt to Sport Administration. As a former competitive figure skater, coach, volunteer, and administrator, her interest was piqued. Fast-forward eight months; she started an internship with the 2001 Games of La Francophonie. She realized that there was a lack of resources for understanding how to do her job; this led to an idea for a doctoral thesis. She was also bitten by the Games bug. As a Professor at the University of Ottawa, she still looked regularly for an opportunity to return to a Games experience. In November 2009 she was seconded for four months to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. This book is a result of her personal hands-on experience with the protocol planning and venuization for the Olympic Family, which included athletes, heads of state and government, international and domestic dignitaries, and special guests who visited the various sport venues of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games; her collaboration with her co-author and dozens of experts she worked with; as well as her academic/ expert knowledge of managing major sport events.
