Rio Olympics 2016Imperfectly perfect, or preparing to get comfy with being uncomfortable

byBrian Miller

One Track MindSeptember 2016

Today’s session

• Recap of London 2012 review• AOC/AIS Campaign Rio programme• Rio specifics• Synchro Australia campaign• Athletics Australia campaign• What about Tokyo and beyond ?• Q&A with Amie, Danielle, Debbie and Kim

My Rio 2016 started in September 2012 as AOC/AIS were unhappy with London 2012• Involved in WAIS de-briefs in Sept 2012, Athletics

Australia review in November 2012, Synchro Australia in November 2012, and Cycling Australia in December 2012. Appointed to Synchro Board in October 2012.

• Chaired an AOC chief coaches’ London 2012 de-brief at the AIS in November

• Appointed “High Performance Consultant” to AIS Director in December 2012

• Involved in planning the AIS/AOC Campaign Rio professional development programme in 2013

Preparing for Rio• Appointed as Team Psychologist to AA in April

2013. Went to Moscow World Champs, Glasgow Comm Games and Beijing WC.

• Became Synchro Australia President in October 2013. Synchro Team needed to beat NZ in 2015 to qualify for Rio. Post-London, 8 of the 2012 synchro swimmers retired.

Thoughts on London 2012 ?• AOC had failed in terms of preparing teams

and athletes comprehensively• The AIS and SIS/SAS network had also failed to

prepare its athletes adequately• Many NSOs (but not sailing !) had failed to

undertake appropriate, detailed preparation• In summary, Australia had done surprisingly

well to win the medals it did !

Thriving Not Just Surviving: what can we learn from London 2012 ?

by

Brian Miller

DSR Presentation, December 2012

Planning and preparation is about increasing the probability of success

• It’s about consistently producing a high standard of performance under the most challenging of circumstances. It is not about producing good performances when it doesn’t matter. Those athletes would be described as Training Champions.

• The answer is all about detailed and thorough planning and preparation.

Specificity of Preparation• The Olympics are different, unique, fantastic, awesome but

also frightening, weird, and full of unhelpful distractions and surprises.

• Preparing for the Olympic Games has to be planned and specific to the host environment.

• This is not something that can be left to chance and we should not assume that someone else within the Australian sporting system is dealing with it.

• The athletes compete against foreign athletes but any back-room team has to see itself as competing against their foreign counterparts.

Campaign Rio 2013-2016• AOC and AIS worked together to establish a series of

regular meetings focusing on the High Performance personnel from the NSOs. This was much better than their preparation for 2012.

• Focus on getting staff to be better prepared than their foreign counterparts. A form of CPD and a forum for sharing ideas on Rio.

• In 2013, 2014 & 2015 really good sessions took place. In second half of 2015 and 2016 the focus shifted to logistics, uniforms, key dates etc. Was not clear why or how this happened. But it was an error.

Three R’s of Success (presentation in 2014)

• Risk – managing it• Resilience – increasing it• Readiness – achieving a state of

Our Aim?• If there is an “off-field” competition between ourselves

and other NOC planners and strategists from around the world, we top the podium.

• If we have the most thoroughly prepared Olympic/Paralympic committees, and if our NSOs are better prepared than their foreign counterparts, and if the AIS is working better than other international academies then we increase the probability of success no matter the circumstances.

• Indeed, we should welcome difficulties because we’ll be better able to respond. Thriving not just surviving!

Mutual Understandings

• Accepting our aim means everyone - from organisations, to staff, to coaches, to athletes - has a hand in our outcomes.

• For parts of our system, this is “business as usual.” Risk Management, Resilience, and Readiness is how they conduct their business.

• But for others with less resources or less multi-sport experience, this will require some tweaking or indeed for a different group, this might entail major transformation.

The Unexpected…

• Absolutely guarantee some things will occur which are unexpected. They will be unique. Guaranteed. Beyond question.• But all Games research shows that if we

have prepared for other similar or parallel circumstances we will have a better chance of coping when those truly unique and “special” things occur.

…And the Necessary

• Painstaking risk management and careful preparation take us a long way toward Readiness.

• Success is also about balance, flexibility, and resilience—the mindsets we each bring to the task of success at Games time.

• The next 2 days are about addressing these issues with practical solutions to difficult problems.

Timeframe for Change

• 2015 is the time to be trialling or experimenting in this space • 2016 is about finalising, locking-

in, and being ready.

Approach for this Forum• A little sharing of information from the lectern• Some self-reflection and self-awareness work• Working in groups• Increase awareness, provide resources

Trying to exploit the combined intellectual capital in the room. • No monopoly on good ideas.• We can all improve by hearing other people’s take on things.• We further strengthen the network of people we can tap in

to.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Olympic Planning (or how to avoid stuffing everything up by not predicting the

likely potholes along the road to Rio){March 2015}

byKirsten Peterson and Brian Miller

The 7 Sins

• Acclimatisation• Team Climate• Staff Enhancement• Transitioning• Managing Risk• Health• Technology

1. Acclimatisation

• In 2012, various TeamGB squads employed “Readiness Plans” or “AcclimStrats”. And they were at home !

• Acclimatisation is not just about humidity levels, jet lag strategies and hydration plans. That is 1990’s thinking and is not going to give AWE any sort of edge – at all !

Acclimatisation• What is your strategy for “acclimatisation” for Rio ? • What are the plans that underpin your approach ? (Climate

means total Olympic environment: prevailing weather, time zone adjustment, apartment living, psychological/emotional components, competition schedule, transport, food, boredom, safety, health and hygiene issues etc.)

• When will this strategy be developed ? • What are the sport-specific parts ? • When will it be trialled ? • When will it be announced and implemented ? • How will it be communicated ? • Do we require buy-in from “significant others” ?• After the Games, how will it be evaluated ?

2. Team “Climate”• Any group with more than 2 people has a “climate”. Climate

can be encouraging, supportive and positive, or discouraging, ill-disciplined and destructive. And lots in between.

• The critical formula is….. Actual level of performance = Potential level of

performance – Process losses.

Team climate will often determine how many process losses exist within a team. And when 2 groups have equal levels of potential performance, it is process losses which determine the outcome.

Team Climate

• What’s your plan for ongoing development and refinement of the climate piece ?

• Everything prior to Rio is like a practice or phoney war. The Games will be where the gaps are exposed if everyone on your team is not clear on the game plan for what the team stands for, what behaviours are “in” versus “out” and how that culture will be maintained under stressful conditions.

Team Climate

• What approach have you taken so far, and how will it be built upon in the next 15 months ?

• What approach are you taking to gaining buy-in from staff, athletes and family members ? (Like the addition of family members!!)

• How is “climate” being rolled -out ? • How was it rolled out in the past and how can

that be improved upon ? • Does your Board play a role in this process ?

Team Climate

• If you anticipate that your Board will want to be involved, how will you manage that now and at the Games?

• Will you be using external facilitators to help develop Climate sessions?

• What are the details of your plan – who/when/where/how ?

• After the Games, how will it be evaluated ?

3. Staff Enhancement• Experience tells us that in some cases, it’s not the athletes

who concern us at Games time, but the staff around them who lose their heads, over-manage, or otherwise cope poorly with Games stresses.

• What is your Games-ready strategy for the staff who will help prepare the athletes in the build-up, and what is your strategy for the staff who will be attending the Games ?

• What are you doing about Olympic-specific professional development for debutants ?

• What do they need to know, and how will they get to know about it ?

Staff Enhancement• Has someone with Olympic experience been assigned

to manage this project ? • If there are SIS/SAS staff who are important in the

build-up but who won’t be attending the Games, do they know that already ?

• When will you choose your ‘long-list’ of potential staff members, and when will it become a short-list prior to getting final confirmation from AOC re: accreditations ?

• When are you planning to let athletes know which staff members will be in Rio as opposed to staging camps ?

• How is this process going to be managed ? What options do you have ?

Staff Enhancement• What is your strategy towards the

management of all of these key human assets in the next 15 months ?

• Are you proactively measuring their effectiveness ?

• Are you operating a “run until they fail” approach to human asset management, or are you doing some preventative maintenance aimed at ensuring the key staff arrive in Rio running at 100% efficiency ?

Staff Enhancement• Health of staff (especially those over 50) is

important. Historically about 2-3 major medical events per Games, and many minor ones for staff. Get medicals done now, dental check-ups etc.

• What R&R will staff have before they head off to Rio ?

• Has this been discussed and debated with Board and/or senior leadership team ?

• Is there buy-in to an agreed plan ? • After the Games, how will your plans be

evaluated ?

4. Transitioning• Is your “transitioning” plan in place for 2016 ?

• Athletes and staff will need to transition from the Daily Performance Environment (DPE) to a Competition Environment (CE) at some stage in 2015, presumably ? There will be a benchmark event such as World Cup, World Champs, Grand Prix etc.

• What preparation are you doing for the DPE transition to CE ?

• Then in 2016 the transition becomes more complicated due to the potential insertion of a Staging Camp Environment (SCE).

• So 2016 sees a move from DPE to SCE to CE ! Medals are won and lost in this 2-4 week period.

Transitioning

Transitioning• Will you use a “critical friend” to challenge your plans and

assumptions ? • What differences will you prepare your staff and athletes

for ? • What items are in your plan ? • In the village itself there is an almost daily transition from

“Disney World/Circus” to training or competition venues. What planning is in place to optimise this situation ?

• If you’re a team sport which hopefully keeps playing for the entire tournament, how will your transitioning plan “peak” at the right end of the competition ?

• After the Games, how will it be evaluated ?

Rio - first ever Olympics in South America

Prepare for absolutely anything and everything !

Rio

Rio

Outside the village – Rio

Rio

ZIKA VIRUS AS AT 1 JUNE 2016

/ Scientific info on Zika & its causes is evolving, likely medical advice will be updated between now & Games time

/ All females of childbearing age need to be aware of the specific risks of microcephaly, should the mother become infected during pregnancy

/ Pregnant women are advised not to travel to areas of ongoing Zika virus outbreaks, including Brazil

/ For family planning post-Rio consult with your medical practitioner

/ Use of barrier contraception is recommended for up to 8 weeks on return from Brazil

Rio

Rio

The AOC’s “Edge”

The Edge

So how did the AOC perform ?

• Apparently much better than in 2012• Much better preparation in the 2 years running in to

Rio. #OneTeam seemed to work• The Edge and Campaign Rio were a lot like TeamGB in

the 90’s and 2000’s• Challenges with media and media control• Issues with politics • Uniform • Integration between AOC and AIS was not tight enough

Athletics Australia

Road To Rio

Athletics Australia• Moscow 2013 - Kim Mickle was the exception

rather than the rule ! Poor processes and systems. Most athletes didn’t make it out of prelims.

• Glasgow !• Beijing• Staff dev hasbeen key, viaroadshows &workshops

Olympics environment – what will it be like ? (March 2016)

• The Olympic Games can be hostile and confronting. It can be quite different from a World Championships and we need to be prepared for that.

• Events in Olympic village have included: assaults, homicide threats, cardiac events and fatalities. It is out of our normal “comfort zones” and can last for 2-3 weeks.

• It makes people behave unpredictably and ex-athletes often talk about it being a life-changing experience.

• And it all plays out in front of the world’s media.

Quote for The Secret Olympian (2000)

• “During the Games the village undergoes a gradual change from a monastery to Club 18-30 holiday camp. The village gets noisier and noisier with more athletes having bugger all to do. They don’t want to leave the village. It’s like a free holiday for two weeks. I felt so sorry for the sports who are on in Week 2 or who have to keep going for the entire 20 days.”

Starting conversations early

• We all anticipate there will be challenges in Europe, Florida and Rio. Nothing new in that.

• But what can we do now to better prepare ourselves, staff and athletes, for the inevitable chaos we will encounter ?

• Being surprised at the weirdness, the pressure and the chaos will be a collective failure on our parts. We expect “stuff” to happen and need to prepare accordingly.

Starting conversations early ?

• What advice should we give to debutant athletes and staff ? If we knew then, what we know now, how much better might we have performed ?!?

• What 2 things should be addressed by athletes, coaches and support staff between Nationals and leaving for Europe/USA ? What actions should we undertake which specifically help prepare for chaos ?

Even when no-one is watching

• We are in direct competition with other Athletics staff from other countries.

• We need to be task-oriented, focused and reliable. Athletes do not warm to staff who go weird at the Games.

• We will not transform in to super-beings in Rio, but we will pay attention to detail and do the best job possible to achieve the best results possible for all of the team.

How did Athletics go ?

• Generally well. Achieved the target of 2 medals and exceeded target of Top 8 and Top 16 finishes

• Most staff stood up and performed well• Most athletes were satisfied with support they

were given• 3 significant “What ifs” occurred and our plan

worked. They were almost non-events to those who didn’t know they were occurring

Synchronised Swimming

Road To Rio

Support

Journey started in 2014

• Canadian Open, World Cup. Young team, poor physical condition, inadequate technical skills

• Preparing for World 2015. Travel/touring skills, mental resilience work

• Imported coach• Volunteer support staff

2015 campaign aimed at qualification via Oceania

• Camp-based programme at the AIS. Canadian-based coach and WA-based assistant. Return home = different quality of training

• Main themes were “bounce-backability” and resilience. Putting old heads on young shoulders – quickly

• Group sessions, working on goal setting, what ifs…, preparing for Worlds in Kazan

• Beat New Zealand to qualify. Then Commonwealth Festival in Perth, including de-briefing by outsider.

Post-qualification October 2015 onwards

• Change of coaching staff• Training became increasingly centralised at AIS

and in Perth – WAIS great !• 12 will become 9 after Trials• Compete in Japan & Spain• Appeals and CAS• Sessions with other femaleOlympians

What next ??

• Finished 8th in Team• Lived the moment(s)• Upheld the “brand”• Involved in Aus parades

8 New Olympians

• Only ever been 30+ Aus Olympic Synchro swimmers

• Must stay in sport• Bidding for AISSupport via AWE

Impact on participation ?

• Publicity• This is possible !• More enquiries• Adults as well• Schools interest

Exposure

Exposure

So what about Tokyo and beyond ?

• Rigorous review of what did and didn’t work for AOC, AIS, AA, SSAI etc.

• Even more rigorous review of what smart things other nations did. One eye in, one eye out

• Identify the gaps between the “As Is” situation and the “To Be” environment

• Devise a plan to close those gaps• Execute the plan with a passion

QUESTIONS ?

• Tell us about the sporting journey you took to be competing in Rio.

• If you were a coach or team manager in Tokyo 2020 or the Olympics in 2024, what would be your main message to the athletes who you were working with at that Games ? How would you help them prepare for the uniqueness of the Olympics ?