No rest for the retired wrestler, as Beijing 2008 gold medallist Carol Huynh has enjoyed a busy summer-to-fall transition.
The Hazelton, B.C., native successfully campaigned in early September at Buenos Aires for the sport to remain on the Olympic menu for the 2020 Games in Tokyo after several months of International Olympic Committee dithering. On September 20 in Budapest, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles rewarded her with induction into its Hall of Fame. Huynh was in Vancouver October 18 to appear at the International Women's Forum and reactivate the Olympic cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza. Then, on October 22, she was appointed chair of the federation's new athletes' commission.
"Sometimes even bad press is good press," Huynh said about the original Olympic sport's grapple to stay in the Games. "It was good to be in people's minds. This whole thing was unfortunate, but at the same time it was a catalyst for real positive changes in our sport."
Huynh, who won the 48-kg division bronze at London 2012, parlayed her prominence into sponsorships with PwC, Lululemon and Bell. Now she is making the transition to coaching and hopes to foster the next generation of maple leaf mat medallists. Manager Colin Young of SportBrand has been instrumental in making it possible for Huynh to focus on the mat instead of worrying about making ends meet.
"Colin worked at the sport centre here in Calgary. He was good friends with my coach. When I won the Olympics in 2008, I hadn't planned on doing anything but going to the tournament and competing," she said. "Afterward I was bombarded with messages on my email, voice mail and Facebook page. I was overwhelmed. Colin was actually nice enough to step in and help me manage those. It evolved into a manager/athlete relationship."
What should an athlete look for in a manager? Huynh said connections to the business community are key but not paramount.
"Somebody who is willing to take the time to understand what you want and how you want to work," she said.
Stadium roof trial update
Despite delaying the start of the marathon BC Place Stadium roof trial until February 3, lawyers for French cable subcontractor Freyssinet and Quebec steel supplier Canam were in BC Supreme Court October 21 to update Justice Gregory Bowden on pretrial progress.
Booked for 105 days, the trial is scheduled to begin at the Law Courts almost a month before the March 2 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic. Will it move fast enough for Bowden to be able to deliver a verdict before the 102nd Grey Cup at the end of November 2014?
Freyssinet claims Canam owes it $6.15 million, but Canam claims Freyssinet is responsible for $40 million in cost overruns. BC Pavilion Corp. and PCL Constructors Westcoast are secondary defendants in the Freyssinet action; neither will escape scrutiny.
"We take issue with every one of these source documents," Clark Wilson's Doug Lahay, representing Freyssinet, told Bowden. "We've said we dispute that there were cost overruns and, if there were any, they've been greatly exaggerated."
Canam lawyer Stuart Hankinson of Shapiro Hankinson and Knutson told Bowden that computers, a printer, a photocopier, a scanner and Internet access will be required in the courtroom. A field trip to BC Place for the judge and the lawyers will happen in the early stages. Hankinson didn't mention whether they would actually set foot on the roof for a closer look at the costly cables.
"We are doing our best to attempt an out-of-court mediation with a fairly significant mediator and hopefully that will occur later part of November, early part of December," Hankinson said in court.
Hankinson didn't disclose the mediator's name, but he or she won't have an easy task. It may just be an exercise in box-ticking on the way to February 3.
Said Hankinson to Bowden: "From the discovery process, which your lordship can appreciate has been relatively lengthy, there are not many areas of agreement between the parties."
A gambling problem
Just in time for game one of the World Series (ended with a pitch by B.C.'s-own Red Sox reliever Ryan Dempster) a new San Francisco-developed social media gambling app launched. Youbetme, free via the Apple store, enables anyone to create a wager for virtually anything.
Online gambling is illegal in Canada, unless licensed by a provincial monopoly like BC Lottery Corp. Meanwhile, Canada’s Senate dithers on whether to legalize single-event wagering. Section 204 of the Criminal Code, however, allows “a private bet between individuals not engaged in any way in the business of betting.” •
