Beijing behind the scenes: Canadian figure skating judge loves being on the hot seat
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2022 (1044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Andrea Derby has been judging figure skating since she retired from pairs competition when she was 16 years old. She’s been a championship level judge since 2008 and this is her second time judging at the Olympics. In Beijing she was on the judging panel for team figure skating events and judges pairs next.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What drew you to this?
For just about every amateur athlete in Canada or around the world, everybody’s dream is to go to the Olympics. Unfortunately, most of us don’t get there as athletes. But I think that dream is always still inside of us. So you want to go to the Olympics to experience it in whatever capacity you can get there.
How did you get chosen for the Games?
Within Canada, it’s not necessarily that you raise your hand and say, ‘you know, I’d really like to be considered.’ It’s almost assumed that if you are an ISU (International Skating Union) championship level judge this is your goal — you want go to the Olympics.
It’s a small pool of officials and everybody is equally qualified once they get to that ISU championship designation, so you just wait for the committee to make their selections and hope that you are in consideration.
What’s it like to be on the panel that determines who wins Olympic medals?
You absolutely feel the honour and privilege of being there, that’s first and foremost. It’s also incredibly exciting. We’re not the athletes competing, but we’re feeling the energy of the Games.
There is also an exponentially higher level of our regular stress and nervousness and adrenalin of being on the judging panel.
At most events, there’s a certain level of nervousness, we want to get it right. At the Olympics, it’s just off the charts because the whole world is watching. You do feel that.
What’s the most challenging part?
Just before the events get started, managing the level of anxiety and stress. But what I remember from Vancouver 2010 is that as soon as the event starts you automatically fall into your regular routine and you almost forget that it is the Olympics.
Once the athletes start skating we have a thousand things to think of, and you get into your zone. You’re there to do the job you’ve been trained to do and you’re there to do the best possible job.
Favourite part?
I actually love being on the hot seat, the more pressure, the better, it’s a wonderful adrenalin rush.
My second favourite part would be just being able to be in the building and having the best seat in the house to watch these incredible athletes.
How do you stay impartial when Canadians step on the ice?
It’s something that everybody wants to know. We address the issue of bias all the time in our training.
At the end of the day, when I’m sitting on the panel, I want the right result because we believe in a fair and accurate result — that’s what the athletes have trained their lives for.
I’ve also found over the years that athletes want the marks that they deserve; they don’t want more, they don’t want less. It doesn’t help anybody to over-mark or to under-mark.
Everybody wants a fair result. It would not feel good to let bias creep in.
Do you feel part of a team at the Olympics?
For the figure skating part of the Olympics, I feel part of the team of officials there representing the ISU.
If I go to another event, like a hockey game, then, of course, I feel like I’m part of Team Canada.
What event in Beijing would you want to be a spectator at?
Women’s and men’s hockey would normally be my No. 1 choice but at the Vancouver Olympics, short-track speedskating became my favourite event.
But I’m an Olympics junkie, I love everything. In Montreal (the 1976 Summer Olympics) my parents took us and it was this wonderful introduction to what the Olympics are all about.
Kerry Gillespie is a Toronto-based sports reporter for the Star. Reach her via email: kgillespie@thestar.ca
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