Author Archives: Marnie

The Art of Leadership: Love It or Hate It

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Last week, Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) announced that Mike Spracklen, an internationally renowned rowing coach would no longer be part of its coaching staff and it has put most rowers, and those who follow rowing, into one of two camps. You either think it is a good thing, or a terrible thing; it is very difficult to be in the middle.

Mike Spracklen has had a brilliant career as a coach and is passionate about the movement and effort of rowing. His thoughts and directions to his crews often sound poetic. He is an artist and like most art – discussion of it can be very polarizing.

The situation leads me to remember a play I saw in London a few years ago called Art. It was a one-act play – a kind of British-Seinfeld discussion where one of the three characters had recently purchased a very expensive piece of art. With great pride he showed his beloved new painting to his best friend who absolutely hated it. “It is a white paining with white diagonal stripes. How could you possibly have spent so much money on such a thing?” The comical yet heated play that followed discussed how they could remain friends if they were so opposite on whether this was art or not. Continue reading →

For Olympic champion Marnie McBean, the proof is in the medals

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Athlete shares how wanting more can fuel the path to success

by Jules Torti, Special to the Vancouver Sun (Link to article here)

The Power of More

By Marnie McBean, foreword by Steve Nash

Greystone Books, Douglas & McIntyre, 257 pages

If anyone is entitled to writing about achieving goals, it would be a three-time Olympic rowing champion with three gold and one bronze medal as testament. In The Power of More, Marnie McBean translates her infectious energy into a book that is the equivalent of verbal Red Bull.

There is an instant pep rally momentum to her easily digestible subtitle: “How small steps can help you achieve big goals.” We are introduced to the mental physique of a retired athlete who has already proven her physical endurance — and her continued high-octane enthusiasm to be better and more is contagious. Humbling anecdotal moments where McBean admits nearly quitting, failure, disillusionment and frustration quickly level the playing field. She’s normal, she’s human. Continue reading →

Marnie McBean – Promoting girls’ rights around the World!

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Now Marnie McBean promotes girls’ rights worldwide! Photo, courtesy of Because I Am a Girl

article in Canadian Living.ca by Donna Paris Aug 18, 2012

(link to Canadian Living site )

Marnie McBean is one of our most inspiring Canadians – yes, she’s a rowing champion and one of our favourite Olympians, but now she’s also championing girls’ rights globally with Because I Am a Girl.

Now Marnie McBean promotes girls’ rights worldwide! Photo, courtesy of Because I Am a Girl

This past summer, she acted as an official mentor for the Canadian Olympic team. She’s featured in our October issue of Canadian Living, but when our intern Erin Morawetz interviewed her she had so much to say, we thought we’d tell you a bit more about Marnie, her mentoring ways, her new book, The Power of More, and her memories of each of her Olympic Games.

Because if there’s one thing that Marnie does well – other than row, that is – it’s inspire. Continue reading →

London Olympic Rowing – Best seat in the house

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front row, tv monitor, informed friends to discuss what we’re watching….

I went to London with CTV to be a Primetime studio analyst for the Olympic rowing regatta. This meant that while a team of people would call the races stroke by stroke as they happened, I would observe the regatta and explain what was going on in the big picture to the Primetime audience in Canada in the middle of the night in the UK.

To do this – I had one hell of a daily schedule. I was at the Eton Dorney Rowing Centre from 8am-3pm to get a feel of what was happening at the regatta, talk to my international peers and watch all the incredible races. My actual work with CTV was in the evening. I would go into the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at about 7pm to prepare for the live Primetime show with Brian Williams. Depending on what time I was on – I was there until 2-3am.

I was very lucky to have a driver for most of my commuting. I had a hotel about 45min from the IBC – where I would sleep for 1-2 hrs by day- and another hotel about 30min from the Rowing course- where I would sleep 2-4 hrs by night. The drive between the two was never less than an hour, sometimes closer to 2hours, and once – when I had to take a bus and a train – it took me 3hours 20 minutes. The route between the two was actually incredibly scenic and I was driven by the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. One day- we went passed Big Ben as it chimed 3am… and then again later as it chimed 3pm –for nine days I was commuting a lot and sleeping only a little.

The regatta was amazing and my role was incredible. Continue reading →