Stephen Podborski was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree Thursday, June 9, 2011 by Thompson Rivers University.
Steve last raced for Canada in 1984, leaving the world of alpine skiing as the only non-European male ever to win a World Cup downhill title, a record, which holds today.
However, it is his work since his athletic endeavors that set him apart.
He has demonstrated a constant commitment to his sport and sport in general, to community, and to his province and country.
He has become a successful businessman and broadcaster, has given to numerous volunteer causes, and has broad Olympic expertise, having attended as an athlete and broadcaster, having been part of a successful bid committee, part of the organizing committee and was co-Chef de Mission for 2010.
Podborski’s remarks upon receiving the honorary degree.
Mr. Chancellor
Members of the Board, Faculty and Staff of Thompson Rivers University
Ladies and Gentlemen
And, most important, today’s graduating class
It has been half a century since I first started to ski. It was one of the central pillars of a life well lived. One could not claim that it was a unique life, as the path to “success” through the life of a sportsman is well trodden, but it was a great deal of fun, hard work and even, I must tell you, occasional heartbreak. We can look at the good stuff.
Here we are at the end of your education, at least one end, and in one more rite of initiation. You must now endure the dreaded Convocation Address. You will understand that it is no accident that the Convocation Address occurs before you get your degrees. Were it otherwise, you would undoubtedly vote with your feet and I would have a chance to address empty seats.
The deal is, however, you now have the opportunity to learn how to simulate a lively interest in what I might choose to impose on you; and I to pretend that you are fascinated with my every utterance. I.e. my job is to speak and your job is to listen. I will try to finish my job before you finish yours.
That being the case, let me tell you a story or two about the aforementioned good stuff, because my coach of the later years always reminded me, ”Tell them what they want to hear Pod, because they won’t believe the truth anyway”. But these particular stories are the absolute truth!
In 1975 Ken Read won a World cup race. Stunner actually; from start number 1. The first Canadian ever to win one. In that race the great Franz Klammer, best DH skier ever, fell a few seconds from the finish. At our hotel where we were enjoying the first of many bottles of champagne to be won by the not yet named Crazy Canucks, the representative from our ski company came by and bought another and then told us that if Klammer hadn’t of fallen he would have won! Now it should be recognized that Klammer had won every race the year before except one where his ski came off. So we rewound our video and ran Ken to a tower just short of the finish, and then forwarded to Klammer and ran him up to the same tower and Ken was ahead! That guy was stunned and we had our first Euro believer.
Then we were off to Schladming, Aus where Dave Irwin was winning the timed runs and Ken felt he was the guy who would continue to win. They were faced off at the wax tables along with Dave Murray and me (by the way doing our own skis and winning is like changing your own tires in the Indy 500 and still winning) We worked away until Mur and I were done and they still kept at it. Finally they were finished and then Ir reached down, pulled out a tiny little file and started to file the rough edges off his bindings! So Ken did the same. Mur and I thought this was preposterous.
The next day saw the race run on a very fast and dangerous track and Dave won by 1.65 seconds, which is an eternity in DH racing, and beat Klammer fair and square to be the first to beat him in over a year. The result was that there was almost a riot in the finish area after the awards ceremony and we had to make a fast getaway in the car, and then went off to celebrate by drinking a little Austrian beer!
Did filing the rough edges make him faster? No. But it was a symbol to him that he was totally prepared. There was nothing left for Dave to do except win, so he did! I cannot tell you how powerful a lesson that was for me. Impeccable preparation. Leave no room for failure.
It might be wondered what possessed us to try to beat the Europeans? We are a hockey crazed country, much like the Austrians and skiing. So how could we do it? Let me tell you the secret…
DH racing involves three phases. Inspection, training and racing. Imagine how difficult it is to inspect and memorize a 3.6 K DH in one hour and then run it at speeds over 130 kph. It really helps to have a team mate who gets it and will share. I had that in Dave and Ken and Dave. We wanted to beat them so we would coach each other on the line. Then we would watch each other on video. And do more coaching, because we wanted to beat “them”. The race had a random draw for the top 15 start numbers. If I had number 5 and Ken 15 when I got to the finish I would radio up and tell Ken how to go through a section where the course had changed so he could beat “them”. And he would! Which is great! More champagne.
But I was also doing something else. I was telling him how to beat me! And it does not say in the results that Ken won because Steve told him how. It simply says Ken won. But the next week Ken would repay the favour and I might win, and we believed and we wanted to beat them more than we wanted to beat each other; enough to make it work.
The point here is that the Europeans can do this. No rules against it. But they will not. Find a way to change the game, I find that teamwork is highly underrated, and you can win against incredible odds.
John Newcombe is a Wimbledon winner from Australia from way back. Smart guy and we were having dinner and I was bemoaning the fate of our Alpine ski team and telling him what a poor job the management was doing. As I stopped to take a breath and launch into the next part of my diatribe he cut in and asked me “What are you doing about it?”
I hated him for a moment. He was right! I was part of the problem, not part of the solution. Since that day I have applied for jobs and volunteered to be one of those who catch the bricks; not throw them. From the Session of the COC, to bidding for the Games, assistant Chef du mission for the Canadian Olympic team in 2010 ( a record 14 Gold medals and a few stories there I can tell you) to serving on many other boards and FIS Committees and other activities I have discovered that volunteering to be part of the solution is extremely satisfying. Catch bricks; the world will be a better place, you will have the moral high ground and it is really fun!
Looking back like this, however, on the success of yesteryear brings to mind the components of a very special day for all of you. You have reached a measurable stage of progress in your life’s journey, which calls for both recognition and celebration. You have had the benefit of an education which ranks among the finest available on the face of this planet and you are about to embark on further adventure, in Canada or elsewhere. The occasion calls for ceremony, which takes the form of this traditional academic procession, the public confirmation of what you have accomplished the granting of a degree, certificate or diploma and, finally, the sharing of your achievement with family and friends. Perhaps even a glass of champagne! I add my own congratulations to each of you.
I wish each of you the best of success in what lies ahead. The education you have earned is one of the greatest tools you have to help you through the arc of your life. I encourage you to use your education with the reinforcement of impeccable preparation, the comfort and uplifting spirit of team work and the generosity of giving to others. With these tools you will truly be a great member of our society and this great nation of Canada or whichever country you call home.
My last responsibility this afternoon is to thank Thompson Rivers University for the great honour it has bestowed upon me today. This is a very special moment for me and I will certainly cherish it forever. I must share with you that tactically I am here in person to be sure that I get out of here, with my degree, before there can be an institutional change of mind.
And you – Class of 2011 – get out there and prepare and work together and give back to make a difference. Make it a good difference; live a great life.
