One of Britain’s most recognisable and experienced sports broadcasters, Hazel Irvine has been in the industry for 27 years, including working at 13 Olympic Games. For the past decade she has also fronted UK Sport’s annual World Class Performance Conference, which brings together the people who work at the heart of high performance sport.
With this year’s Conference set to take place in Wembley from 24-26 November, we asked Hazel to share her insights and most memorable moments from past conferences.
Hazel, you’ve hosted UK Sport’s Conference for over 10 years, how did it all start?
What attracted me was getting the inside story of how the system actually works and finding out what British sport was doing to get better. My first conference was around the time of Manchester’s Commonwealth Games when there was an explosion of interest in sport and of British success. It was a fantastic opportunity that offered me a real insight into the other side of the athlete story than I was familiar with as a broadcaster.
From there on in it’s been a fascinating journey for the whole of British sport, and also for me, to see this transformation in the fortunes of the nation as together we’ve experienced some of the biggest moments any of us will ever go through, with two Home Games.
Has the insight you’ve gained helped you as a broadcaster?
I’ve been incredibly privileged to have been given this access and see what goes on with the performance side of things and that’s been a real eye opener for me. UK Sport has invested a lot of trust in me and given me access to some pretty sensitive information and hopefully I’ve repaid that trust; I’ve always been very careful about the hats that I wear at these events and how I use that information.
It’s certainly enhanced my understanding of the journeys of the respective athletes and the processes they have to go through, and what the whole of the sporting system has to go through, to produce success.
What makes the conference special?
I really look forward to it every year because I know it’s going to be hugely stimulating. Coming from the mad world of sports broadcasting, I’ve found it so beneficial to learn from people involved in the mad world of performance sport. There are certainly some very strong parallels in terms of performance that we share; the whole idea of reflective practice, of taking a step back and asking ‘how can I make this better?’ and using my own energy to make the techniques that I use better.
What are your most memorable moments?
In terms of the speakers, there have been so many highlights, Dame Stella Rimington, Cirque du Soleil, hearing the All Blacks talking about some of the most incredible forward thinking innovations, the story of British Cycling and the marginal gains concept, the list is endless. I’ve taken something new each time I’ve been at the conference, every time I come away I try to sit down and write the top ten things I’ve learnt.
The theme at this year’s conference is Focus, how do you prepare and focus for working at a major event?
Over the years I’ve refined the techniques of what I need to do to be ready for a major event and I actually think London in 2012 and Glasgow and Sochi in 2014 were probably the best prepared I’ve ever been. I’m already thinking longer term what I will need to do to be ready for Rio, it’s an on-going process for me, like it is in high performance sport, it’s not something that will just hit me with two weeks to go, but I also have many other things to focus on between now and then.
Hazel Irvine will host UK Sport’s World Class Performance Conference, presented by Sportscover, at the Wembley Hilton from 24-26 November 2014. The conference brings together coaches, practitioners and leaders from the British high performance sports community to meet, debate and share best practice across key themes influencing athletes’ performances. The theme of this year’s Conference is Focus.