Do sports organizations and athletes want us to follow them year round or just during the Olympic Games?

This article was originally published on SportCafé's website in 2013.

When the Olympics are on, most Canadians are glued to the television. Would these sports fans be interested to see our Olympians compete in local events? Is it the Games themselves that get the fans excited or do they love the sports and athletes as well?

I have loved the Olympics since I can remember, devouring every hour of telecast offered. Until I went to the Olympics, the only Olympians I ever saw live were figure skaters (performing in Stars on Ice), runners (road races) and Olympians who compete on Pro tours (tennis, hockey, basketball). Was I not attending other events because I wasn't interested? Not at all, I wasn't attending because I didn't know they were happening.

Three years ago, I was flicking through the sports channels when I noticed a canoe/kayak competition was on. "Cool", I thought. It doesn't happen often I get to watch canoe/kayak outside of the Olympics, so I leave it on. I then realize that the competition was in Toronto. Adam van Koeverden, our flag bearer and 3 time Olympic medallist (at the time) was competing in Toronto and I didn't know? How can that be? I put it in my calendar for the following spring to check the canoe kayak schedule to see if there was another competition in Toronto so I could go and see it.

How many other Olympians had competed in my area that I didn't known about?

That day the seed was planted. Why did I have to wait four years to see these athletes and sports? The following spring, I launched Olympic Hearts with a Twitter account to help me find out who our upcoming athletes are and when they were competing.

I did go to the canoe kayak event the following year and saw Adam compete, as well as Mark Oldershaw and Mark de Jonge who would go on to win Olympic medals of their own in 2012. It was amazing to see them win in London when I had already seen them canoe and kayak in Toronto.

The more amateur sporting events I attend, the more I get the impression that they are catered to the family and friends of the athletes and to very knowledgeable fans. Even sometimes I will find an event, but there is no spectator information on the website. Do sports organizations and athletes want us to follow them year round or just during the Olympic Games? I guess the athletes do and a lot I am talking about is out of their control.

I would love to see thousands of fans at local events. I met a local gentleman who came to see the national team trials for canoe kayak in Welland with his new D-SLR camera. He was leaving the event not knowing who he had photographed (and until I talked to him, not knowing Olympians were there).

At the Toronto International Track & Field Games, Olympic medallist high jumper Derek Drouin competed without being mentioned until his last jump when he was attempting to break the Canadian record. As the competitors stood in line to be introduced, the announcer introduced a teenager relay race that was about to start instead so the high jumpers started their competition without an announcement.

Even though this was a National Track League event, there seemed to be more excitement about the teen relays than our top Canadians competing to qualify for the World Championships. I will partly blame the sub-par sound system and the announcing for lack of information being given out to spectators who didn't research before attending the event. Last year a list of competitors was handed out at the gate, but they didn't do that this year.

When telling people about the events I attend, I often hear "I would have loved to have seen that". The events are just not on people's radars. Is it that they don't really care or does it take too much time and effort to find the information?

I wonder if it's a lot easier for people living in Olympic host cities like Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Do the people of Montreal fill the stands during swimming and diving competitions? Is the Calgary Olympic Oval full during speed skating competitions? Does Whistler fill up with bobsleigh, skeleton and luge fans?

There was no problem selling out BMO Field when our women's soccer team played against the USA this past summer. Would it have sold out 2 years ago or is it the team's story that gets the sell-out now? Could we have been even more excited to see them win a medal in 2012 if we had already seen them play and already knew the players?

Am I in the minority of people who want to know who our Olympians are before the Olympic Games begin? From the crowds I witnessed walking with the Olympic parade last year, I don't think so. I believe if people find out that the best in the world and the best in Canada are competing in their community, they would want to attend.

NHL, MLB and NBA seasons are easy to follow. They have Hockey Night in Canada. They have NFL Sunday Night Football. Premiership Football (Soccer) games are televised on Saturday mornings. It seems like it's constantly on and there's an easy schedule to follow.

Most Olympic sports are televised sporadically.  Their seasons are short and you have to take the time to find out when it's being shown or when there are local competitions. If viewership is low, I don't think it's because people aren't interested to watch, I think it's because people don't know it's on (or it's on in the middle of the night).

Yesterday, it was announced that Sportsnet would not be televising alpine skiing this year.

"Skiing was dropped due to cut backs at Sportsnet. [CBC] will have FIS races and Olympics." (Brian Stemmle)

CBC showed some of the races last year while Sportsnet televised most (or all) the races. Will CBC televise them all this year, or will most of the races not be shown at all? It is sad if the television coverage of a sport like alpine skiing is diminished leading into the Olympic Games.

Ojbectif Sotchi and CBC Sports Weekend are a great start giving us weekly shows to watch but what about summer sports? Toronto will be hosting the 2015 Pan Am Games. Will we know our athletes before the Games begin? We won't with the way our main sports stations show amateur sports.

Amateur sports fans have to be savvy with their PVR's, not sleep or they miss out.

When I talk to sports fans about events I've seen live, on television or on the internet, I often get asked, "how do you find out about these things?" I can almost say it's a full-time job trying to find out what events are being held or shown in Canada. It's the reason I originally started my blog which led me to work with SportCafé in sharing these events with other fans. Once I've spent the time, why not share the information with others so they don't have to?

It's a work in progress as I still haven't figured out the best or most efficient way to find out about upcoming competitions. It's also a work in progress in getting the word out that SportCafé is building the best events calendar in amateur sports in Canada.

We would love for it to be an easy way for people to find out which events they can attend and which events they can watch on television or online. The audience and the interest can grow and grow.

"If we build it, they will come"

Letting people know that competitions are happening is only the first step though. The more people watch, perhaps the more the television stations will broadcast.

The local events have to improve the spectator experience as well in order to get the fans to return year after year and grow. The telecasts and livestreams have to improve their analysis and commentary so that we better understand the sports and we get to know the athletes as they are rising in the ranks of their respective sports. The more we know, the more we'll love.

Rosie MacLennan has gotten a lot of attention in the media since she won Olympic gold. Wouldn't it have been great to have been able to see her compete in person before she won? Wouldn't it have been even more special when she won to have seen her rise to become Olympic champion? Or do we only care about winners, so once they win, we follow them?

I find the most interesting stories aren't always with the winners, the medallists or even the Olympians. "Give Your Everything" isn't only during the Olympic Games. It's every day during the pursuit to be the best you can be. That's worth following and that's worth witnessing every day - not only every four years.