Roxanne Huot

Here’s a series of 4 articles featuring some of our 14 experts who will be at the Paris Olympic Games or working remotely. For the second portrait, we had the opportunity to chat with Roxanne Huot, Scientific Services Advisor at INS Québec. With a career that began as a scientific support technician, Roxanne has evolved to play a key role in the organization and planning of interventions within the Institute. She talks to us about her career path, her involvement in the preparations for the Paris Olympic Games, and what motivates her every day.

Q : When did you join the Institut? When did you start your profession? Which sports do you work with?

I joined the Institut (which was still CNMM at the time!) in 2011, just 1 year after completing my Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. I was hired as a Scientific Support Technician and for the first few years I worked with several sports, including swimming, figure swimming, diving and short-track speed skating. Over the years, I migrated to the more administrative side of the sport, first as Coordinator in the Sport Science Department, then in the role of Advisor, Scientific Services. I am not interacting directly with athletes now, but more upstream in the organization of the department and the planning of interventions.

Q : What’s your role before the Games?

I’m part of the mission team for the Canadian Olympic Committee, in the clothing sector. So it’s completely different from my day-to-day work at INS Québec. We’ll be a small team setting up a warehouse, preparing a suitcase of official Canadian team clothing for each athlete, sports support team member and COC mission team member who will be in Paris. This involves setting up a warehouse, packing suitcases (lots of them!), ensuring delivery to each person, and then facilitating clothing exchanges for those whose pre-selected size doesn’t fit. With accommodation sites scattered in and around Paris, and around 900 suitcases to prepare, the task promises to be…sporting!

Q : What’s your role at the Games?

My role on the clothing team is concentrated in the 2-3 weeks leading up to the Games, and then during the first week of the Games. Once everyone has received their suitcase of clothing and supplies, and the sizes that best suit them, the team will be busy dismantling the warehouse and picking up. 

Q : How do you contribute to the athletes’ success?

The work of the clothing team is done behind the scenes, and the aim is to dress all members of the Canadian team in the appropriate clothing, with the least possible distraction from their performance.

Q : Is this your first experience at the Olympic Games?

Yes, this will be my first experience at the Olympics Games. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been fascinated by top-level sport, especially Olympic performances, and all the hard work it takes to get there ever since I was very young. It promises to be a unique experience, full of thrills and spills!

Q : What do you love most about your job?

What I appreciate most about my job is two things. Firstly, the passionate, dedicated, motivated and high-performance people I work with, not just in the sports science team, but in every department at INS Québec. It’s extremely motivating to work with people who are so committed to supporting athletes and optimizing every aspect of their performance. How can you not want to give your best in such an environment? Then, even though like many of my colleagues I work behind the scenes, I feel that my work indirectly makes a positive difference to the careers of the athletes who pass through INS Québec, as well as to the Quebec and Canadian sports systems, and this is another great source of motivation.