When the 2026 Winter Olympics begin this week, the world's attention will focus on elite athletes, iconic venues and moments that define careers.
Less visible, but just as critical, are the officials and leaders responsible for ensuring fairness, consistency and integrity throughout the games. Among them will be Vanessa Stratton, manager of business operations with Western University Sports and Recreation, who has been appointed as an officiating coach for women's hockey at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Vanessa Stratton, a Western employee chosen to be an officiating coach at the Olympics. (Hockey Canada)
For Stratton, the appointment represents the culmination of decades in sport - both officiating and coaching - and a deep connection to leadership values shaped both on the ice and at Western.
This is also a moment of pride for the Western community, which Stratton says has supported her without hesitation as she balances international sport leadership with her professional role on campus.
"Western Sports and Recreation and director Christine Stapleton have been really supportive of my officiating roles over the last three years of being in the pillar. There has never been a question of whether or not I can take an event. It's more how do we make it work," Stratton said.
"I wouldn't want to work anywhere else. I love what I do. Love the environment. Love our team. We all work together to help anyone who has an incredible opportunity come up."
Leading sport and recreation at Western
At Western, Stratton's role is expansive and multifaceted. She started as manager of business operations in 2022, a role in which she supports the foundational systems that allow varsity athletics, recreation programs and operations to function smoothly.
"Most people refer to me as the finance human," she joked. "My role encapsulates a lot of day-to-day logistics and operations. Our team is what makes the wheel go. From making sure all HR functions are in place to finance and capital projects to travel and collaborating with Student Experience, it's a little bit of everything. I really enjoy the role because every day is different."
That ability to operate across systems, people and priorities mirrors the complexity of international sport leadership.
Stratton joined Western during a time of global uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She first worked at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in medical education before returning to recreation, where she had started her career.
Stratton's background in educational leadership roles, combined with years in high-performance sport and her role at Western Sports and Recreation, has given her a unique perspective on systems, accountability and people management. Those experiences would later prove essential in obtaining her Olympic role.
From ice dancing to hockey to officiating
Stratton's sport journey began long before her professional career. An accomplished competitive ice dancer at a young age, she reached a rare milestone early.
"At 12½, I was one of the youngest people in the country to pass gold dances at the time."
Growing up in Brampton, Ont. and later moving to Windsor, Ont. her path eventually shifted from figure skating to hockey when she was 14. After high school, she competed on the women's hockey team at Brock University for two years.
Officiating entered her life as both opportunity and necessity.
"Parents tell you, you need to go get a job when you're 16 or 17," Stratton said. "My dad was a high-level official as well. He officiated in the minor ranks, worked up to the OHL and the old IHL, as well as a brief stint in the NHL. He was the one who suggested I give officiating a try."
Vanessa Stratton transitioned to officiating after playing hockey and competing in ice dancing. She officiated nationally and internationally, including in the CWHL. (Heather Pollock)
What started as a way to stay on the ice quickly became a calling. After stepping away from playing hockey at the university level, Stratton turned to officiating full time, finding herself in environments where mentors recognized her potential.
"The reality is, some of my success is being in the right place, with the right people, at the right time. I was officiating all over the GTA. I was able to be seen by people who ultimately became my mentors in the Canadian hockey officiating world."
Her rise through the officiating ranks was steady and significant, leading to an international career that has included more than 10 national championships and seven world championships.
Chasing the Olympic dream
While the Olympic Games were not initially on Stratton's radar, they gradually became a powerful aspiration.
"When I thought of setting goals in officiating, one thought was that it would be cool to go to the Olympics," Stratton said. "I worked my way through both the national and international pathways and competitions and then, was selected to go to an Olympic selection camp in mid-2017, preparing for the Olympics in 2018."
That moment ended in heartbreak.
"I was the one of the last cuts on that officiating squad," Stratton said. "That sucked. Ten plus years of investment."
The disappointment was profound, but it forced her to step back and reflect.
"I went a bit dark, for eight months, from the hockey world. But when I look back, everything that happened factors into who I am as a human. I grieved throughout that process. And when I came up for air, I reset my goals."
Rather than walking away from the sport entirely, Stratton made a strategic decision that reshaped her future. Conversations with Hockey Canada opened a new door.
"We figured I had two options: Continue on, or with my skill set and personality, become a coach. At the time, they were looking to expand their coaching staff, and it was intriguing."
Choosing to coach officials meant stepping away from on-ice officiating, but it also meant a different path to make an impact.
"I saw it as a different and exciting new opportunity," Stratton said.
Stratton's officiating coaching career accelerated quickly. She began at the national level and soon moved into international assignments.
"I coached at my first Hockey Canada event in late 2019. Then COVID hit, and everything went on a bit of a break," she recalled.
When hockey resumed, opportunities for Stratton followed. She received an invite from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 2021 to join as an officiating coach. Her progression through the World Women's U18 and Senior Women's World Championships placed her among a select group of leaders.
"I've had the privilege of working with three other amazing coaches and the four of us were selected for 2025 Women's Worlds in Czechia and worked well together, with our officiating group. The four of us are the coaching group appointed to Olympics."
Getting the nod for the 2026 Winter Olympics brought relief, redemption and a strong feeling of pride.
"I was proud of myself and proud of the work that I've put in. It feels good to be rewarded and recognized in that capacity."
Leading officials at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games
During the Olympics, taking place February 6 to 22 across various locations in northern Italy, Stratton will work as a "technical official," one of four officiating coaches with the International Ice Hockey Federation for Women's Hockey. Her responsibilities are extensive.
"We take charge of the preparation days prior to the event starting. We've worked with this group of officials for the last 18 months, travelling with them and working at events, meetings and sessions in between. The Olympics are the climax and the top of the hill."
During the Games, Stratton and her coaching colleagues will oversee all officiating preparation, assignments and evaluations for women's hockey.
"Our group of coaches will lead all the preparation meetings, then throughout the event, we will curate all the assignments for the game officials. We come up with the pairings and teams, including the foursomes for each game and the standby officials throughout the entire tournament," she said.
"We get a pretty cool seat in the house, watching live time during the game, tuning into the video reviews with the situation room to see what is going on, stay dialled in. Post game, we meet with officials and give feedback and hear their perspective on various things that happened."
She will lead 22 female officials for women's hockey, alongside the first all-female officiating coaching team for women's hockey at the Olympics.
"It's a unique friendship that we have built as a team with shared experiences at different levels," Stratton said of her colleagues.
Pressure, emotion and consistency
Officiating at the Olympics brings a unique level of pressure.
"The Olympics are a global event. Hockey is always considered a global event, but this is another tier. There are spectators and viewers across the world," Stratton said.
The emotional stakes are equally high.
"Different levels of emotion for officials, teams and players. Everything is heightened. Managing those emotions are important."
Consistency and fairness are supported by evolving tools and standards.
"One of the shifts in officiating that has been a big positive is the level of video analysis and feedback we can provide. With technology and AI and again, the availability of video, we've been able to create different resources and drive development at the highest level, investing in different areas to help train officials to get that consistency of standard."
Leadership, she believes, is grounded in emotional intelligence and accountability.
"We expect our officials to be calm, cool, collected on the ice. Their temperament can impact the game. Everyone feeds off one another."
Stratton's work at Western has helped prepare her for international leadership.
"I get to deal with the coaches and staff - a lot of us have experience in the high-performance world. Having sometimes-challenging conversations about operations and where we are at has helped me to understand their vantage point," she said.
"Education, awareness, empathy and accountability are so important. With student-athletes, we provide a safe space for everyone to thrive and belong. This experience at the Olympics is similar, we're looking to provide the same environment for our officials." - Vanessa Stratton, technical official for women's hockey at 2026 Winter Olympics
The personal weight of the Olympic appointment became real when her credentials arrived.
"I actually cried when they came in the mail the other day," Stratton said, with tears in her eyes - too overwhelmed for a moment to continue. "It means a lot."
While she is ready to work hard, she also can't wait to soak everything in.
"We get the opportunity to go to the opening ceremonies. Outside of that, the moment I'm most looking forward to is the first puck drop."
As the Western Mustangs community cheers her on, Stratton remains grounded in gratitude and perspective.
"Thanks for covering for me while I go," she said with a laugh. "I really appreciate the support. But seriously, I don't take one minute of this opportunity for granted. If I had to give advice to students who are hoping to get to the Olympics - I would say get after it, hold yourself accountable and own your own journey'. It may sound familiar, but if you want something, put the work in and go and get it."
