Recently, Principal Brent Chadwick of Assiniboia Composite High served as a technical commissioner for the combined continental qualifying softball tournament for Asia and Oceania held from September 24-29 in Shanghai, China. The tournament in China featured eight teams, including the top six from the Asian Softball Championship in 2019 and the top two teams from the 2019 Oceania Softball Championship.
“The technical commissioner is in charge of the game line-up, ball checks and ground control,” Chadwick said. Chadwick had been charged with supervising every sparing detail of these Olympic qualifiers when serving as a commissioner. A technical commissioner is required to deal with game disruptions, the grounds crew and all other aspects involved with Olympic softball qualifying games. Technical commissioners even arrange doping control tests for the athletes. “It’s your game. You’re expected to deal with every facet,” Chadwick said as he explained the role of a technical commissioner. Although the task of a technical commissioner for the Olympic qualifiers is demanding, Chadwick enjoys the challenge. “It’s a lot of fun,” the principal clarified with a smile.
Usually, whenever Chadwick serves as a technical commissioner, he’s very busy. But when he was in China in September, he was able to take a short break from softball. “On one of the days, there was only two games. So, I was actually able to be a tourist for a day.”
On his half-day off, Chadwick visited downtown Shanghai. One of his best memories was strolling along Shanghai’s boardwalk, The Bund (Wai Tan). Although Chadwick found China to be a fascinating country, he was aware of being caught within a massive web of surveillance. “It’s a different world. You’re very much watched with everything you do. They are very aware of everything that is going on.”
But he also found the Chinese people to be very accommodating when he was officiating at these qualifying matches. Also, he said the facilities for the games were well-appointed.
This is the third Olympic softball event where Chadwick had functioned as a technical commissioner. Most recently, he worked at the Americas Qualifying Event in Surrey, British Columbia from August 25-September 1. “I hope I get more opportunities. You never know when they’re going to come.”
Chadwick began as an umpire in 1992. Since then, he had worked in every degree of softball. He accomplished his Level IV in 1996, Level V in 2006 and WBSC in 2008. Chadwick had presided over 13 Canadian Championships, five international events and one World Championship (Junior Women’s 2013). Chadwick earned his Master Instructor and Evaluator Status, permitting him to instruct Level IV clinics and supervise Canadian Championships (seven since 2010). Chadwick has also been a member of the Saskatchewan’s Umpire Committee since 1997.
