Charmaine Crooks (born August 8, 1962), is a Canadian businesswoman, sports

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, and retired sprinter and middle-distance runner. Crooks was born in Mandeville,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, but represented Canada for close to 20 years in athletics. She was a five-time Olympian, winning

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and setting a national record of 3:21.21 in the 4 x 400 metres relay with her teammates

Jillian Richardson Jillian Cheryl Richardson-Briscoe (born March 10, 1965, in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Canadian athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is a three-time Olympian. In 1988, she equalled Marita Payne's Canadian 400 metres r ...

, Molly Killingbeck, and Marita Payne. The first Canadian woman to run

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

in under two minutes, Crooks also won

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s at the Pan American,

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, World Student Games, and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. In 1996, she had the honour of being Canada's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. She is the fifth child with five sisters and three brothers.

Biography

Crooks was born in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville () is the capital and largest town in the Manchester Parish, parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of t ...

and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada at the age of six. Crooks attended Winona Public elementary school and West Toronto Secondary School, where she participated in athletics. In 1979 and 1980, Crooks was Ontario high school champion in the 400 metres. Crooks attended the University of Texas-El Paso on an athletic scholarship and was named 'All-American' six times. Crooks represented Canada for almost 20 years in athletics. Crooks participated in five Olympic Games. One highlight was the silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the relay. After retiring from active competition, Crooks moved into sports administration. Since 1994, Crooks is the president and founder of NGU Consultants, a sports marketing, management and corporate consulting company. She is also a

keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

speaker, appearing at national and international conferences, corporate meetings and retreats and speaking on topics ranging from team building, leadership, inspiration and the

Olympic Movement The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

. Crooks was elected to the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) Athletes Commission in 1996 and was elected as a full voting member of the IOC from 2000 to 2004. She continues to serve on the IOC Athletes' Commission, has been a member of the IOC Press Commission since 2001, and was a founding member of the independent IOC Ethics Commission. As an elected member of the executive board of the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; ), also known as Team Canada, is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization. History Cana ...

(COC), Crooks is Chair of Olympians Canada (alumni body of Olympians) and the COC's Awards and Recognition/Hall of Fame Committee. As one of the original 2010 Olympic bid team members (since 1998) she is also one of twenty directors for the

Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) () was the non-profit organization responsible for planning, organizing, financing and staging the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics. Est ...

(VANOC), and served on both the VANOC Governance and Strategic Communications Committee. From 2003 to 2011, Crooks was elected by her peers to serve on the executive board of the alumni body of Olympians, the

World Olympians Association The World Olympians Association (WOA) is an independent association of Olympic Games competitors. Its stated objectives are to promote the Olympic ideals and fair play, advance environmental protection, educate against doping and drug use, supply ...

(WOA) and was a WOA Vice President. She was the founding and first Chair of the PASO Athletes' Commission. Crooks is a founding member and past member of the International Board of Directors for Right To Play, an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports to encourage the development of youth in disadvantaged areas. Crooks is a current board member of the Canucks Autism Network (CAN) and has been a longstanding honorary member of Big Sisters of the Lower Mainland since 2000. She is also a member of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

's Organizing Committee for Competitions. In 2006, Crooks was awarded the Women And Sport Trophy for Canada/America by the International Olympic Committee. On May 1, 2021, Crooks was named vice president of Canada Soccer. In May 2022, Crooks was awarded the Brian Budd Award. In December 2022, Crooks was given the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. On March 1, 2023, Crooks was named interim president of the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

References

External links