London ON - 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 & Recreation, who has been appointed as an Officiating Coach for Women's Hockey at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games - taking place February 6 to 22, 2026, across various locations in northern Italy.

For Stratton, the appointment represents the culmination of decades of involvement in sport, a winding and resilient journey through 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 and Sports & Recreation and Christine [Stapleton, Director, Western Sports & Recreation] 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 take an event. It's more how do we make it work. To me, I wouldn't want to work anywhere else. I love what I do [at Western Sports & Rec]. Love the environment. Love our team. We all work together to help anyone who has an incredible opportunity come up."

A Role That Touches Every Corner of Sport and Recreation

At Western, Stratton's role is expansive and multifaceted. She started as Manager of Business Operations in 2022. In this role, 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 says, before quickly expanding on the reality of her responsibilities. "My role encapsulates a lot of day-to-day logistics and operations. Our team is what makes the wheel go. Making sure all HR functions are in place. Finance. Capital projects. Travel. Collaborating with Student Experience. Alignment with central policies. It's a little bit of everything. I really enjoy the role because every day is different. I have learned a ton and dipped my toes into lots of things, and that's what makes it engaging."

That ability to operate across systems, people, and priorities mirrors the complexity of international sport leadership, where success depends on adaptability, communication, and trust.

Stratton joined Western during a time of global uncertainty and change. "February 2021, I started at Western at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in Medical Education; Associate Director of Integrated Medical Education overseeing the Distributed Education area that works with all the regional stakeholders, community programs and the Windsor Campus. Then this role opened and it was a no-brainer to come back to a role in a Sports & Recreation area, where I had started my career."

Her background in various educational leadership roles, combined with years in high performance sport and her role at Western Sports & 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. "An ongoing joke is that I started out as a competitive ice dancer. But I did. At 12 and a ½ I was one of the youngest people in the country to pass gold dances at the time."

Growing up in Brampton and later moving to Windsor, her path eventually shifted from figure skating to hockey. "That was when I was14," she says, describing the transition to hockey and later playing through high school before competing with 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 your 16 or 17," Stratton says. "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."


Photo Credit: Heather Pollock

What started as a way to stay on the ice quickly became a calling. After stepping away from playing at the university level at the mid-point of her degree, 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 "over ten national championships and seven world championships."

Chasing the Olympic Dream

While the Olympic Games were not initially a defined goal, 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 says. "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 2018."

That moment ended in heartbreak. "I was the one of the last cuts on that officiating squad." She reflects. "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 8 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. "Todd Anderson, who was our Senior Officiating Manager at Hockey Canada at the time and I had a conversation. 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 competing as an official, but it also meant a different path to make an impact. "This [new] path meant I would step away from being a part of the competition on the ice. But I saw it as a different and exciting new opportunity."


Photo Credit: Dan Hanoomansingh 

Building a Coaching Career on the International Stage

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." When hockey resumed, opportunities for Stratton followed. "The hockey world re-started in 2021 and then I got an invite from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to join them as a Officiating Coach."

Her progression through the World Women's U18 and Senior Women's World Championships placed her among a select group of leaders trusted at the highest levels of the sport.

"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 that were appointed to Olympics."

For Stratton, the appointment to be a part of the 2026 Winter Olympics represents redemption and pride. "I found out I was going to the 2026 Winter Olympics in May 2025. My feelings were a bit of relief; but mostly redemption, and a lot of pride. I was proud of myself. 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

At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Stratton's official title is Technical Official, working as one of four Officiating Coaches with the International Ice Hockey Federation for Women's Hockey. Her responsibilities are extensive and highly detailed. "We take charge of the preparation days prior to the event starting. There's also a lot of lead up to this. We've worked with this group of officials for the last 18 months. Travelled with them. Worked with them at events. Lots of meetings and sessions in between. The Olympics are the climax and the top of the hill."


Photo Credit: Hockey Canada

During the Games, she and her coaching colleagues will oversee all officiating preparation, assignments, and evaluations for women's hockey. She will oversee 22 female officials for women's hockey, alongside an all female officiating coaching team. This is the first time an all female officiating coaching team has ever happened at the Olympics in women's hockey. "All 4 officiating coaches for women's hockey this year are female. The four of us have worked together, in different groups, for the last couple of years. Some of us skated together on the ice as well. It's a unique friendship that we have built as a team with shared experiences at different levels. When we get on-site, 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. The foursomes for each game and the standby officials throughout the entire tournament."

In game, their role remains hands on. "In game, we get a pretty cool seat in the house, where we will watch live time during the game, tune into the video reviews with the situation room, 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 in-game."

Pressure, Emotion, and Consistency on a Global Stage

Officiating at the Olympics brings a unique level of pressure. "Just the number of eyes," Stratton says. "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 who haven't potentially watched the sport before."

The emotional stakes are equally high. "Different level 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. As well, invest 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."

Western Values on an International Stage

Stratton draws clear connections between her work at Western and her international leadership. "Biggest takeaway from my work at Sports & Recreation is how I get to deal with the coaches and staff. A lot of us have experience in the high-performance world. And having to have challenging conversations about operations and where we are at has helped me to understand their vantage point and perhaps cater my messaging to what is needed in that time."

And she credits those experiences with helping her understand multiple perspectives and for helping to shape the values she carries forward. "Education and awareness are also so important. Also, empathy and accountability," she says. "We see this with student athletes. How do we provide a safe space for all students to thrive and belong. And this experience at the Olympics this is similar for us to provide for our officials."

A Moment That Means Everything

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."


Photo Credit: Hockey Canada

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 says 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."

Stratton's journey to the 2026 Winter Olympics is one shaped by resilience, strategic decision making, and unwavering commitment to excellence. It also shows the importance of being able to pivot in life, which helps you to reshape your story. Her journey is one that reflects not only individual achievement, but also the power of sport, leadership, and a community at Western that believes in supporting opportunity at every level. 

Check out all the Women's Olympic Hockey action, which starts on February 5, 2026, Hockey Schedule - 2026 Winter Olympics - Team Canada.