"Behind Every Athlete There is… Carol Hasday"

I was born in South Africa and made aliyah to Israel in August of 1977, and completed my schooling at the Midreshed Sde Boker-Nativ Angli. I then did 2 years of army service. In 1989, my husband Yossi and I moved from Tel-Aviv to Metulla, and we are proud parents of two daughters Ayala, 18 and Lihi, 16.
In 1990-1997, while being the Administration Manager of the Canada Centre, I dedicated an important part of my job to putting Israeli ice skating on the map in Israel and internationally.
From 1997 until May 2005 I was not involved in the daily ice skating business/work, but was still very much involved in keeping up with, watching, and loving the sport. In May 2005 my help was requested and in June 2006 I replaced and became the General Secretary of the IISF and since then I have not looked back, only forward with my visions.

My job is exciting and challenging. Every day is different with the interaction of the athletes and people involved in this sport. I am very lucky to be working and involved with the Israel Ice Skating Federation here in Israel. Every day is a learning experience and amazing at the same time.
 I have the pleasure to work with dedicated people who care and give of their time voluntarily, which makes my job easier.

-Carol, navigating through such a busy work schedule as yours needs a workaholic – born or made. Who are you?
-Well, Margaret, I have never been supported by a family, because I immigrated to Israel by myself alone at the age of 16. I have always had to work as I do not know what it is like not to have to work.  I have worked in office and management positions for most of my life.
-I don't know if this makes me a workaholic, but there is definitely something to that word. Being the general secretary of the IISF is important and I take my job very seriously. I am an organizational freak, which helps enormously especially with the amount of paperwork and deadlines that I have to encounter and deal with. I work long hours to get the job done, find solutions to any and all problems encountered, finish all tasks, take full responsibility for my work, and leave no stone unturned in the process, this is what I do, this is my job.
-I work very closely with our Chairman and President Mr. Boris Chait who works even longer hours than I do. So between the two of us we are no doubt "workaholics" which in this sport is a good thing to be.

-Have you every practiced figure skating?
-Actually I have, when I was younger and still in South Africa. On holiday from school, I would meet with my friends at the town ice rink and we would skate for hours. I never took lessons, but because of my extensive dance background I was very steady and managed even to do some elements.  I never took it seriously as ballet was where my life's devotion was. .
-Do you have your favorite figure skating disciplines?
-I love all of ice skating from figure skating to one of the most exciting sports I've seen, which is short track skating.
-I do love watching figure skating, it's the aesthetic sense of the flowing together with the music and the costumes that makes it magical for me.
Short track keeps my heart pumping as it's exciting, scary, adventurous, and very competitive.
But if I have to choose one, I would say it is ice dancing. That is something I can relate to as I also learned how to dance ballroom dancing.
The first time I saw Galit Chait and Sergei Sahnovsky on the ice, it reminded me of the Swan Lake. I was mesmerized and totally in awe of them until they retired.
-You told me many times that you are not daunted by the challenge of paperwork that so many people find just crushing. How do you manage to do that?
-You've no doubt heard, "location, location, location", well, my motto is "organization, organization, organization".
With the amount of work and paper that I have to deal with and if I didn't have excellent organizational skills, most of the paperwork would get lost under other paperwork.
No I am not daunted by challengingly endless paperwork. You have to have a system and keep up with it so there will be no problem with paper!
-What do you regard as the most important element of your job?
-Not missing deadlines – I am always double checking that I haven't missed some deadline to send in forms, or perhaps missing the picking up of athletes after competitions, things like that. I have no one to rely upon except myself and I must make sure that every aspect is dealt with and completed on time.
-Athletes set goals before themselves for each season or even a single competition. Since you work in such a "competitive" environment, do you do the same? If yes, what's your working goal for this season?
-Well, I do set goals for myself, in fact, very high goals. I also have projects and strategies for implementing them. I try to weigh the pros and cons before each season and to sort things by priority.
I have visions for the future and hope to fulfill each and every one. I try to be realistic and not to romanticize about things.  As far for being "competitive" – yes most definitely – I would like ice skating to be the most important sport in Israel and I do believe this is possible.
-Are your hobbies connected to figure skating?
-After work – and after the long hours which are usually stress related, I always go home and try to unwind.
My hobbies are reading – anything and everything that I can find in English. I even read encyclopedias if I don't have a good book. Everything interests me and I can lose myself in the stories which relax me immensely.
I also draw and love going dancing – of course when I can find a party or club that has "old-fashioned" music (rock n' roll) that I can dance to and not the new rap and noisy music of today which unfortunately does nothing for me.
- And of course, what for you makes the beauty of figure skating? It is very interesting to obtain the view of the spectator who is "on the outside looking in" not affected by professional attitudes?
-I did mention in one of the earlier questions, that I love the beauty of the sport and I admire the athletes for their stamina.
After being back for two years as the general secretary of the IISF, I am beginning to not only enjoy the sport, but to also look at the technique (still having a long way to go to actually understand about the technique). I find myself more and more looking at and analyzing what they are actually doing element wise and less just as a spectator.
I am forever asking questions to the coaches and judges and of course the Chairman/President as I want to learn more and hope to be involved in this wonderful sport for many many years to come.