Beyond the classroom: Broadcasting faculty & alumni at the 2026 Olympics

Posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2026

Michelle Young, Broadcasting – Television and Streaming Video alumna and faculty member, pictured at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games.

Michelle Young, Broadcasting – Television and Streaming Video alumna and faculty member, pictured at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games.

Broadcasting – Television and Streaming Video professor Matthew McCooeye is an example to learners that you can make your dreams a reality. McCooeye was asked to join the CBC team to produce Olympic curling events for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games. He previously worked on the rowing and canoe sprint events in Paris 2024 and men’s and women’s Olympic hockey in Sochi 2014, PyeongChang in 2018, and Beijing in 2022.

Canadian sports broadcasting plays an important role in the media to share event highlights and athletes’ stories with the public.

McCooeye has been busy this past week, working on coverage of the Mixed Doubles Curling event and produced the Gold Medal game on Feb. 10, Sweden vs. USA. He also covered Men’s Curling, Canada vs. Germany on Feb. 11, and he produced three draws a day of Men’s and Women’s Curling from Feb. 12 onward.

McCooeye described the experience as “all-consuming” during the events. “All of your attention is needed for your work at that time. It’s rewarding on a professional level, bringing millions of people the action live and after the fact via YouTube. I will bring aspects of live products to the classroom,” he said.

As the buzz of the Olympics begins to wind down, McCooeye reflects on how he can bring this experience into the classroom for learners, sharing about the technology and production processes. These experiences help to show learners that their goals are achievable and accessible.

Industry experience in any sector is beneficial for faculty to keep up to date with emerging trends and changes in the field.

McCooeye is not the only Algonquin College connection gaining valuable experience broadcasting at the Olympics. Michelle Young, Broadcasting – Television and Streaming Video alumna and faculty member, is on the Olympic Broadcast Service (OBS) Curling Production team as an Electronic Video System (EVS) Operator. Young’s job is to edit highlights of the events and send them to the broadcasters in each country.

While we root for Team Canada, let’s celebrate our Broadcasting – Television and Streaming Video program alumni who are working at the Olympics in Italy on the OBS feeds for hockey and curling:

  • Michelle Young (Curling)
  • Matt Haughn (Curling)
  • Josh Debruyn (Hockey)
  • Alex Allard (Hockey)
  • Sonia Navarette (Hockey)
  • Eric Butkus (Hockey)
  • Cody McKendry (Hockey)
  • John Gourley (Curling)
  • Devin Comeault (Curling)

To learn more about Algonquin College’s School of Media and Design, please visit our website.


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