Ken Campbell is heading to The Show.

Not something on Broadway or at the Shaw Festival but rather the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

The long-time rowing official and regatta chair has been selected by Rowing Canada to be an umpire at the Olympic rowing competition at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Officials are only chosen to go to the Olympics once in their careers.

“Athletes get to go to the Stanley Cup or the Super Bowl. They are going to the Big Show and I am going to the Big Show. It is going to be amazing,” Campbell said.

He left for Paris on July 23.

Rowing Canada has about 14 or 15 international umpires at its disposal and interested umpires submit their name to a selection committee which chooses who is assigned to specific events at the world level. Rowing Canada then submits its selections to World Rowing and 19 umpires from around the world are chosen to officiate at the Olympics.

Campbell found out in January by phone call that he had been selected for the Paris Games.

“It was pretty cool. I had an inkling just from the discussions that I had had at the world championships in September in Serbia which was kind of a trial. They were putting people in certain positions and I had some discussions with the president of the jury there.”

Campbell has officiated at three senior world championships, one junior worlds and a pair of World Cups.

He’s not sure what he is most excited about going to Paris.

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