The latest in our series focused on members of the NZ Paralympic Team support staff for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Chef de Mission Jane Stevens shares her thoughts on her position and potential impact.
Put simply the role of Chef de Mission is to create an environment which will allow the Paralympians to best deliver their goals.
For Jane Stevens, the current incumbent, she has the experience of having fulfilled the role with great success for the NZ Paralympic Team at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. On that occasion, Jane helped guide the Team to secure four medals (one gold, one silver and two bronze) and she will be on hand once again in Milano Cortina 2026 to execute the critical leadership position.
Starting out her adaptive snow sports career as a ski instructor before moving into coaching and then sport management, she has worked with and contributed to the successful careers of many of New Zealand’s finest disabled snow sports exponents including Paralympic Winter Games gold medallists; Paralympian #86 Joanne Duffy, #114 Rachael Battersby, #115 Steven Bayley, #158 Adam Hall MNZM and #188 Corey Peters MNZM – the latter pair will feature for the NZ Paralympic Team in Milano Cortina 2026.
The New Zealand Head Coach at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, she later served as Head Coach for the British team at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. She was also the New Zealand Assistant Coach at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games before her appointment as the NZ Paralympic Team Chef de Mission at Beijing 2022.
So, what qualities does a Chef de Mission require at a Paralympic Winter Games?
“A good knowledge of the sport (Para alpine skiing) is important, and I know my sport pretty well,” says Jane. “I understand where issues could occur and have planned for multiple scenarios, and if these happen, we have policies and procedures in place to address them. The key for me though is our amazing Team who fully understand their roles and responsibilities, but also an understanding that being part of a small Team, as we are at this Paralympic Winter Games, that everyone may be needed to pitch in where required.”
As leader of the NZ Paralympic Team in Milano Cortina 2026 she fully expects to be the first to rise each day and the last to bed every night and while her chief focus is on creating an environment which will allow the Paralympians to thrive, the small nature of the Team does make the role at times very hands on.
“Because we are focusing on one Para sport (Para alpine skiing), we are all actively involved up on the hill, helping out wherever we can,” explains Jane. “I will be doing course reports back to Corey (Peters) and Adam (Hall) but also checking in with the wider Team to ensure they too have all they need to succeed in their roles. Once the racing is finished for the day, there will be administration, management meetings and other tasks to fulfil to make sure we are all good to go once we wake up at 5am the next day.”
A critical component to her success is having good synergy with the Deputy Chef de Mission. For the second successive Paralympic Winter Games, PNZ Head of Games and Sport Delivery Lynette Grace will fulfil the latter role, and Jane is delighted the pair will once again work together four years on from the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
“The role of Chef de Mission does not work unless you have a good working relationship with the Deputy (Chef de Mission),” she explains. “Knowing in Beijing 2022 I had that back up and support from Gracey (Lynette) was amazing. Her experience in that role and her understanding of the Games environment was so important. I can rely on Gracey to fulfil all those behind-the-scenes roles which will help ensure that the performance side runs like clockwork.”
For Jane she will look to implement a culture of openness and supportiveness and to live their shared values to represent the NZ Paralympic Team with pride.
So, what would success look like for the Team at Milano Cortina 2026?
“I would like to see the Paralympians achieve their goals; whether that is winning or achieving a podium result,” she adds. “But I think it goes much deeper than the result. You want people to have a wonderful experience, not just the Paralympians, but all staff on the NZ Paralympic Team. My hope would be for everyone on the NZ Paralympic Team to come home healthy and happy and that we have made ourselves and our nation proud of our achievements.”
***The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games takes place from 6-15 March with live and extensive coverage on TVNZ Duke and TVNZ+.
