Creates an Alpine High Performance Advisory Committee to achieve performance goals
Calgary AB, (December 22, 2022) – Alpine Canada Alpin announced today that Phil McNichol, Director of High Performance, Alpine will be leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities effective February 10, 2023. Phil joined Alpine Canada in March 2020 and was a significant contributor to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST) success over 2.5 years of unprecedented challenges.
“On behalf of Alpine Canada, I would like to thank Phil for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavours. It’s one of the toughest jobs in Canadian sport and Phil has been instrumental in our team’s success,” said Thérèse Brisson, President and CEO.
Phil has worked tirelessly to support our coaches and athletes who have made significant progress over the past three seasons despite competitive disadvantages that have been exacerbated by travel restrictions and COVID-19 quarantines. He brought valuable perspective, knowledge of the sport and experience to the Alpine program.
“My time with Alpine Canada has been a deeply rewarding experience. It has been an inspiration to work with so many talented athletes and staff and I am proud of the improvement in the alpine program and competition performance over the three seasons I have been involved,” said said Phil McNichol.
Alpine Canada is committed to its vision of Canada to be the world’s leading ski racing nation and its mission to increase podium performance while inspiring participation and fan growth. Last season was the best for the alpine program in over a decade with three Alpine Skiing World Cup podiums, 34 Top 10s and an Olympic medal as well as 11 Top 10s and a gold medal at the Junior World Championships ski.
To help build on this momentum, Alpine Canada has formed an Interim Alpine High Performance Advisory Committee comprised of technical experts with a mandate to provide advice on plans and priorities to achieve our performance goals over the quadrennial. Olympic 2026 and beyond in our funding framework. Committee members include:
- Dave Ellis, High Performance Director, Ski Cross, Alpine Canada
- Erik Guay, Canada’s Most Successful Skier, Coach and Alpine Canada Board Member
- Cara Thibault, High Performance Advisor, ANP and former DHP Speed Skating Canada
- Anders Hestdalen, CEO, BC Alpine and former coach of the Norwegian Alpine Ski Team
- Jeff Thompson, Vice President Sport and Events Development, Alpine Canada
Alpine Canada has launched a selection process to identify the best candidate to lead CAST into the future. In the meantime, the CAST program is in extremely talented hands with Karin Harjo, head coach of the women’s program and Mark Tilston, head coach of the men’s program. Karin and Mark will report directly to President and CEO Thérèse Brisson for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
Dave Ellis and Matt Hallat will continue to lead the world-class ski cross and para-alpine national team programs in their respective roles as high performance director, ski cross and para-alpine.
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For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Mark Halliday, Director of Brand and Communications
mhalliday@alpinecanada.org I 403-777-3204
About Alpine Canada
Alpine Canada is the governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross competition in Canada, as well as for Canadian ski coaches, providing education, certification, insurance and adherence to the code of conduct coaches. With the support of valued corporate partners and donors, as well as the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Coaching Association of Canada, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, World Championship and World Cup to stimulate visibility, inspiration and growth in the ski community.
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