Calgary, AB [June 21, 2021] - Today, Alpine Canada announced its ambitious five-year strategic plan, “Made for Canada – The Future for Ski Racing in Canada,” aimed at making Canada a world-leading ski racing nation in alpine, para-alpine, and ski cross through two Olympic and Paralympic cycles. 

Specifically, the strategic plan aims to help Canada top the medal rankings in para-alpine and ski cross and achieve a top-five finish in alpine medal rankings at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games by 2026. 

“Since I joined Alpine Canada last year, we have sought feedback from hundreds of athletes, coaches, alumni, sponsors, provincial and territorial sport organizations, and our sport and funding partners about the ways that we can build upon Canada’s rich history and tradition of ski racing excellence,” said Therese Brisson, President and CEO of Alpine Canada. “In a year that we celebrated 100 years of ski racing, we took the opportunity to rethink our strategy to ensure it best meets the needs of our athletes and carves a path towards a better future for the broader ski community as we kick off the next century.  The plan articulates the vision, priorities, and commitments needed to be a world-leading ski racing nation and achieve our dual mission to increase podium performances and inspire growth in participation and fans.”

The strategic plan addresses our challenges and identifies four “where to play” strategies to help deliver on this mission:

1. Lead earlier Next Gen athlete development;
2. Build domestic capacity for ski racing excellence in coaching, member services, & safe sport;
3. Produce race events that excite Canadians; and  
4. Build brand strength with a broader audience.  

“We are optimistic about our future and focused on building capacity and resources to deliver on our ambitions,” said Tim Dattels, Chair of the Board of Alpine Canada.  “We see a convergence of dynamics – new leadership, renewed strategic focus, a newly-elected FIS President with a North American growth agenda, and the potential for a 2030 Vancouver/Whistler bid – that could make this one of the most exciting decades for ski racing in Canada, ever.”

Built on the values of excellence, leadership, accountability, respect, and courage, and grounded in our nation-building purpose of powering a nation to peak performance by inspiring Canadians to be at their very best, the strategic plan makes the following commitments to achieve these results:  

• Develop a pipeline of National Team caliber Canadian coaches;
• Identify Next Gen talent earlier at U14 and provide world-class coaching to achieve World Junior Championship podiums;
• Build long-term resort partnerships to establish national training hubs for spring and early-winter, on-snow training at scale, domestically;
• Lead national high-performance programs that progress junior athletes from World Junior to World Championship podiums;
• Rebuild a robust domestic national competition structure that includes the National Championships, NorAm Continental Cups, and a National FIS Canada Cup to support athlete development and grow revenue; and 
• Develop world class assets and an integrated digital platform to strengthen brand and drive fan and revenue growth.

Alpine Canada has already begun executing upon the initiatives captured in the strategic plan, which can be found with Key Performance Indicators measuring successful delivery here. 

Alpine Canada President & CEO Therese Brisson will host Open Town Halls to share the Made For Canada strategic plan with the broader ski community on June 22 at 7pm ET / 5pm MT (English content) and June 28 at 7pm ET / 5PM MT (French content). Click to register for the live video conference here.  

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For more information or media inquiries please contact
Brianne Law I Director, Brand and Product 
media@alpinecanada.org I 587-999-4241

About Alpine Canada
Alpine Canada is the governing body for alpine, para-alpine, and ski cross racing in Canada, as well as for Canadian ski coaches, providing education, certification, insurance, and compliance with the coaching code of conduct. With the support of valued corporate partners and donors, along with 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 athletes to stimulate visibility, inspiration, and growth in the ski community. In 2020-21, Alpine Canada celebrated 100 years of rich tradition in competitive skiing in Canada.