Alpine Canada Alpin faces significant leadership change

By Published On: December 24th, 2022Comments Off on Alpine Canada Alpin faces significant leadership change

Alpine Canada Alpin High-Performance Director: GEPA PHOTO

Phil McNichol is leaving the ACA on February 10th.

Press release issued by Alpine Canada Alpin

Calgary AB, (December 22, 2022) – Alpine Canada Alpin announced today that Phil McNichol, High-Performance Director, Alpine will leave the organization to pursue other opportunities effective February 10th, 2023.  Phil joined Alpine Canada in March 2020 and was a significant contributor to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team’s (CAST) successes during what has been 2.5 years of unprecedented challenges.

“On behalf of Alpine Canada, I want to thank Phil for his contributions and wish him the very best in his future endeavors. This is one of the toughest jobs in Canadian sport and Phil has contributed greatly to our team’s success” said Therese Brisson, President & CEO.  

Phil worked tirelessly to support our coaches and athletes who made significant progress over the past three seasons despite competitive disadvantages that were exacerbated by COVID-19 travel restrictions and quarantines. He brought a valuable perspective, sports knowledge, and experience to the Alpine Program.  

“My time at Alpine Canada has been a deeply rewarding experience. It has been inspirational to work with so many talented athletes and staff. I am proud of the Alpine Program’s improvement and competition performance over the three seasons I have been involved”, said Phil McNichol. 

Alpine Canada is committed to our vision for Canada to be a world-leading ski racing nation and our mission of increasing podium performances while inspiring growth in participation and fans.  Last season was the best for the Alpine program in over a decade with three Alpine World Cup podiums, 34 Top10s, and an Olympic medal as well as 11 Top 10s and a Gold medal podium at the World Junior Ski Championships.  

To help continue building on this momentum, Alpine Canada has formed an interim Alpine High-Performance Advisory Committee of technical experts with a mandate to advise on plans and priorities to achieve our performance objectives in 2026 Olympic quadrennial and beyond within our funding framework.  Members of the committee include:

  • Dave Ellis, High-Performance Director, Ski Cross, Alpine Canada
  • Erik Guay, the most successful Canadian ski racer, coach & Alpine Canada board 
  • Cara Thibault, High-Performance Advisor, OTP & former HPD Speedskating Canada
  • Anders Hestdalen, CEO of BC Alpine and former coach Norway Alpine Ski Team
  • Jeff Thompson, VP Sport Development & Events, Alpine Canada

Alpine Canada has initiated a selection process to identify the best candidate to lead CAST into the future.  In the interim, 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 & CEO Therese Brisson for the rest 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 roles as High-Performance Director, Ski Cross, and Para-Alpine respectively.    

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