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Tag: Cross Country Ski de fond Canada

  • Tomlinson Becomes CCC’s First Female Board Chair

    Tomlinson Becomes CCC’s First Female Board Chair

    (Press release)

    Ontario’s Jennifer Tomlinson Named New Chair of the Board of Directors for Cross Country Ski de fond Canada

    Tomlinson to lead Board of Directors committed to excellence, and sport development

    CANMORE, Alta.—Jennifer Tomlinson will become the first woman ever to serve as chair of the Board of Directors for Cross Country Ski de fond Canada.

    An energetic leader and strategic thinker in her professional career, who brings a lifelong passion for skiing and coaching, Tomlinson was acclaimed to the position for a two-year term during the organization’s Annual General Meeting in Canmore, Alberta, over the weekend.

    “Cross country-skiing is deeply rooted in our family, and I’m extremely proud to carry the torch in our sport’s quest towards the future building on the success in our past,” said Tomlinson. “I am excited to have the opportunity to work with a Board of experienced professionals, that is national in scope and representation, who are committed to guiding our sport.”

    An engineering major who went on to complete her MBA at Queen’s University, Tomlinson has been an Associate Partner with Avenai since 2014. She brings both experience and critical skills needed in her new role with the national sport body: vision; strategic thinking; relationship building; and strong governance experience and knowledge.

    The Ottawa resident gained experience in leading, developing and implementing business strategies that build and transform organizations with her government clients over the last three decades, serving on Boards in non-profit sport, and in her coaching roles.

    “Be it sport or business, the goal in my mind is the same – set aspirational goals and deliver excellence by building a team of professionals who are united under a vision they believe in,” said Tomlinson, who has served on Cross Country Ski de fond Canada’s Board of Directors since 2014 and takes over as chair from Jamie Coatsworth who served two, two-year terms.

    “Our sport has had tremendous success over the last 10 years and we now have an opportunity to learn from that success and build towards our future. It is an absolute honour and privilege to bring my experience to the leadership team at Cross Country Ski de fond Canada in an effort to shape a new era for our sport in Canada.”

    A skier, coach and official over the last 45 years, cross-country skiing is in Tomlinson’s blood and the sport has shaped her personality and character. As a leader, she values perseverance, respect and teamwork.

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    “I was never one of the best athletes, or the smartest people on my teams, but my skiing coach Dave Mallory taught me that when you put in the effort and commit to yourself and your team, you never know what you might achieve,” added Tomlinson. “Not losing sight of this mindset, my goal will be to enable a culture that is focused on investing in each other, improving communications with all of our stakeholders, establish programs that are sustainable, and most importantly, ensure our athletes know they have a team of supporters behind them who are creating an environment that will lead them to success on the ski trails.”

    Having been a volunteer at the national, provincial and club level, Tomlinson has chaired several committees as a member of Cross Country Ski de fond Canada’s Board of Directors, including the Governance Committee, where she led the re-creation of the governance policy, the Education Committee, which she co-chaired, and the Human Resources Committee, responsible for the hiring and review of the organization’s chief executive officer.

    “Jennifer Tomlinson is committed to excellence at the elite level, but also understands the importance of forging relationships with the divisions and clubs from coast-to-coast-to-coast if Canada is going to continue to develop Olympic and Paralympic champions in cross-country skiing,” said Shane Pearsall, chief executive officer. “Not only does Jennifer understand our sport in the boardroom, but as a skier and coach herself, she understands what our athletes require and deserve to achieve their goals.”

    Tomlinson will lead a mix of new and familiar faces on the Board including: Angelo Cristofanilli; Sarah Daitch; Ryan Jackson (Athlete Director); Ted Kalil; Patricia MacDonell; Jeff Sim; Bruce Simms; and Jo Wolach (DCC Chair).

    CCC is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Mackenzie Investments, Swix and Lanctôt Sports– along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, CCC develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on CCC, please visit us at www.cccski.com.

  • CCC Taps New HP Advisor: Former Norwegian Sports Psych Nic Lemyre

    CCC Taps New HP Advisor: Former Norwegian Sports Psych Nic Lemyre

    (Press release)

    CANMORE, Alta.—Cross Country Ski de fond Canada has tapped Nic Lemyre to guide the organization’s high-performance program into a new era.

    Nic Lemyre (Photo: Norges Idrettshøgskole/Norwegian Sports Academy/)

    Originally from Montreal, Lemyre takes on the role of high performance and development advisor with clear goals in mind – to break barriers and establish Canada as a strong Nordic nation with multiple male and female athletes performing at the highest level, while providing our nation’s best cross-country skiers with the means to be back on the Olympic podium in 2026 and ensure the Para-Nordic program remains a dominant force for future generations.

    “We are standing on the shoulders of a group of athletes and staff who have accomplished great things for our sport in Canada over the last two decades. Together, we have to understand and identify what has led to these exceptional performances and provide the same opportunities for the next generation to succeed,” said Lemyre.

    A former skier in the 1990s, Lemyre moved to Norway 21 years ago where he has applied his academic and administrative skillsets as a sports psychologist to a variety of roles in the Norwegian sport system. He has worked within the support team for the world-leading Norwegian cross-country ski squad as a sport psychologist since 2011.  Lemyre will split his time advising Cross Country Ski de fond Canada’s high-performance program, while continuing his role as a professor of sports psychology at the University in Oslo over the next year.

    “Cross-country skiing is a passion of mine. Things have come full circle for me since I left for Norway in 1996, and I’m very humbled to have this opportunity now to contribute to the growth of the Canadian program,” said Lemyre, who takes over from Tom Holland, who retired from the position of high-performance director following the PyeongChang Games. “I am ecstatic to be able to bring my knowledge and skills back to my sport roots at home in Canada.”

    Holding a Ph.D in sport and exercise psychology from The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Lemyre has been the head of the school’s department of coaching and psychology since 2008. He has been the sports psychology consultant for the Norwegian Men’s Cross-Country Ski Team and the Norwegian Cycling Team from 2012-17. He has also accompanied Norway’s Olympic Team as a sport psychologist at the 2010 and 2014 Games, and worked with the Norwegian Women’s Biathlon Team between 2009-2015. Lemyre has also provided support to Norway’s alpine skiing, swimming and ice hockey programs.

    “Nic is a highly-motivated professional who knows what it takes to win,” said Shane Pearsall, chief executive officer, Cross Country Ski de fond Canada. “He has been through the peaks and valleys of a respected program, while working closely with a number of accomplished high-performance directors who have achieved excellence on the biggest stage. As a result, he understands the patience and time investment required to build a medal-winning program. I am confident he can transfer this knowledge to help build a strong support team to ensure Canadian athletes and coaches achieve their performance goals.”

    Canada’s cross-country ski program has made steady progress over the last two decades developing generations of Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medal-winners. While Lemyre takes over the leadership of a Para-Nordic National Team who achieved an unprecedented 16 medals at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, the World Cup Team has delivered impressive results on the Olympic stage but has not won a medal since the 2006 Games.

    “The sport in Canada has established itself on a tradition of excellence with Pierre Harvey, Beckie Scott, Sara Renner, Brian McKeever, Chandra Crawford, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, Len Valjas, and Mark Arendz leading the charge, but it is clear our National Ski Team is now at a crossroads,” said Lemyre. “It is important for us to reflect and act on what has, and has not, worked. We can learn a lot from the success of our past, and from the strength of the para-Nordic program.

    “There is a lot of talent out there – good kids skiing right now. Our job is to create a Canadian-made system with our partners that will deliver a pool of resources for our athletes and coaches to develop to their full potential – from the junior to elite level – and help them achieve our collective performance goals.”

    Lemyre will be based in Canmore, Alberta, throughout the summer months before returning to Norway. His first order of business will be to do a complete evaluation of the program and initiate the implementation of a plan with a focus on investing in the next generation of athletes and coaches.

    “There is no doubt we have some challenges, as well as some great opportunities, ahead of us. We can’t promise things that aren’t reasonable, and this will take time, but I’m committed to working with the talented staff at CCC and our partners to get the right people in place within a structure that will provide both the able-bodied and para- women’s and men’s athletes the structure and resources they require to fully develop and excel internationally long-term,” added Lemyre, who added that sport science and innovation will be an important tool for Canadian coaches in his planning.

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    “The goal is to create a strong base for the next generation of athletes, while developing a culture from the ground up that prides itself on sharing knowledge, information and skillsets to succeed in building a tight-knit program across the country that pushes each other to be better every day. To me that is what it takes to win.”

    Lemyre will begin to roll out the new high-performance structure in the coming weeks.
    CCC is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Mackenzie Investments, Swix and Lanctôt Sports– along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, CCC develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on CCC, please visit us at www.cccski.com.