Sitting here in Southern Ontario, we have finally received our first few snowflakes of the season and the temperature has finally dipped enough for the snowmaking to begin. Just one resort open so far, but the rest are close it seems. The past 21 months have been challenging for everyone and I’m sure that, like me, you are all hoping there are no interruptions to the sport we love, during the upcoming season!
The National Calendar is shaping up nicely with confirmed races in AB, BC, ON and QC but stay tuned as we continue to add more races to the calendar! The FIS Masters’ Cup (FMC) is returning in February 2022, to Stoneham QC, for a second time. This event will be held back-to-back with the FMC at Beaver Creek CO, USA. The Canadian Masters’ Alpine Championships (CMAC) are again being held at the same time as the FMC.
As the incoming President, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all past and current National Committee members for their dedication and commitment over the years, with a special mention to the following:
- Lloyd Sevack for serving as President from 2017 to 2020. Lloyd worked tirelessly over the years to promote, enhance and structure the Masters’ program so that it is fair, equitable and foremost, fun. Now by design, every season, is a repeat of the prior season for the most part (excluding COVID-19) to give certainty to your race and travel planning. Lloyd continues to lend his knowledge and expertise in his new role as Past President & FIS Masters’ Rep, for which I am most grateful.
- Eric Giroux for creating and maintaining our website from 2017 to 2021. A big THANK YOU for designing and structuring one of our most important sources of communication.
- Wendy Fursey, Patty Edgar and Jaime Hugessen for developing the “Governance, Policies & Procedures” document which is in the final stages of proofing and soon to be published on our website. This was a huge undertaking and the final document will be a great resource for years to come.
- Sharon Chadwick was not challenged enough with her many roles on the Committee so she took on the responsibility of coordinating and prioritizing updates to our website and administering Constant Contact, our communication application. Sharon initiated a change in our hosting provider so our website is running a lot faster; obviously Sharon is working very closely with our new hosting provider for support and maintenance of our website. Besides publishing our newsletters through our website, Sharon is also doing minor edits e.g. loading race notices and results.
- Pierre Bégin for his dedication to detail in turning around translations so promptly.
And lastly, I would also like to extend a big welcome to Shayna Gaunt as the new Ontario Masters’ Representative. Shayna and Sharon will share the role for this season, while Shayna learns the ropes, and then go it alone next season.
Let it snow! Let us go (racing)! And to COVID just say NO!
Dave Nighswander | President
Alpine Canada Masters