Further to the Notice circulated to the membership on September 9, 2020, the Alberta Alpine Ski Association Annual General Meeting will be held via Zoom. You will find the invitation link to join the meeting and passcode below.

Please ensure you have access to a registered Zoom account prior to the meeting on September 26, 2020; free accounts will be fine. Additionally, in order to assist with attendance, please ensure that your participant profile includes your first and last name, along with your club affiliation.

For ease of reference, you can find the Notice here and the Board Nominations here.

The AASA Board of Directors will seek approval of the draft Minutes of the 2019 AASA Annual General Meeting. Draft minutes are being distributed via South/North Zone Chairs. You can also reach out to Member Services to have a copy of the minutes emailed to you.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Zoom Meeting Details

Topic: Alberta Alpine Ski Association Annual General Meeting
Time: Sep 26, 2020 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 940 4437 0706
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Dear Member Clubs:

As per 4.3 d) i) of the bylaws of the Alberta Alpine Ski Association, the following members in good standing have been nominated for election as Directors by the Board:

SOUTH ZONE:

• Daniel Berry (CARC)
• Shauna Clarke (ASXT, Evolve)
• Kelly McBroom (CAST,AASA, BAR)
• Crick Nelson (BVQ) Standing for re-election
• Geoff Irwin (BAR) Standing for re-election

NORTH ZONE:

• Chad Mansell (SVR)
• Greg Sylvestre (Cold Lake, Sunshine) Standing for re-election

As per 4.3 d) ii) of the bylaws of the Alberta Alpine Ski Association, the following member in good standing has been nominated for election as Directors by their Club, NATC:

SOUTH ZONE:

• Tom Penny (NATC)

The Board, as per the bylaws, wishes to reduce its overall number from 15 to 13 Directors, this including the two appointed Zone Representatives. With retirements and resignations, there are thus 7 Directors to be elected.

If an election is required, and as per the bylaws, each club’s representative will receive an electronic ballot by email immediately prior to the election with all nominees listed. Each club will vote by marking up to seven (7) nominees (representing the number of vacancies) on the form and submitting it immediately as will be detailed on the form. This process will be overseen by a member to be proposed before the meeting.

The Bylaws for Alberta Alpine provide the following regarding the election of Directors at the Annual General Meeting set for September 26^th, 2020:

ARTICLE 4 ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Section 4.1

Term and Zones

1. Subject to the provisions of the Act, Directors, other than appointed Directors, shall be elected by the Member Clubs for a term of 2 years or until their successors are elected and appointed.

2. For the purpose of the election of Directors, there shall be two Zones: the North Zone and the South Zone.

Section 4.2

Re-Election An elected Director, if otherwise eligible, is eligible for re-election at the expiry of his term.

Section 4.3

Procedures Elected Directors of the Association shall be elected in accordance with the following procedures:

a) The Board shall, not less than 60 days prior to the next annual general meeting of the Association appoint a nominating committee (the “Nominating Committee”) which shall be composed of not less than 3 persons each of whom is a Paid Up Member and who is not seeking office in the

election, at least one of whom is a Member from the North Zone and one of whom is a Member from the South Zone;

b) The Nominating Committee shall ascertain what Paid Up Members are qualified and are willing to be nominated for election as a Director of the Association and shall obtain the written consent of each such Paid Up Member to stand for election;

c) For the purposes of Section 4.3(b), the Nominating Committee shall cause to be undertaken a full survey of the Member Clubs of the Association by giving written notice at least 30 days prior to the next annual general meeting to the Association (i) of the number of Directors to be elected at the next annual general meeting, and (ii) that Member Clubs have the right to submit nominations of Paid Up Members for election as a Director of the Association to the Nominating Committee provided that such nominations are received by the Nominating Committee at least 14 days prior to the next annual general meeting and each such nomination is accompanied by the written consent of the Paid Up Member nominated;

d) The Nominating Committee shall, not less than 7 days prior to the next annual general meeting give written notice to each Member Club, which notice shall contain (i) the name(s) of the Paid Up Member(s) that the Nominating Committee proposes as candidates for election as a Director, and (ii) the name(s), if any, of the member(s) that the Nominating Committee has received from Member Clubs that are not included in the list of proposed candidates. Such notice shall also inform each Member Club of the provisions of Section 4.3(e);

e) In addition to the nominations proposed by the Nominating Committee and notice of which has been provided to Member Clubs as required by Section 4.3(d), nominations for election as a Director may be made by any Member Club at any time following receipt of such notice up until the commencement of the annual general meeting at which the vote for the Directors is to take place. Such nominations must be (i) seconded by another Member Club, (ii) accompanied by the written consent of the Paid Up Member nominated, and (iii) submitted to the Chariman of the Board prior to the commencement of such annual general meeting;

f) The election of Directors shall be by ballot if contested; and

g) If only 1 candidate is nominated for a Zone and if following the election, except for the candidate so nominated, only 1 elected Director from such Zone is a member of the Board, the candidate so nominated shall be declared elected and such candidate’s name shall not be included in the ballot for election.

Section 4.4

Successful Candidate

1. After the votes for each candidate have been counted, the candidate in each of the Zones who receives a greater number of votes than any other candidate in the candidate’s Zone shall be declared to be elected as a Director.

2. After the candidates referred to in Section 4.4(1) have been declared elected, the candidates who received the greatest number of votes, up to the number of Directors to be elected, shall be declared to be elected as Directors.

This notice is provided pursuant to the By-Laws.

We look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Gregg Ferguson, Charles Gushaty, James Kucera

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting (the “Meeting”) of the Members of Alberta Alpine Ski Association (the “Society”), will be held Saturday, the 26th day of September, 2020, at the hour of 10:00 AM. (Mountain Time) for the following purposes:

1. To receive the report of the Chairman of the Society;
2. To receive the report of the President of the Society;
3. To receive and consider the financial statements of the Society for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, together with the auditors’ report thereon;
4. To elect Directors of the Society;
5. To transact such other business as may properly be transacted at such Meeting or at any adjournment thereof.

The on-line meeting format will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

 

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Call for AASA Board of Directors Nominations: Alberta Alpine

The AASA Board of directors has appointed Gregg Ferguson to chair the 2020/21 Nominating Committee.

The Alberta Alpine Ski Association is seeking nominations for the election of the 2020/21 Board of Directors on Saturday, September 26th, 2020 at 10:00 AM.

There are four nominated Director positions, up for election for a two-year term.

Member Clubs have the right to submit nominations of Paid Up Members for election as a Director of the Association to the Nominating Committee provided that such nominations are received by the nominating committee at least 14 days prior to the AGM and each nomination is accompanied by the written consent of the Paid Up Member nominated.

Monday September 21, 2020 at Silvertip Resort, Canmore!

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Alberta Alpine has updated information previously released under the Return Plan – Stage One, to reflect changing guidelines around dryland training, travel, and insurance.

Coaches: Please note, Alberta Alpine requires a summary document of your dryland plan, as outlined in the Return Plan – Stage Two

Athletes: Please ensure your ACA membership forms and waivers are submitted to your member club prior to attending dryland programming.

For all Stage Two updates, see the Alberta Alpine Return Plan – Stage Two here: AASA Stage Two Return Plan.

Canmore, Alberta – Alberta Alpine is pleased to announce that Alberta Ski Team athlete Kiara (Kiki) Alexander has been awarded the 2020 Read Family Scholarship.

Kiki wrapped up the 2019-20 season winning seven of her last eight races. Her strong results across all events have positioned the second-year Alberta Ski Team athlete as one of the top juniors in Canada. Her goal is to one day represent Canada internationally and to be named to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.

For over 30 years, promising young Alberta Alpine ski racers have been named as recipients of the Read Family Scholarship which recognizes excellence in alpine skiing for athletes who one day hope to represent Canada at the highest levels of competition.

“To succeed at the international or FIS level requires focus, hard work and commitment,” said Alberta Alpine President, Rob McCloskey. “We are thrilled to recognize Kiki, who has accomplished so much through her dedication to ski racing, and with the support of her family and her coaches, she is an outstanding example of the talent that Alberta can produce. Our goal is to provide our athletes every opportunity to achieve, to aim to represent our country or to become student-athletes and keep strengthening our programs.”

About the Read Family Scholarships

Since 1988 the Read Scholarships have supported young athletes who show both a passion for the sport and who aspire to represent Canada at the highest level. The matriarch of the Read family, Dee Read was an athlete, coach, volunteer, parent and one of the first female FIS Technical Delegates in alpine ski racing. Her dedication reached far beyond her family to influence athletes, parents, coaches and sport administrators right across Canada, who benefited from her knowledge, generosity and warm spirit in lending a firm but insightful hand as a sport leader in Alberta and Canada. Together with her husband John, she also raised four children, including Ken Read and Jim Read, who carried the Read family ski racing legacy to new levels of international success, and who both continue to support ski racing at various levels in Alberta, across Canada, and the world. The Read legacy lives on with current Canadian Ski Team athletes Erik and Jeffrey, grandsons of the late Dee Read, and alumni athletes of Banff Alpine Racers, and the Alberta Ski Team.

Canmore, AB — It is with great pleasure that, on behalf of the Hall of Fame Committee and the Alberta Alpine Alumni & Awards Committee, we announce the 2020 Class of Honoured Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame Inductees. Each of these exceptional members of our community has given extensively in their time and talent to the sport of ski racing in Alberta, and we are honoured to recognize their service and dedication.

The 2020 Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame Inductees:

Honoured Builder – Claudio Berto
Honoured Volunteer – Judy Dickson
Honoured Official – Ethel Lumby
Honoured Alberta/Canadian Team Alumni – Jim Read
Presidents Award for Exceptional Service – Bob Leitch

The 2020 Inductees will be honoured at the Third-Annual Alberta Alpine Highest Peak Gala, hosted at the Markin-McPhail Centre at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park, Calgary, on Wednesday, October 29, 2020.

For the full media release, including a brief introduction to each Inductee, please see click here: 2020 Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame – Media Release

Re: Staffing Update

The Board of Alberta Alpine has reluctantly accepted Rob McCloskey’s resignation as President of the Association.

Rob has brought a renewed focus on the athletes within our organization. This will be his enduring legacy.

Over his two year tenure, he created the Alberta Ski Cross Team, created a significant partnership with the University of Calgary Dino’s, revamped our Alberta Ski Team and championed athletes at all levels to achieve their dreams.

These actions reflect the vision and values Rob crafted for our organization. These values, quoted in part below, will continue to guide the board as we navigate forward.

Alberta Alpine directly operates a number of provincial training groups with primary focus areas including high-performance athletic training, cohort building and group success. Alberta Alpine values academic development, advancement to higher level teams, coaching, professional life, and building skiers for life.

Our mission: to support Alberta athletes with customizable individual athlete plans and encourage them to develop their academic and professional skills.

Our mandate is not only to select the best athletes, but to lift cohorts together to greater success in sport and in life.

Our bar must be set high, and we must always strive to deliver athletes to the Canadian National Ski Teams. However, we also believe that our programs must build and deliver a system that elevates as many athletes to their individual goals as possible, and that every athlete who passes through our provincial programs are inspired and motivated to remain a part of our community for life.

We will miss Rob immeasurably.

On behalf of the entire board and ski community, let us wish him the very best in his career.

Sincerely,

Alberta Alpine Executive

Calgary, AB — Alberta Alpine is pleased to announce the athletes who have received an official nomination to join the 2020/21 Alberta Ski Team and Alberta Ski Cross Team. 

The process to nominate this group of athletes is lead by the High Performance Committee (HPC) of Alberta Alpine for the alpine team, while for the Alberta Ski Cross Team, the nomination process is greatly assisted by the management team at Canada Ski Cross, who provide thoughtful insight and data to support the nomination to Canada’s only provincial ski cross team.

Leading the Alberta Ski Team and Alberta Ski Cross Team for the 2020/21 season are a team of six dedicated coaches, combining years of high-performance coaching experience —  including many at the National Team and World Cup levels — with rising stars on the Canadian ski coaching scene. Alberta Alpine is grateful for this group of professionals, who have accepted the challenge and opportunity to continue building the Alberta provincial programs to be the most supportive system for the advancement of our athletes. Alberta Ski Team and Alberta Ski Cross Team 2020/21 Coaching Staff:

(Note: all coach names appear in surname alphabetical sequence)

Fairley, Kya (ASXT)
Haehlen, Jonas (AST)
Martel, Jean-Marc (ASXT)
Preziosi, Gavin (AST)
Read, Jim (AST)
Rybarik, Peter (AST)

In addition to their nominations below, we also wish to highlight a number of Alberta athletes who are being recognized by Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) to the CAST NextGen Program. This recognition is based on new criteria that has been approved and supported by all Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs). This program recognizes the performance and potential of these athletes on their journey toward the World Cup team.

Sport programming for these athletes will continue to be provided through the athletes PTSO, in coordination with Alpine Canada. These athletes are an important part of the CAST long-term program and together we will continue to support their development. Thank you to Phil McNichol, High-Performance Director – Alpine, for his support in creating this important National recognition program.

To all athletes included in this publication — congratulations on this career milestone! Your dedication, perseverance, and passion toward our sport is to be commended. In addition, thank you to your club coaches, families, and friends for helping in your journey to achieving this step, and we are truly honoured to work with each of you this season.

(Note: all athlete and coach names appear in surname alphabetical sequence) 

2020/21 ALPINE CANADA ALPIN – CAST NextGen Program Recognition Athletes

ALPINE (National NextGen, Women):

Gray, Cassidy — 2001, PANO/AST
Richardson, Britt — 2003, CARC/BURKE
Timmermann, Claire — 2000, BAR/AST

ALPINE (National NextGen, Men):

Casselman, Jamie — 2000, PANO/AST
Sharp, Keegan — 1997, PANO

2020/21 ALBERTA SKI TEAM – Nominated Athletes

ALPINE (Women):

Alexander, Ashleigh — 2000, CARC/AST
Alexander, Kiara — 2001, SUNSH/AST
Cunningham, Haley — 2001, PANO
Gray, Cassidy — 2001, PANO/AST (University of Colorado)
Hill, Alyssa — 2001, PANO/AST
Hoshizaki, Tora — 2001, SNOW/NATC/AST
Lebsack, Avery — 2002, PANO
Timmermann, Claire — 2000, BAR/AST
van Soest, Katrina — 1999, BAR

COACHES (Women):

Preziosi, Gavin
Read, Jim

ALPINE (Men):

Carruthers, Caeden — 2001, CMRC/NATC/AST (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Casselman, Jamie — 2000, PANO/AST (Montana State University)
Dets, Taras — 2001, CARC (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Dunn, Logan — 2001, NATC
Harrison, Daniel — 2001, NATC (Plymouth State University)
Mittertreiner, Devin — 2000, SUNSH/AST (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Molesky, Daniel — 2001, BAR
Petkovic, Konstantin — 2000, BAR/AST
Profitt, John Daniel — 2002, SUNSH (Burke Mountain Academy)
Sharp, Keegan — 1997, PANO (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Small, James — 2001, CARC
Wallace, Liam — 1999, SUNSH/AST

COACHES (Men):

Haehlen, Jonas
Rybarik, Peter

In 2018, to align with our Strategic Plan, Alberta Alpine began following the philosophy of recommending athletes complete high-school while remaining at their home club. It was viewed that not only did this recommendation support the athletes by allowing them a more flexible structure within which to complete their studies and continue their athletic advancement, but that it also supported the strength of FIS programs at the club level. Following that philosophy, Alberta Alpine would like to recognize the achievements of the following athletes, who fall within this year’s AST selection guidelines and discussion, but will complete high-school while competing for their club for the 2020/21 season.

2020/21 ALBERTA SKI TEAM – Recognition Athletes

ALPINE – Recognition (Women):

Fynn, Kaitlyn — 2003, CARC/BURKE (will compete for Burke Mountain Academy and complete high-school)
Gray, Jacquelyn — 2002, PANO (will compete for Team Panorama and complete high-school)
Richardson, Britt — 2003, CARC/BURKE (will compete for Burke Mountain Academy and complete high-school)
Timmermann, Cydnie — 2003, BAR (will compete for Banff Alpine Racers and complete high-school)

2020/21 ALBERTA SKI CROSS TEAM – Nominated Athletes

SKI CROSS (Women):

Bishop, Mara — 1998, ABSX/ASXT
Clarke, Sarah — 2000, ABSX/ASXT (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Patterson, Emilie-Soleil — 1998, RED (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Velcic, Alexa — 1997, ABSX/ASXT (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Vincett, Kiersten — 2000, ABSX (will also compete for the University of Calgary)

SKI CROSS (Men):

Boehm, Austin — 2001, OZT (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
McEwen, Callum — 1998, ABSX/ASXT
Ralph, Reece — 2000, ABSX/ASXT
Reynolds, Zachary — 1999, ABSX/ASXT (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Rubinoff, Alex — 1995, ABSX/ASXT (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Tremblay, Phillip — 1999, ABSX/ASXT (will also compete for the University of Calgary)
Webster, Ryan — 1998, AST/ABSX/ASXT
Wilson, Andrew — 1999, AST/ASXT 

COACHES (Ski Cross): 

Fairley, Kya
Martel, Jean-Marc

Alberta Alpine has summarized updated information from the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Para-Olympic Committee, Own The Podium, the World Health Organization, and the Province of Alberta/Alberta Health Services, including risk assessment and mitigation tools for clubs planning a return to organized activity.

We look forward to supporting our membership through this transition, and are always available to support our clubs, memberships, and resort partners with information and updates.

We will continue to update this document as the information related to a full return to sport becomes available.

AASA – Return Plan Stage One

The Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Para-Olympic Committee, and Own The Podium have released a framework to be used for the return to high-performance sport, following the specific requirements of the health authority for each provincial jurisdiction.

In addition to this framework, the committees have developed a Club Assessment and Mitigation Checklist, aimed at helping clubs identify and mitigate the risks associated with returning to sport activity.

Both documents can be found as attachments below, and will be linked to all future Return to Sport updates from Alberta Alpine.

Canada – COVID-19 Return to HP Sport Framework – May 2020[1]

Club Risk_Assessment_and_Mitigation_Checklist_Tool_FINAL

Hey everyone, Zac here!

I would like to start off my athlete journal by saying that I hope everyone is staying healthy and sane during these difficult times while quarantined.

I am well and doing everything I can in order to stay healthy. These days I have been doing home workouts every day. My workouts include sprints, weighted lunges, weighted squats, core exercises and of course some upper body exercises as well. Although the gyms are closed I have found the motivation to do these workouts every day in order to be on track for next season.

With my season being cut short I was a little disappointed as I missed out on achieving one of my biggest goals which was to compete at World Junior Championships. Although it was canceled I am still pleased that I qualified and was selected to attend. I did accomplish my goal of forerunning the World Cup at Nakiska, what a great experience it was to be in a World Cup environment and around the best athletes the world has to offer. With that said, overall I had a good season and I am happy with my results. Although I am happy, I am still hungry for more and ready to achieve many more goals and accomplishments next season.

Last Tuesday I had the fantastic opportunity to go on my first mountain bike ride of the year with Alberta Ski Team athlete Caeden Caruthers as well as Alberta Alpine President Rob McCloskey. Although this was my first ride of the season it was also my first mountain bike ride in Alberta and it was great! We did a total of 18.3km, each six feet apart of course, and I am already eager for more!

Not only was it an amazing change of pace to be in the great outdoors but it was also nice to be around friendly faces and be able to have real conversations that didn’t involve a computer screen or a phone. Although quarantine is not over, with the parks and recreations in Alberta slowly opening back up I believe everyone will begin to regain sanity and morale will surely go up!

With such a positive experience getting back out in the mountains, I now have hope that the upcoming ski season will go off without a hitch. Although it may have a few restrictions, I am impatiently waiting to be able to be back on the slopes, clicking into my skis, and pulling out of the start gate once again!

Lastly, I would like to thank my coach JM, Alberta Alpine, the MSM World Cup Athlete Development Fund, the Mont Ste Marie Ski Club community, and everyone who supported me over the past season!

Once again stay healthy!

This has been Zac Reynolds, over and out!

Check out Zac’s Athlete Profile here.