Own the Podium – FasterSkier.com

Cross Country Canada: The Reboot Part 1

Gerry FursethNovember 21, 2018

Cross Country Canada (CCC) has begun a reboot process as the new Olympic cycle starts. Corporations call this a reset, a rebranding, a new direction, restructuring, and various other names that try to disguise the challenges and issues that come with enacting real change. The reboot process traditionally starts with an acknowledgement that the current level of success, and that of the foreseeable future, doesn’t align with the goals or the potential of the organization....

Canadian National Ski Team General News

CCC Lays Off Four Staff Members, Including Babikov

Alex KochonJune 9, 2018

Cross Country Canada (CCC) has appointed a new high-performance and development advisor, CCC’s CEO since November 2016. On the upside, he explained that another sponsor and investment firm, Haywood Securities, has agreed to sponsor the NorAm circuit as it has in the past. Asked if budget cuts were among the biggest challenges affecting CCC at the moment and the reasoning behind the latest layoffs, Pearsall said, “Yes. If things had stayed the same that would’ve...

Biathlon Canada General News

OTP Cuts Biathlon Canada’s Base Funding to Zero

Jason AlbertJuly 20, 2017

If you made it past the article’s title, then get ready to immerse yourself in the intricacies of Canadian high-performance sports funding. OK, here it goes…money, money, money. Add this for effect, $. Imagine for a moment you’re the CEO of a national sporting body and you’ve got high aspirations — things like championship and Olympic medals. There’s an infinite amount of puzzle pieces to organize and assemble. There are two critical pieces to even...

Canadian National Ski Team General Team nominations

CCC on Team Selections and ‘Moving Ahead’ with Half the Budget of Sochi

Gabby NaranjaMay 30, 2017

What a year for Cross Country Canada (CCC). For the first time in history, its men’s team stood on a World Cup gold and its women’s team pulled off its Canada’s 2017/2018 national-team nominations earlier this month, FasterSkier caught up with CCC’s High Performance Director Thomas Holland and the World Cup co-coach Ivan Babikov to discuss the program moving forward. What’s changed since last year? Not much. With a strong season behind them, an Olympic season ahead and a solid coach...

Interviews Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: Tom Hall’s Take on Own The Podium

Jason AlbertMay 1, 2017

Tom Hall as a guest. If you’re into elite canoe and kayak, Hall may be a familiar name: he’s a 2008 bronze medalist from the Beijing Olympics in sprint canoeing and represented Canada internationally for twenty years — he retired from competitive sports in 2012. Today, Hall is a journalist and editor as well as the interim executive director for for a Canadian athlete advocacy organization called Own The Podium (OTP), (nordicnation@fasterskier.com. Podcast: Play in new window |...

Biathlon Canada General

After Two Seasons, Biathlon Canada and de Nys Part Ways

Gabby NaranjaApril 22, 2017

For the past 13 years, Eric de Nys has been ingrained in the sport of cross-country skiing and its offshoots, including biathlon. He spent 10 years as a coach on Cross Country Canada’s national team, leading the women’s World Cup team in his final two years there. Based in the same town and out of the same training facilities in Canmore, Alberta, de Nys parted ways with the national team after the 2014 Olympics and October 2015, de Nys...

News Racing World Cup

A Maple-Leaf ‘Miracle’, Canada Races to Historic 3rd Place in Ulricehamn Relay

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 22, 2017

Looking up from the finish line on Sunday, Canada’s Len Valjas saw something he would never forget. Amidst a sea of waving Swedish flags, a trio of men ran toward him. Their arms were outstretched and a chorus of cheers escaped all three as they charged toward their teammate. Just a week ago, Valjas had celebrated his Johnsgaard, of Canada’s U25 Team, maintained his position within the middle of the lead pack. “Alex tagged me off...

Biathlon General News

Chris Lindsay Leaves Biathlon Canada After Four Years as High Performance Director

Lander KarathJune 19, 2015

After four years as High Performance Director with Biathlon Canada, Chris Lindsay will be leaving the organization to take over as High Performance Advisor to summer sports at Own the Podium.

News Nordic Combined Ski Jumping

For Canadian NoCo and Jumping, No OTP Funding Closes ‘Every Other Door’

Lander KarathAugust 8, 2014

“If we want to survive we need to take matters into our own hands," Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Canada's director Curtis Lyon explains. He's doing damage control after Own the Podium stopped funding the two sports for 2014/2015.

Canadian National Ski Team General News

CCC’s New President, Jamie Coatsworth Talks Business and the Board’s Role

Alex KochonJune 20, 2014

In his first week as president/chair of Cross Country Canada, Jamie Coatsworth -- a longtime financial supporter of Canadian nordic skiing -- talks about the position and how he ended up filling the vacancy left by Richard Lemoine. "Sort of looking up around the room, I spoke to some of the other board members," Coatsworth said. "And I said somebody’s gotta do it."

Biathlon General Interviews News Racing

For Biathlon Canada, Post-Olympic OTP Funding Struggle Despite Strong Sochi Results

Chelsea LittleJune 18, 2014

Own the Podium increased biathlon's budget from last season's $200,000 to a still-low $250,000 - less than its post-Vancouver award despite better performances. "I see great potential in the Nordic sports where a single athlete who is at that level can win multiple medals," Biathlon Canada's Chris Lindsay said. "We’re potentially going to be missing out on a bunch of those podiums."

Canadian National Ski Team General Para Nordic Racing

Canadian Paralympic Preview: McKeever, Bourgonje, Arendz Lead the Way to Sochi

Mark VosburghMarch 7, 2014

The 2014 Winter Paralympics officially kick off Friday with the Opening Ceremony in Sochi, Russia, and the Canadian Para-Nordic team is raring to be one of the most dominant teams at the Games, shooting for third in the overall medal count.

Biathlon General

Despite Centralization Push and Improved Results, Own The Podium Cuts Budget for Biathlon Canada

Chelsea LittleJuly 16, 2012

Note: This is the first of two pieces based on an interview with Biathlon Canada’s High Performance Director, Chris Lindsay, from earlier this spring. Any way you look at it, 2012 was a good year for Canadian biathlon on the World Cup. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Brendan Green, and Zina Kocher all notched multiple top-tens. While Green continued an ascent that began with top-20 finishes in 2010 and 2011, for the older two athletes, the results...