Please join us in hosting the 2024 Nor-Am Cup Finals at the Panorama Mountain Resort, April 1 to 11, 2024. The champions in each discipline will earn World Cup spots for the 2024-25 season.
BC Alpine is seeking support during the races, as well as for set-up and tear-down. It is a long race series, so we welcome you to assist even for just a few days. There’s something for everyone! Please use the link below to register as a volunteer and someone from our team will follow up with you.
The Panorama Nor-Ams are not only an amazing athletic opportunity for our BC FIS athletes, but are also a great chance for race officials to learn and gain experience, both in speed and technical disciplines, at an international level. This experience leads to greater knowledge and future opportunities!
Johnny Crichton, BC Alpine CEO
*Photo: BC Ski Team racer Dylan Timm. Photo by Derek Trussler.
Alpine Women in Sport (AWiS) is set to present the second in its 2023-24 webinar series on mental health, “The Coaching Life: Surviving or Thriving?”
Mental Performance Coach, Heather Cribbin, will be back to lead the discussion and provide tools to help create strategies and set boundaries.
Monday, January 22, 2024 // 5:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (8:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time)
“Setting Boundaries and Other Strategies to Support Well-being.”
The concept and impact of well-being may be generalized, but the experience of what creates it will be profoundly personal. What is well-being, how do we notice when we don’t have it, and how can we cultivate it for ourselves? The ability to resource oneself, that is, find energy to persist, is essential in an industry that is built on a seasonal model that requires a great deal from its coaches. Intentionally choosing a mindset that fosters optimism can offset the stresses of a demanding environment. And that begins with setting boundaries—think time management, email and general communications, meetings, and more.
Click the button below to sign up through SnowReg and receive education credits!
*Reminder that you can earn ACA education credits when you register and attend AWiS webinars.
In what will be a highly interactive session, Heather will delve into the following topics:
What is well-being, why is the term trending, and what does it mean for you?
The Wheel of Life as an indicator of well-being. (Have a pen and paper ready.)
What is the impact if well-being is missing? Can ski coaches have “burnout”?
Is burnout the opposite of well-being?
How do boundaries contribute to or protect your well-being?
What happens when boundaries are missing/crossed?
Values as a way of identifying and holding boundaries, and supporting well-being
How can we see time as a boundary and not a commodity?
Emotional intelligence as a tool for conversations to express/hold boundaries
About Heather Cribbin
Heather believes everyone is capable of high performance, in any arena, without sacrificing peace of mind. Using her knowledge of neuroscience, positive psychology, and emotional intelligence, she coaches for mental toughness to uncover and enhance grit, resilience, and confidence. Heather has participated in, parented, and coached high-performance athletics for many years. She competed at a high level in rowing and in triathlon and enjoys skiing, tennis, biking, and hiking. Earning her Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) from the Coach Training Institute (CTI), and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) accreditation from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) helped Heather to connect her passion for supporting clients with her previous degrees in Physical and Health Education, and Social Work.
Heather has coached high-performers on the Canada Snowboard Team, athletes at the NCAA college level, competitors at the World Cup, Europa cup, University Games, and Canada Games stages. She supports executives at large organizations such as Dell and Microsoft as well as entrepreneurs. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Heather now calls Zurich, Switzerland, home.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) season is underway, after a series of four races this week showcased the top ski racers from the west at the Alberta Alpine GMC Cup in Panorama.
BC Ski Team newcomer Jasmine Coubrough had an impressive week, scoring an overall podium (third place) as well as the top U19 in the Wednesday’s giant slalom (GS), and finished inside the top 15 in three of the four races.
Sascha Gilbert (WMSC) got things going for the men’s team with a second place finish on Wednesday’s GS after posting the fastest first-run time and wrapped up the four-day series with a fifth place in slalom. Dylan Timm (FAST) also finished second, this time in the men’s Thursday’s slalom, just 0.13 seconds off the top step of the podium.
BC Alpine follows Alpine Canada’s Safe Sport guidelines which are committed to improving safety, respect, and prevention of harassment in sport. The Safe Sport environment ensures that athletes, coaches, and staff have a safe, inclusive, and supportive training and competition environment. Everyone has a role to play in creating a healthy physical and mental environment for sport participation.
As of December 16, 2023, our Code of Conduct and complaints process have been updated. They pertain to BC Alpine, all its member clubs, all registered members, and participants.
The new complaints management process is as follows:
We have centralized the intake for complaints to make sure the process is simple, safe, and independent. All complaints will go through an independent third party, either via the Integrity Counts Online Form, or by phone to 1 (800) 758-9412.
The independent third party will determine the nature of the complaint. Minor infractions will be sent back to the club for internal review and resolution. Major infractions and maltreatment will be handled independently under BC Alpine’s contract with the independent third party. The definitions of infractions and maltreatment can be found in the updated Code of Conduct document in the BC Alpine Policy Files.
BC Alpine members, clubs, and affiliated organizations must adhere to all of BC Alpine’s governing documents and policies, and when required, amend their own rules to comply or align with those of BC Alpine.
All non-Safe Sport matters relating to selection, programing, finance, media, etc., should go through the regular club channels.
NOTE: BC Alpine will cover the initial cost of filing a complaint with the independent third party. After their assessment, any case work for MAJOR infractions or maltreatment will be charged to the member club based on rates agreed to in BC Alpine’s contract with the independent third party. For more information please contact Anders Hestdalen atandersh@bcalpine.com.
Expanding on its strength as a unified province with a shared culture of both excellence and participation, BC Alpine officially announces the launch of a five-year strategic plan, starting immediately.
With 32 active ski clubs in nearly all ski resorts across the province and more than 6,700 members and thousands of volunteers – as well as a successful provincial team program which consistently qualifies skiers for the national ski team – the sport is as popular as ever in the province.
“We’re in a very good position to expand on our strengths and make ski racing the number one winter sport in the province,” said Anders Hestdalen, BC Alpine CEO.
The strategic plan is focussed on four key areas:
1. Increase Awareness:
By raising awareness of ski racing and the benefits it brings to communities, ski resorts and fans across the province, it will attract new members to get involved with the sport.
2. Improve Education
By delivering the highest level of educational training to parents, athletes, officials, club executives and coaches, the provincial association and its member clubs will increase the ability to provide an exceptional sport experience.
3. Athletic Excellence
The goal is to deliver the best provincial athletic development program with a focus on performance, health and mental wellness that encourages well-rounded athletes to reach their maximum potential.
4. Financial Viability
With increased revenue from sponsorships and fundraising, BC Alpine can further support athlete and coach development at all levels and with all clubs to reduce the costs associated with the sport.
At the link below is the condensed one-page plan. For the full Strategic Plan, email andersh@bcalpine.com for a copy.
Below are the marquee statistics outlining the position of BC Alpine from 2012 to 2022. These are the foundations that BC Alpine is building upon in the new structure and plan.
Vision: Inspire skiers for life and develop world-class athletes.
Productive Brainstorm & Action Team
The Strategic Plan committee, which represents a diverse and skilled group of professionals and ski racing experts from around the province, met regularly for eight months to candidly and openly speak about the strengths and challenges facing the sport today. The outcome of the meetings was a succinct plan and direction which was delivered to the the general members and 100+ participants at the BC Alpine AGM & Summit in Sun Peaks in October 2023.
“After being away from the inner workings of ski racing for quite some time, it was exciting and inspiring to dive into the productive process of helping BC Alpine define their strategic plan. This document is a true reflection of collaboration, experience and innovative thinking – the result is an exciting and progressive plan to guide and direct the operation of BC Alpine and it clubs.“
–
– Emily Brydon, Fernie [three-time Olympian and 9-time World Cup medalist]
Acknowledgements
Our partners & sponsors provide the opportunity tosupport the BC Alpine ski community with a structured, open and safe sport environment that empowers each member to become the best version of themselves, one turn at a time. We thank all of our sponsors and partners for providing these opportunities.
