Do you know that Canada is in fourth place in terms of the number of skiers affiliated with the Fédération internationale de ski (FIS) behind Italy, the United States and Japan?

Now imagine that between now and 2026, Canada becomes one of the three countries having won the most medals in total.

That’s the objective announced by double world champion Erik Guay, member of the Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) board of directors, with whom we had the pleasure of talking. Convinced by these statistics, Erik reminds us that in para alpine and ski cross we are already among the best in the world. Now we have to raise the number of medals in alpine skiing.

Mr. Guay, a rigorous man, initially worked with Tim Dattels and Mark Wiseman to suggest a new board of directors for Alpine Canada. On it there are well-known men and women from the Canadian business world who are taking on this philanthropic adventure to support Alpine Canada in reaching its 2026 objective.

Erik mentions humbly that he feels privileged to work with such a prestigious group, several members of which ski in our area.

Erik and Tim also met with Roger Martin of Tennis Canada. This latter undertook a similar shift with his team a few years earlier, the result being numerous recent successes, including Bianca Andreescu who won the US Open. Mr. Martin suggested that Alpine Canada identify the nucleus of Canadian skiing and concentrate on the facilities and infrastructure in place for better integration of the support of the athletes.

According to Erik, the job of Alpine Canada, for which he is now in part responsible, is little or poorly known by the member athletes. Even though he was a veteran of the Canadian Team, he faced a steep learning curve. That said, the 2026 objective is clear and Tremblant Express presents here, following our interview with Erik Guay, the steps to achieve it.

The performance aspect

For the performance aspect, the first and most crucial matter is to find the best person to put in the position of high performance director (HPD). In this key position, the HPD is the bridge between the various political programs, the board, his team for the support of athletes, local and international races and regional and local skiing organizations in Canada.

Better collaboration

Secondly, we will see heightened collaboration of Alpine Canada with the known levels of racing, namely provincial and regional teams and local ski clubs. In that vein, for this region, Ski Québec Alpin, the Division Laurentienne de Ski (DLS) and the local ski clubs that are members of the DLS.

Development tools

Thirdly, the athletes’ development tools must be better known and used throughout the various levels of racing. As an example, Erik would like the “Long-term Plan for Athlete Development” developed by Alpine Canada – and shared with a few European countries – to be better used.

He would also like to see the program for evaluation of general physical condition, used in Norway, brought here. In that country, to get onto the National Ski Team, skiers have to get a mark higher than 500 points on the Ironman program grid. “Athletes in better condition are less often injured,” he notes. “Local clubs could benefit from these kinds of tools.”

Eyes fixed on Europe

Fourthly, Erik sees paying particular attention to the Coupe d’Europe – the European Cup. While the Nor-Am Cup (North American Cup) has made great efforts to raise the level of competition in recent years, it is not yet at the level of the European Cup of alpine skiing. In fact, the jump to World Cup for our best Canadians on the Nor-Am circuit is often harder than it is for those participating in the European Cup.

Lastly, everything depends on the funding. Happily, the ACA can rely on faithful sponsors including Audi, Helly Hansen, Mackenzie Investments, Solace, Descente and others whom you’ll find here: alpinecanada.org/partners. As the number of medals rise, these sponsors will have increased visibility, but we can do even better.

We will continue to watch the situation closely. In the meantime, let’s wish Erik Guay and Alpine Canada Alpin the best of luck in attaining the 2026 objective.