Home 9 AOA Staff

 ALPINE ONTARIO STAFF

 

PATRICK BIGGS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Email: pbiggs@alpineontario.ca
Phone: 437-245-6217

Patrick (Pat) joined AOA in the Spring of 2022. He has a long history with the sport having competed with the Ontario Ski Team and eventually the World Cup circuit (with top 10 results in slalom) and two Olympic Winter Games (Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010). Following his retirement from racing in 2012, Pat kept his deep connection to the sport alive, joining the Camp Fortune Ski Club as a Coach, and later, as President, then Program Director. Pat has 3 sons and enjoys multiple outdoor activities with his family along with raising chickens in his backyard.

AOA Duties: Reports to the Board of Directors and has overall strategic and operational responsibility for all staff, programs and the execution of the AOA mission statement “To provide leadership and structure for high quality, sustainable and affordable programming.

ANGELA HOBBS
ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Email: accounting@alpineontario.ca
Phone: 705-444-5111 ext 125

Angela joined AOA in 2014 after working for 10 years in corporate tax, personal tax and bookkeeping. Angela is originally from Montreal but studied in London, ON before moving to Collingwood where she is very busy with three young children.

AOA Duties: Angela reports to the Executive Director and manages the budget, accounting, human resources and office management.

DUNCAN GIBSON-MCLEAN
HIGH PERFORMANCE MANAGER

Email: duncan@alpineontario.ca

AOA Duties: 

SUKI CHAPMAN
AOA PROGRAM MANAGER AND MEMBER SERVICES MANAGER

Email: admin@alpineontario.camemberservices@alpineontario.ca
Phone: (705) 444-5111 ext 133

Suki has been in the ski industry since 1989 when she joined SOD/Alpine Ontario South (AOS)/AOA until 2003. She then joined the team at Devil’s Glen Country Club as the Program Coordinator for 11 years before joining the team at Osler Bluff Ski Club as the Race Events Coordinator.  Prior to her ‘ski’ career, Suki was with the Ontario Cycling Association and on a part-time basis worked as the head coach at Mont St. Louis Moonstone and Horseshoe Valley.  Suki is a Level 3 CSIA, Level 1 CSCF & Level 3 AOA Official.

AOA Duties:  Suki reports to the AOA Executive Director and is responsible for all administrative support to the AOA including member registration, race calendar, program guidelines and coach/officials.

MARIA BURTON
DIRECTOR MARKETING AND PARTNERSHIPS

Email: mburton@alpineontario.ca
Phone: (705) 539-0679

Maria grew up skiing, racing, and coaching in Southern Ontario. Over the next 15 years in Tahoe, California, Maria coaches simultaneous to evolving her marketing and partnership management career in Silicon Valley. As a professional Adventure Racer, Maria competed in multiple World Championships and elite-level multi-sport competitions worldwide. At the Vancouver Olympics (2010) she continued to expand her global expertise in corporate and sports marketing & program initiatives. Concurrently, Maria forged strategic business partnerships with national and international brands. Maria, her husband, and two children actively ski at Caledon Ski Club. 

AOA Duties: Maria reports to the Executive Director and is responsible for marketing, communications, and partnership management.

 

JACQUES REID
LEAD FACiLITATOR

Email: jskireid1970@gmail.com

Phone: (705) 888-5544

AOA Duties: Jacques’ main task will be to lead and facilitate coach education courses and initiatives. He will also help to support and mentor coaches along their coaching pathway. His role is also designed to support clubs, athletes, parents, and stakeholders through the process of athletic development. 

 

KIP HARRINGTON
VP, High Performance

Email: kipharrington@alpineontario.ca

Kip returned to AOA in 2017 after spending eight years with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and two years leading the British Ski Academy. Prior to this, he worked with the Ontario Ski Team from 2000 to 2007. Kip is a Performance Level (PL) certified coach and also sits on the AOA Athletic Committee as the Chair. He lives in Sault Ste. Marie.
AOA Duties: Kip reports to the Executive Director.  Kip leads the creation and implementation of the organizations long term High-Performance plan and vision from U16 to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST).  He oversees the HP staff and programs including Ontario Ski Team, SOD Ski Team, U16 HPP and Para-Alpine.

CAM MCKENZIE
MEN’S ONTARIO SKI TEAM
HEAD COACH

Email: cmckenzie@alpineontario.ca

Cam leads the Men’s OST and is a Development Level (DL) trained coach with over a decade of experience coaching at the club, regional and the Provincial level. He has been coaching with the Ontario Ski Team since 2014 and has been the Men’s head coach since 2017. Cam lives in Collingwood and reports to AOA’s HPP Director, Kip Harrington.

CAM STEPHEN
WOMEN’S ONTARIO SKI TEAM
HEAD COACH

Email: cstephen@alpineontario.ca

Cam leads the Women’s OST and will work closely with the U19HPP women as well on select ski camps and training opportunities. Cam is a Performance Level Coach, Level 3 Official, NCCP mentor, evaluator and course facilitator.  In addition to 12 years of coaching on the FIS Circuit Cam was in the Canadian Armed Forces and has his Bachelor of Physical Health and Education Honors from Laurentian University and his Masters of Education from the University of Victoria. Cam lives in Wasaga Beach and reports to AOA’s HPP Director, Kip Harrington.

henry yeigh
Ontario development
ski Team, MEN’S
Head CoacH

Email: hyeigh@alpineontario.ca

Henry brings with him a depth of experience leading FIS programming at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, and most recently as the assistant coach with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team Men’s World Cip Tech Team.

Having grown up racing in Ontario and starting my journey as a coach at the Caledon ski club over 10 years ago.

Recently, my partner Calynn and I moved to Meaford and are enjoying first-home ownership. I am excited to be returning to the Ontario race scene, reconnecting with my ski racing roots.

 

 

RACHEL TOPPING
ONTARIO Development
SKI TEAM WOMEN’S
hEAD COACH

Email: rtopping@alpineontario.ca

With racing and coaching experience in Quebec, Rachel is dedicated to sharing her acquired skills and knowledge to athletes while constantly enhancing her expertise through diverse training courses.  

Rachel is an energetic athletic coach with 10 years of experience helping athletes meet their goals in multiple sports and mentorship roles. She holds a performance level certification and is CSIA Level 2. Prior to joining the ODST, she was the Skibec FIS Team and U16 Team Assistant Coach as well as the Estrie FIS Team Assistant Coach. She was named “Coach of the Year” by Skibec in 2014 and 2015.

 

Curtis eades
southern ONTARIO division
SKI TEAM
HEAD COACH

Email: ceades@alpineontario.ca

Curtis Eades, has been coaching in Southern Ontario for the past 13 years. Recently, Curtis was Lead U16 OCUP Coach for the Toronto Ski Club. Prior, Curtis was Assistant Coach –  SOD ski team. 

In the past few years, he has worked with Alpine Ontario assisting with the U16 HPP programs. Curtis grew up racing at Caledon Ski Club till the age of 9 then continued at Georgian Peaks till he raced 3 year of FIS.

Curtis is a DL certified coach, CSIA Level 2 and working towards enhancing his certifications.

 

 

NICK KWASNIAK
Ontario PARA-ATHLETE
ski Team Head Coach

Email: nick@alpineontario.ca

Nik is steadfast in believing in the development of strong, educated, athletic ski racers who enjoy skiing at any level and embrace the culture of sport.

 

SARAH EDWARDS
MANAGER, COACH EDUCATION AND DELIVERY

Performance Level Certified Ski Coach, Level III CSIA, Level III AOA Official & 25 years of experience coaching.
sedwards@alpineontario.ca

Sarah has been the Entry Level and Development Level coaching course coordinator for Alpine Ontario since 2005. Sarah will continue on with her EL course responsibilities and assume additional administrative duties for the Development and Performance Level (DL/PL) coaching courses (formerly coordinated by Alpine Canada). Sarah is also working towards some exciting opportunities for AOA’s coaching community that will include professional development events, workshops for age-specific coaches, course preparation training and improved communication tools. Sarah has two young ski racers of her own aged 8 and 10 and is committed to educating kids and parents on the importance of physical literacy and keeping the fun factor in sport for life!

MELISSA LACROIX
SPORTS PHYSIOLOGIST, CANADIAN SPORT INSTITUTE OF ONTARIO (CSIO)

Melissa works with the U19 High-Performance Program and Ontario Ski Team athletes at the CSIO. She holds a BSc. degree in Athletic Therapy and a MSc in Exercise Science from Mercyhurst University. During her time at Mercyhurst University, she also played on the women’s ice hockey team.

Prior to joining the CSIO team, Melissa worked as a sports physiologist and lab manager for 6 years at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific. Through her role at CSI Pacific, she has worked predominantly as the lead physiologist and innovation & research lead for Wheelchair Rugby Canada. She has also provided physiological testing support for numerous provincial and national Olympic and Paralympic athletes along with strength and conditioning support for Softball Canada for the past two years.

DANA SINCLAIR
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST, HUMAN PERFORMANCE INTERNATIONAL

Dr. Sinclair works with the U19 High-Performance Program and Ontario Ski Team athletes. She is a world-renowned sports psychologist AOA is extremely lucky to work with. Her credentials include PhD (Ott.), PhD (Cantab.), R. Psych., C. Psych. Partner and Performance Psychologist. James Sleeth M.A. (Miami) Partner and Managing Director