June 20, 2013 (Calgary, AB) – One of Canada’s most accomplished and respected sport leaders, Peter Judge, has been named the new director of winter sport for Own the Podium, the world-leading organization designed to help Canadian athletes win more international medals announced on Thursday.

The current chief executive officer of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association will transition into his new position following the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games so not to disrupt the sport’s preparations for Sochi. Anne Merklinger, Own the Podium’s chief executive officer, will continue managing the director of winter sport duties with each of the organization’s three high-performance advisors during the transition period until Judge fills the position on March 1, 2014.

“Peter is a passionate, decisive and pragmatic leader who has played a key role as an executive, coach and athlete in creating one of Canada’s sport dynasties that is now into its fourth decade,” said Merklinger, who added that Judge’s distinguished career made him a natural choice to take the winter program to the next level. “Peter has been a proven performer throughout his career in sport, and will be counted on to develop the critical relationships required for Canada’s winter sport organizations, coaches and athletes, to win more medals.”

Judge, who has represented Canada at seven Olympic Winter Games as a coach and/or team leader, brings four decades of experience while immersed in a variety of roles in sport around the world. A medal-winning athlete and coach with the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team, Judge has guided countless Canadian freestyle ski athletes to 10 Olympic, 69 World Championship and more than 1000 World Cup medals.

“The Own the Podium program has transformed sport in our country. The entire nation is now focused on excellence. This shift, where the country no longer settles for mediocrity, is a movement I have had significant interest in since its inception, and the reason I returned to the Canadian sport community in 2004,” said Judge, who will relocate to Calgary following the Sochi Games. “Success does not happen in isolation. Regardless of the position I have held, I realize it takes a team approach to get the job done. This will become more critical moving forward if we want to continue our quest to be a world-leading Olympic and Paralympic sport country.”

Judge also filled coaching positions in the United States, Australia and China before moving into his current position as chief executive officer at the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association in 2004. Judge has positioned the organization as one of the strongest sport programs in the country with creative business strategies to strengthening financial resources available for its athletes.

In his new role, Judge will work alongside Own the Podium’s winter high-performance sport advisors, winter national sport organizations, Sport Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, and Canadian Paralympic Committee to build upon the common vision and further develop the strategic priorities for Canadian athletes and coaches to achieve excellence. Judge will also formulate funding recommendations to OTP’s senior management team, lead annual reviews, and develop new policies and programs designed to help more athletes win medals at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“I look forward to working with Canada’s sport leaders to develop strategies that will achieve our shared goal – to put more athletes on the international podium,” said Judge. “We have a small gene pool of athletes relative to other leading sport countries, which presents a challenge that requires us to forge stronger relationships between sports, and leverage our financial resources. The world is not standing still. We need to build on our past successes and push forward. We must continue to be innovative, and sharpen our focus, to maintain Canada’s position as a world-leading sport nation.”

Inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame, Judge has served as a member of Own the Podium’s hiring committee in 2005, chairman of the winter sport caucus, a member of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Committee, an “A” session member representative with the Canadian Olympic Committee since 2004, a member of the COC’s Team Selection Committee, and vice-chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Sport Orientation and Strategies Committee. He is also a five-time winner of the Coaching Association of Canada’s Coaching Excellence Award.