May 24, 2019 (Canmore, Alta.) – As part of its succession planning for long-time employee and current director of events, Dave Dyer, Nordiq Canada is welcoming Jeff Ellis to the Canadian ski community as the organization’s new events coordinator, effective September 1, 2019.

Originally from Orangeville, Ont., Ellis has recently moved back to Canada with his wife – Olympic champion Kikkan Randall of the United States – and young family following a six-year stint with FIS in a marketing and communications role.

“I am very excited to be joining the Nordiq Canada team. Having recently moved back to Canada, I’ve been wanting to find my place within the ski community,” said Ellis, a former Canadian cross-country ski athlete who will begin his transition into the role this summer by joining Dyer at the FIS meetings in June. “During my six years at the International Ski Federation (FIS), I gained a lot of valuable experience regarding event organization, promotion, snow preparation, and course layout, among others. Perhaps most importantly, it’s given me the connections within the international ski community to be able to collaborate on, making sure Canada is providing affordable, sustainable, elite level events for our athletes and their fans.”

Ellis’ role will require the coordination and calendaring of cross-country ski racing events at all levels in accordance to the long-term athlete development model, “A Sport for Life,” to ensure the optimal development of Canadian skiers. Ellis, alongside Dyer, will oversee Nordiq Canada’s annual events calendar, which includes important domestic and international events such as the Canadian Championships, the NorAm Race Series and our World Cup and WPNS initiatives.

“I’m delighted that Jeff will be joining our team. He’s had the opportunity to work with many Canadian and FIS officials over the years and brings with him a wealth of technical and social media skills to our program,” said Dyer. “Jeff is well-respected on the international circuit and will be an asset to our North American event initiatives in the years to come.”

Nordiq Canada’s events team is responsible for liaising with Canadian race organizing committees, for both Olympic and Paralympic streams, to ensure they are implementing the latest in FIS and International Paralympic Committee competition standards and rules, as well as helping develop the current and future crop of technical delegates – among other administrative duties.

In the 2019-20 season, Canada will host a World Cup event in Quebec City, March 14-15 and the World Cup Finals at the Canmore Nordic Centre , March 20-22. The Canadian Ski Championships will be held at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Ski Club near Vernon, B.C., March 26 – April 2.

Nordiq Canada is the governing body of para-nordic and cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Swix and Lanctôt Sports– along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, Nordiq Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on Nordiq Canada, please visit us at <http://www.nordiqcanada.ca>www.nordiqcanada.ca.