Alpine Canada | News | Jean-François Rapatel Joins Alpine Canada as High-Performance Director, Alpine
Calgary AB, (March 20, 2023) – Alpine Canada is pleased to announce that effective Monday, March 27, 2023, Jean-François (JF) Rapatel will join the organization as High-Performance Director, Alpine. Rapatel brings decades of experience in high performance sport and technical leadership to Alpine Canada.
“JF brings 15 years of experience as a high-performance director in alpine and snowboarding, a deep understanding of the Canadian sports system, the ability to work with provincial and territorial sports organizations (PTSOs) and clubs, and strong relationships with sports and funding with partners,” said Therese Brisson, President and CEO of Alpine Canada. “He is an exceptional leader and builder of talent, teams and culture with an unmatched track record of delivering sporting results on the world stage at World Cups, World Championships, Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. I am thrilled that he will bring this experience to Alpine Canada to lead us into this new era of Canadian ski racing that builds on the momentum of our historic performance last season.”
This is Rapatel’s second time with Alpine Canada, having served as High-Performance Director Para-Alpine from 2005 to 2010, where he led the team to a historic feat, winning 13 of Canada’s 17 medals at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games /Whistler won. He then served as Alpine Development Director for three years, implementing talent recognition programs and the Rising Star training camps that first identified and developed many of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team’s top athletes of today 10 years ago.
Most recently, Rapatel has led Canada Snowboard’s high-performance program since 2016, achieving an all-time best performance at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Highlights include 10 Olympic Winter Games medals and three Paralympic medals at the last two Winter Games, as well as establishing Canada as the world’s leading snowboarding nation with the most medals won at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Prior to that, Rapatel served as a high-performance athlete development consultant at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific from 2013-2016, where he used his analytical and evidence-based decision-making skills to help several targeted national sports organizations build high-performance pathways, including podium, pathways and gold medal profiles, to drive development of next-generation athletes and partnerships with PTSOs.
“It feels like coming home with so many familiar faces from the ski racing community,” said Rapatel. “Ski racing was my first passion. It has taken me from a young alpine ski racer to a coach and now this incredible opportunity to work with the leadership team and board of directors to continue building a world-leading ski racing nation. I am very excited about the strategic alignment and collaboration with this very talented group of National Team and Next Gen athletes, staff and coaches. “
“We had a robust selection process to find the best candidate that would enhance our Alpine program and take us into the future,” said Erik Guay, ACA Board of Directors and Selection Committee member. “One of the things we really loved about JF was his ability to hire the right people, take tough decisions, communicate them well and deliver results with limited resources. He is innovative and acts in a disciplined manner. JF’s experience managing complex, high-performance, multi-discipline programs with professional athletes competing on multiple tours will be an incredible asset to Alpine Canada.”
Rapatel will be responsible for leading the Alpine High-Performance program, which focuses on increasing podium performances through building talent, team and culture. He will have a wide range of responsibilities including leading, planning and managing the Canadian Alpine Ski Team; management of relationships with sports funding and performance partners; as well as human resource development, budgeting and administration.
Alpine Canada is committed to its vision for Canada to be a world-leading ski racing nation and its mission to increase podium performances while inspiring growth of competitors and fans. The recently concluded 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships were the best in Canadian history, Canada winning two gold and two bronze medals.
-30-
For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Mark Halliday, Director Brand & Communications
[email protected] I 403-777-3204
About Alpine Canada
Alpine Canada is the governing body for alpine, paraalpine and ski cross racing in Canada and for Canadian ski coaches, providing education, certification, insurance and compliance with the coaching code of conduct. With the support of valued corporate partners and donors, along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Coaching Association of Canada, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, World Championships and World Cup athletes to increase visibility, inspiration and growth in the ski community.