Today Sport Calgary announced that Olympic legend and three-time medalist, Catriona Le May Doan, will be joining its executive team as the new Senior Director of Community Engagement and Marketing.
"I am so pleased to be a part of the Sport Calgary team. This city helped me realize my Olympic dreams, and my family and I continue to be involved in sport right here in Calgary," says Catriona. "I want to help build amateur sport in this city, and allow Calgarians of all ages to realize their sporting dreams - no matter how big or small they are. My hope is that we will be Canada's sporting city."
In her role, Catriona will be a champion of amateur sport in Calgary, building connections with the over 400 community sport organizations, and helping support and advocate for the 400,000 active amateur athletes in our city - both the future Olympians and the casual participants alike.
"I am thrilled that Catriona has decided to dedicate her talents to growing amateur sport in Calgary," said Sport Calgary Board Chair, Perry Cavanagh.
"This is a huge win for Sport Calgary and for all the amateur athletes in our city. Catriona has competed and succeeded at the highest levels of both sport and business, and we are tremendously fortunate to have her join our leadership team," said Murray Sigler, who has just recently been announced as Executive Director and CEO for Sport Calgary.
Sport Calgary is known for its popular program: All Sport One Day - a free day of sport discovery for all Calgary children that allows them to experience a variety of sports quickly at over a dozen facilities - which Catriona will now be looking to help expand even further. This past year it set a new record, allowing over 3,000 Calgary children to explore a new sport.
"I consider amateur sports in our city a part of economic development, and that's why I am pleased to see Catriona join Sport Calgary to help build it," says Steve Allan, Chair of Calgary Economic Development. "When our city has a fantastic and vibrant amateur sports offering, it makes us a more attractive location for the world's most talented people to live and make a life."
For additional comments or to set up an interview with Catriona Le May Doan in English or French, contact Fraser Tingle at ftingle@sportcalgary.ca or 403-387-7772 ext. 1
Catriona was the first Canadian and only female individual to win back-to-back gold medals at any Olympic games. During her career she broke 13 world records, won 5 World championship titles, and won 3 Olympic medals (2 gold and 1 bronze). She carried the Canadian flag in the closing ceremony of 1998 and opening ceremony of 2002 Olympic Games. She was honoured as being the first torch bearer of the 2010 Olympic relay, and one of the final four to light the cauldron at the 2010 Winter Games.
Since her retirement from competitive sport she has been in involved in many boards including VANOC, and Winsport. She still currently sits on the Canada Games Council, Red Deer 2019, and CSI Calgary. She is involved in many charities including Special Olympics Canada and the CIBC Run for the Cure. She has been involved in broadcasting for five Olympic Games and was the co-host for CTV's Olympic morning for London 2012. She won a Gemini for best analyst in 2010 for her work with CTV's Olympic coverage, and is currently an analyst for speed skating coverage for CBC. She has been named Officer of the Order of Canada, and continues to give back to sport through her volunteer work, including assistant coaching for North West ringette. She continues to work with up and coming athletes at the Olympic Oval, and helps build a bursary to help young athletes manage training expenses in Calgary. She has lived in Calgary for 28 years. She and her husband Bart (member of Calgary fire dept), daughter Greta (11), and son Easton (8) currently reside in Calgary. She is still active in sport, including playing ringette and hockey in Calgary leagues.
Sport Calgary is a volunteer non-profit society, representing sport in the city of Calgary. As an advocate of sport, we strive to assist, support and influence the growth of sport in Calgary by:
• Playing a lead role in the implementation of the Calgary Civic Sport Policy, and ensuring it continues to create a vision for sport in Calgary from introductory to high performance levels.
• Continually identifying and assessing the needs of the sport community and facility stakeholders.
• Encouraging development and enhancement of appropriate facilities and the efficient utilization of current facilities.
• Fostering collaboration within the sport community and coordination of resources amongst stakeholders to develop and enhance facilities.
• Increasing the profile of sport in Calgary, and advocating the values and benefits of sport.
• Facilitating education and training opportunities for athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, parents and volunteers.
• Acting as a resource for sport organizations.
• Encouraging the hosting of sport events and sport tourism in Calgary.
