Alpine Canada boss Ken Read steps down

Last Updated: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 | 8:51 PM ET

By Jesse Campigotto and Jason Satur, CBC Sports

Alpine Canada CEO Ken Read, flanked by skiers Genevieve Simard, left, and Erik Guay, stepped down on Wednesday. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Ken Read resigned from his position as chief executive officer of Alpine Canada on Wednesday to allow his son to compete for the Canadian team.

Read, 52, had been lauded for his work leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver-Whistler. But his son Erik — a silver medallist in the downhill at last year's world junior championships — recently joined the Alpine Canada program, and the national governing body bars parents of national team racers from employment within management.

Read told CBCSports.ca that he's "completely comfortable and fully supportive" of the policy.

"I knew the day would come where I'd have to make a choice between family and Alpine Canada, and it just maybe came a little faster than I had anticipated," Read said.

Calling the decision to step down "very easy," Read said he never asked Alpine Canada to consider changing its rules, nor did the organization offer to do so.

"I didn't ask and I never would have asked. There are enough challenges in sport without those that are in leadership positions being second-guessed by those kind of distractions."

Read said he plans to "recharge a bit" then resume operation of his sports consulting company.

He will remain involved in ski racing as Canada's senior alpine representative with the International Ski Federation, which is known as FIS.

Three-letter vision

One of the charter members of the famed Crazy Canucks team that vaulted Canadian ski racing to prominence in the 1970s, Read was hired by Alpine Canada to change the culture of the team after it failed to reach the podium at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

After Read took over, the Canadian program saw a marked improvement in its World Cup performance. The team posted a record 14 podium finishes in 2006-07 and followed up with 10 last season. In the process, Canada jumped from 12th to as high as fifth in the Nations Cup standings.

"Alpine ski racing in Canada has momentum and the steps we have been taking further enhance our commitment to become a leading ski nation," Reid Drury, chair of Alpine Canada's board of directors, said in a news release. "We will continue building on our success of the past few years and work to ensure we attract the required resources that will allow us to compete against the world's best. This will be the true legacy for Ken."

Read's loftiest goals were for the 2010 Winter Games, as he made it known that he wanted Canada to top the alpine medal standings in Vancouver.

"At the end of the day, it is the athlete in the start gate," Read told CBCSports.ca. "It's difficult to quantify, but I do know it's crucially important to have that clear vision and be able to articulate that vision in one sentence. In our case, it's a three-letter word: win."

His efforts with the Own the Podium initiative — a program designed to help Canada lead the overall medal standings in Vancouver — has led to a dramatic increase in Alpine Canada's funding, resulting in improved facilities, coaching and training programs.

"The biggest accomplishment was creating a culture shift within the sport," Read said. "To me, that's most evident with our athletes that participate in the Whistler Cup [an annual international competition for ski racers 14 and under].

"They only know of a winning team. To them, Canadians win, Canadians are contenders, Canadians are always on the podium."

Read's passion for the sport was an adrenaline boost for a ski team that had become listless, said Drury.

"That passion and vision that we can win was a fantastic shot in the arm," said Drury. "When it started to have success, people started to jump on board.

"Without the passion, it would have continued on doing what it was doing."

Drury said Alpine Canada has the right people in place for the organization to operate until a new CEO is found.

"We're not going to run out in panic to find somebody," he said. "They are big shoes to fill but because of the team that is there, we do have the luxury to … find the right person at the right time."