Rodolfo "Rudy" Dickson '15
Mexican Alpine Ski Team Member & Olympian
Rodolfo “Rudy” Dickson started skiing at age 6, on a family vacation to Mont Tremblant. He skied with the Milton Heights Racing Club and at 13 he joined the National Ski Academy where he trained and went to school for 5 years. While at the NSA, he won bronze, silver and gold medals in K2 and U18 age classification races. In 2015, his senior year, he won an Overall FIS Gold Medal at Whiteface, NY. The win at Whiteface in January 2015 represents the first time a Mexican national has won an international race on a FIS circuit.
In 2015 Rudy graduated from the Academy and continued to train & race in Switzerland, the US, and Canada. In October 2015, he moved to the Ambition Ski Racing Academy in the UK, and started training full time at the FIS program in Leogang, Austria; representing Mexico as a FIS alpine ski racer. Rudy competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics, in the Men’s giant slalom and slalom.
Currently, Rudy is studying Human Kinetics, and Physical Education at Capilano University in North Vancouver and looking forward to continue ski racing with eyes on Winter Olympics 2022. His future goal is to provide high performance coaching and technical leadership to aspiring athletes.
Larisa Yurkiw '04
Former CAST member, Olympian, Founder of Team Larisa Racing
Larisa started skiing at two years old at the Georgian Peaks Ski Club and joined the National Ski Academy in 2003 and from there went on to the Ontario Ski Team. In 2005, at age 17 she was accepted to the Canadian Alpine Development Team.
From 2005 to 2009, she reached the podium seventeen times, having won gold eight times in all disciplines but slalom. Larisa picked up a silver medal at the 2008 FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Formigal, Spain in the combined discipline. She earned two gold medals at the 2008 Canadian National Championships in Super-G and downhill, and three silver medals in 2009.
In 2009, a crash during a training run at Val d’Isere resulted in her not competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics. After being cut from the Canadian Alpine Ski Team in April 2013, Larisa wasn’t finished and Team Larisa Racing was born. “The first season independent was the most empowering and liberating season of my entire career… not to mention successful. I raised $150,000 and created a platform to train, compete and, ultimately, qualify for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in February 2014.”
In 2015, she achieved a personal best at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy when she placed 2nd in the DH discipline. She went on to achieve three more World Cup podiums.
Larisa announced her retirement in May 2016 and she has gone on to travel the world, speaking and promoting women in sports. She completed her MBA through Edinburgh Business School and has returned to the Collingwood area working as a sales representative for Chestnut Park Realty.
Dave Duncan '00
Canadian Skier Cross Team Member & Olympian
Dave Duncan has been a member of the Canadian ski cross team since 2007, he is a former Canadian Champion and X Games silver and bronze medalist. He has seven career World Cup podiums and was poised for a strong performance at the 2010 Olympic Games, but switched from competitor to commentator when forced to withdraw due to injury 2 days before the finals. In 2014, Duncan was the first male athlete to win both races of a double-race event (Innichen, Italy) and was an member of the Canadian Olympic Ski Cross team in Sochi.
Dave grew up in London, ON and learned to ski at the London Ski Club at Boler Mountain and says, “After spending my nights at Boler, eventually I moved to the National Ski Academy. The Academy not only took my skiing to a new level, it instilled in me the values and work ethlic I needed to be successful both on and off the hill. At first, it was an adjustment living with 30 other teenage athletes, but it was exactly what I needed for the next stage in my career. I went from the Academy to the Ontario Team before accepting a scholarship to the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Life is full of choices, and moving to Alaska was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The values i learned at the NSA helped me find the balance of skiing, school, work and social life. This year Dave is again a member of the Canadian Ski Cross team competing in PyeongChang.”
Morgan Megarry '12
Canadian Alpine Ski Team Member
A Canadian Ski Team member since 2013, Morgan Megarry, grew up racing at Craigleith Ski Club and joining the NSA in 2012. Morgan is a force on the North American Cup circuit, gaining valuable World Cup experience on renowned tracks like Kitzbuhel and Kranjska Gora. After being sidelined by a double knee reconstruction during the 2014/15 season, Morgan returned in 2016 to grab multiple NorAm podiums and ultimately become one of Canada’s top ranked GS skiers.
“I pride myself on being the underdog. My arrival at this level is a result of determination and hard work. Years of tireless competition and the relentless pursuit of excellence have brought me to where I am today. I am proud of my journey, and am confident that I have the necessary qualities to continue on this path towards success on the sports’ greatest stage.” Morgan retired after this past season.
Roni Remme '14
Canadian Alpine Ski Team Member and Olympian
When Roni was not quite 2 years old her family joined Alpine Ski Club in Collingwood and her competitive nature quickly made it evident that skiing would be more than casual family bonding, “My parents tell me that I was always striving to beat the older competition, especially the boys. I don’t really remember those days, but I do remember when I was about six years old and frustrated by the lack of competitiveness in ski racing, so I asked for a snowboard for Christmas. I stuck with skiing, but I also picked up snowboarding as a hobby and still enjoy it to this day.”
At 11, she joined the National Ski Academy for a summer camp in Switzerland. “During 6 amazing years at the NSA, I made friends for life, I competed in and won provincial and national championships, won races at the Whistler cup and won a silver medal at the Youth Olympics. I even graduated high school on-time. I will forever be grateful to Jurg Gfeller, Sami Piana and all the amazing teachers, coaches and staff at the NSA for helping me to become who I am today!”
In 2014 Roni joined the Alpine Canada Development Team winning the national downhill title in 2014 but decided to go to the University of Utah for the chance to race and go to school at the same time. At Utah Roni and her teammates won the NCAA national championship and in 2017 she qualified for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and had her first World Cup start at Lake Louise. In 2018 Roni won the 2018 NorAm Championship and competed in the 2018 Olympics and already has some impressive World Cup finishes including 2nd in the Alpine Combined in Crans-Montana and 5th again in the Combined at the 2019 World Championships.
Recent NCAA & Provincial Ski Team Members
Justin Alkier (’15) – Middlebury College
Emma Woodhouse (’14) – University of New Hampshire
Joey Young (’14) – University of Colorado
Griffin Copp (’18) – Ontario Ski Team
Zach Mayne (’18) – Ontario Ski Team
Jayden Metcalfe (’19) – Ontario Ski Team
Ben Neylan (’21) – Ontario Ski Team
University Ski Team Members
Jayden Metcalfe (’19) – McGill University
Brando Larice (’20) – University of Calgary
Tessa Foote (’21) – McGill University
Ben Neylan (’21) – University of Calgary
Nikki Finoro (’21) – University of Calgary