CALGARY – Former Paralympian Patrick Jarvis was named the interim chief executive officer for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton on Thursday.
Jarvis’s appointment comes after a tumultuous year for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton that saw more than 70 current and former athletes call for change within the organization, citing a toxic environment of maltreatment. He’s tasked with helping Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton create a supportive culture that ensures wellness for all participants including athletes, coaches, staff, board members, volunteers and officials.
«I look forward to bringing my experience and skill set to help identify Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton’s strengths and opportunities, build trust and relationships, and provide recommendations to support the organization in establishing a strong foundation for the creation of a more promising future,» said Jarvis, who received the Leadership in Sport Award at the 2005 Canadian Sport Awards and Order of Canada in 2010 in recognition for his outstanding leadership contribution in sport.
«Success does not happen in isolation, it absolutely requires a team approach to get the job done. We have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, but we also have an extremely passionate community who all need to work together within a culture of respect and purpose to build our programs back and deliver the resources our athletes, coaches and staff need to achieve their performance and operational goals.»
An experienced businessman and sports executive, Jarvis will also provide operational stability over his three-month term.
Starting in 2015, he served over three years as executive director at Canada Snowboard where he led the rebuild of the governing body for the sport of snowboarding in Canada, and set the organization up for long-term success.
Among his many other leadership positions, Jarvis was the president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1998-2006 and was the Canadian Team’s chef de mission in Nagano 1998.
Based in Calgary, Jarvis will begin work immediately through to the end of May.