CANMORE – World Championship bronze medallist and two-time Olympian Erik Read has been cut from the national ski team.
Alpine Canada announced its nominations on Monday (June 3) in a media release that notably was missing the previously longest-tenured member of the national ski team (NST) from the list.
“I’ve known for a little bit and I was kind of reading between the lines before that,” said Read, a 33-year-old technical skier from Canmore.
“I didn’t have a very strong [2023-24] season. Myself and my close teammates, we all had a very tough season and were faced with a lot of different challenges, many of which were out of our control, so I do see where [Alpine Canada is] coming from and the direction they’re wanting to go, but at the same time, I am an asset to ski racing Canada and I really want to see tech ski racers on the men’s side be successful (...).
“It’s too bad, but I’m excited and scared about potential opportunities for myself going forward.”
Dubbed Mr. Consistency by some media outlets for being a reliable threat in the points, Read had 18 World Cup starts last season, six of which he landed in the top-30. In the others, he either did not qualify for a second run or did not finish.
He said several factors came into play for the poor season such as injuries and illness, a tough preparation period due to bad weather, and two teammates having serious accidents on the ski hill.
“There were enough of those unfortunate circumstances that added up at the wrong times,” said Read. “I’ll acknowledge I’m definitely getting older and there’s some things I probably could have changed, too, to make it a better season, but that’s always upon reflection after and sometimes it’s hard to see those things in the moment.”
Read began in Alpine Canada’s development system in 2009. By 2011, he was on the senior team and racing on the World Cup circuit. He’s had 48 top-20 finishes in the World Cup, including nine in the top-10. In 2018 and 2022, he represented Canada at the Winter Olympic Games. At the 2023 World Ski Championships, Read won all four of his races to help Canada win bronze in the team parallel event.
Read plans to continue in competitive ski racing in 2024-25, noting it’s going to be challenging and expensive.
Read said nothing is official, but he mentioned there are private ski teams in Europe, which would be a self-funded venture and his “destiny would be in his own hands.” He would still represent Canada on the world stage and would be able to race with NST athletes in team events.
“As far as re-qualification [to the NST], the criteria is very set in stone that I have to be top-15 in the world, so that’s the goal,” said Read.
According to Alpine Canada’s criteria list, and due to his age, Read – who had been the oldest NST athlete – had to be ranked in the top-15 on the World Cup to receive a nomination. Read is Canada’s top ranked male technical skier, but fell short of the criteria with a 35th ranking in giant slalom and 44th in slalom. Nominees to the NST receive perks, the biggest being government funding and training camp access.
In a written statement, Alpine Canada said it nominated 55 athletes, but Read did not meet criteria.
"Erik is a cherished alumni and we wish him the very best in his continued efforts on and off the slopes," wrote Alpine Canada spokesperson Mark Halliday.
In the national sport organization’s media release, it said “all athletes nominated have demonstrated evidence of being on a podium pathway for the 2026 and/or 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”
Alpine Canada nominated four athletes from the Bow Valley for the upcoming season including junior world champion Britt Richardson, World Cup gold medallist Kris Mahler, World Cup silver medallist Jeff Read, and 2022’s top Nor-Am skier, Liam Wallace.
A full list of nominations can be found here.
