Canada's Olympic Skiing/Snowboarding Memories

1932 Lake Placid, New York (USA)

On February 4th, 1932, the small town of Lake Placid hosted the lll Olympic Winter Games, opened by then Governor of New York State, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was a difficult period as the industrialized world struggled to cope with The Great Depression. Nevertheless, in spite of the limitations imposed by the financial constraints, the Games were a great success with the enthusiastic participation of 17 nations.

In the years prior to the Games, the Canadian hotbeds of competitive skiing were located primarily in Ontario and Quebec in close proximity to Lake Placid, thus, assuring Canada's participation. Canadian Amateur Ski Association (CASA) president, Allan C. Snowdon, had strongly urged all ski clubs to introduce programs to produce skiers of international calibre. One of the improvements introduced by the CASA Technical Committee was a 50km cross country race.

The Canadian Olympic ski team was eventually chosen by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) with direction from Sigurd Lockeberg of the Ottawa Ski Club and CASA Technical Board, based on the competitors' results from the 1930/1931 season.

Unlike the previous Olympic Winter Games, the COC, influenced by the Toronto Ski Club, ensured that the team had adequate time to acclimatize to its new surroundings. The Lucerne-in-Quebec Corporation made arrangements to accommodate the Canadians for a two week training period as well as the Swedish Olympic team which, over the course of a week, aided the Canadians in adopting new techniques to improve performance. Unfortunately, limited funding meant that out of the 23 who qualified, only 15 Canadian skiers were sent to Lake Placid.

Opening date: February 4, 1932
Closing date: February 15, 1932
Candidate cities: Montreal (CAN), Bear Mountain (USA), Yosemite Valley (USA), Lake Tahoe (USA), Duluth (USA), Minneapolis (USA), Denver (USA)

To return to 'Canada's Olympic Skiing/Snowboarding Memories' exhibit, please click here.

For a brief history of the Olympic Games, please click here.

To learn more about the skiing disciplines at the Olympic Winter Games, please click here.