Chris Rudge Completes Term as Chair of Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) would like to congratulate Chris Rudge on the completion of his term as Chair of the CSIO Board of Directors. Chris has served as Chair of CSIO since 2010. His term officially ended at the CSIO Annual General Meeting which took place on June 29, 2017.

Chris was instrumental in CSIO’s transformation from Canadian Sport Centre Ontario into the world-class sport institute it is today. From the creation of CSIO’s main facility at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre to its satellite location at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, ON, and everything in between. It was Chris’ vision and dedication to the Canadian and Ontario high performance sport community that brought these facilities and the lasting legacies of the 2015 Toronto Pan / Parapan Am Games to life.

CSIO is now able to provide world-class sport science and sport medicine services to approximately 700 high performance athletes and work with nearly 300 coaches and technical leaders annually. Over the past 4 years CSIO has experienced unprecedented growth, now with over 50 staff providing integrated support to athletes and coaches as they represent Canada and strive for international podium success. This is most recently seen in the outstanding performance of CSIO supported athletes in Rio, contributing to 13 of Canada’s 22 Olympic Medals (including 3 Gold medals and the achievements of multi-medalists Penny Oleksiak and Andre De Grasse) and 4 Bronze Paralympic Medals for Canada.

A tirelessly committed sport professional and volunteer, Chris Rudge has had a profound impact on Canada's sport landscape. Besides his integral role with CSIO, he served as Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. From 2008 to 2010, he was Chairman of the Steering Committee for the 'Own the Podium' program. He led this initiative supporting high performance athletes in winter sports which was integral to Canada's unprecedented Winter Games success of 14 gold medals in 2010.

Chris went on to become Chairman and CEO of the 2012 Grey Cup Festival awarded to the City of Toronto, followed by Executive Chairman & CEO of the Toronto Argonauts. He was a member of the Board of Directors for the Organizing Committee for the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. In this role, Chris furthered his commitment to ensuring Canadian athletes and coaches have access to world class training and competition facilities.

A true visionary, CSIO thanks Chris Rudge for his leadership and commitment to the organization over the years and wishes him all the best moving forward.

CSIO is also proud to announce that long-time board member, Kathryn Ann Giffen has been named the new Chair of CSIO’s Board of Directors. Kathryn, along with fellow board members: Lou Ragagnin, Jessica Catton Rinaldi, Ian Gordon, Curt Harnett, Nancy J. Spotton and Dr. Scott Thomas, will provide a seamless transition and continue to lead CSIO into the future.

QUOTE:

"On behalf of the CSIO Board of Directors and staff we thank Chris for his leadership and contribution to CSIO and the high performance sport system in Ontario and Canada. It is because of his vision and dedication that CSIO has grown into what it is today. As a friend and mentor, Chris has provided support and guidance to myself and our Executive Team. This is bittersweet, as we say goodbye to Chris, CSIO is also very excited to welcome Kathryn as our new Chair and look forward to working with her and the rest of our Board of Directors to lead CSIO forward."

Debbie Low

CEO, Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

For more information, please contact:

Laura Albright, Manager, Communications & Events

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

Tel: 416.596.1240 Ext. 238

Email: lalbright@csiontario.ca

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