Calgary 2026 adds big names

CALGARY Decorated athletes Hayley Wickenheiser and Catriona Le May Doan were among the first named to the board of directors for Calgary 2026.

The bid corporation established earlier this month is taking over the work of analyzing and building Calgary’s potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Fifteen of the board members that will join chair Scott Hutcheson were announced Wednesday, with another five still to be appointed.

International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound and Indigenous lawyer Wilton Littlechild were also among those named to the board.

Wickenheiser, a fourtime Olympic gold medallist in hockey, was appointed vice-chair. Le May Doan is a two-time gold medallist in speedskating.

“The board is made up of some of the most senior professionals and influential people who have a keen understanding of the sport community and our orders of government,” Hutcheson said Wednesday in a statement.

“We will quickly establish a strong working relationship, and develop a culture of healthy, open and productive dialogue that will lead to informed decision making.”

The board has representation from the city and provincial and federal governments, as well as the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Town of Canmore and the Indigenous communities.

Pound, president Tricia Smith and chief executive officer Chris Overholt are the COC representatives. Marc-Andre Fabien was the CPC’s appointee.

City manager Jeff Fielding, entrepreneur Manjit Minhas who appears on CBC’s Dragon’s Den and Deloitte executive Chris Lee represent Calgary.