With over 35 years as a Masters ski coach, a pioneer of Alpine Canada’s Patrons Program, 10 years as a pro ski racer, film, broadcast & media careers intertwined, over 30 knee operations (including double total knee replacement), a Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Bachelor of the Month spread and an ill fated photo shoot with Playgirl; the mountains have led Collingwood’s Greg Lee to a nomination in the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.
A Brief Bio
Masters Coach of the Year (2004)
Coach of the year, North York Ski Centre (2005)
Head Coach/Supervisor of Skiing, Blackcomb Ski Club (1985)
Director & Head Coach, Greg Lee International Ski Camps (1985- present)
Alpine Canada Alpin, Director, Patrons Program (1989 – 2001)
Head Coach, International Masters Academy (2001 - 2009)
Head Coach, Alpine Ski Club (1987 - 1989)
Georgian Peaks Ski Club (2002 –2006)
International Masters SL Coach, North York Ski Club (2002 – present)
Craigleath Ski Club, Masters Coach (2007 – present)
Blue Mountain / Jozo Weider Ski Club (2006 – present)
Skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads. ~Author Unknown
Originally born in Halifax, NS and now a Collingwood mainstay, Greg Lee first skied at Don Valley. With a vertical drop of only 72 feet, it is a curious place to have launched a number of national level athletes, but, in hindsight, a fitting place for Greg to begun his colourful career.
As though being a top ten ranked tennis player in Canada wasn’t enough, Greg spent much of the 1960’s and 1970’s competing on world pro ski circuits. “Things were a little different then,” he says. “There were a lot of different circuits, some larger than others and all with different ways to qualify. Typically people would ski on the amateur circuits and then go pro,” Greg laughs, “but Al Green thought some of us may have had too many ‘discipline problems’ for the amateur circuit, and figured we might as well just turn pro.”
“Lots of us would race for a few weeks, stop and coach for a while, then rejoin the tour. You might win $10,000 – which was a big deal back then.”
Greg was sponsored by K2 (a $10,000 deal which was big industry backing for the time) when he and his teammates were approached by Playgirl. Being the high-spirited guys they were, they agreed. They were each paid $1000, but because of a morality clause in their K2 contract, they lost the sponsorship in its entirety. “We made $1000 and lost $10,000.”
Turn right, turn left, repeat as necessary. ~Author Unknown
The transition from racing to coaching was a natural one. Greg began coaching at the Toni Sailer/Dave Murray Summer Ski Camps, where the masters format was initially introduced, and for the next 30 years coached alongside triple gold medalist Toni Sailer, Dave Murray and a host of other Hall of Fame athletes. He went on to develop his own Greg Lee International Ski Camps which have been held throughout Canada, the USA & Europe.
Today Greg is recognized as one of the top Masters ski coaches in the world, and along with the late Dave Murray, is considered a founder of the masters ski movement in Canada.
Legendary freestylist and Hall of Famer Wayne Wong recalls Greg “ …coaching from the bottom of the race course while sitting in a life guard chair. Greg’s favorite line was "you made some good turns and you made some bad turns. Now go back up and make your bad turns like you made your good turns!"
His list of national Champions spans from the first national Masters meet held in Whistler to the latest in Sun Peaks where Greg had 32 individual and overall champions, including 87 year old, Midland’s Rolf Hauge who has been training with Greg for over a quarter of a century.
Canadian Ski Hall of Fame nominee - criterion for submission:
a national contribution
a sustained contribution
a unique contribution
a contribution beyond the primary reasons for submission
Woven throughout his racing and coaching, Greg was hired as a color commentator for CBC Sports, created and hosted a World Cup radio show (which is now in it’s 7th season), spent time in LA modeling and doing film work (1991’s ‘Ski School’ and Jim Carrey’s first film, ‘Copper Mountain’). He was a Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Bachelor of the Month, (garnering some colourful fan mail), has written about skiing in the desert (among other things), and is currently helping launch a ski and snowboard simulator.
Pioneering a Patrons Program
“One of Greg's major contributions to Alpine Skiing was his position as the chief of fund raising for the Canadian Ski Team,” says Wayne Wong. In addition to providing top level coaching to masters athletes, these camps also linked influential enthusiasts to Canadian national ski programs. The direct result was the formation of the Patrons Program for Alpine Canada; a program that was unheard of at its inception and which Greg was instrumental in developing. The program has since raised millions of dollars for ACA.
Greg Lee, from a 1987 interview:
“I’d also like to make it to the Canadian Skiing Hall of Fame someday. Not so much on skiing ability, but hopefully from the career, the coaching and as someone who has put something back into the sport.” ~
His nomination for consideration to the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame was put forth by the National Ski Academy co-founder Dan Hadley in May of this year, and was seconded by current Hall of Fame Skiers (Jungle) Jim Hunter and freestyle legend Wayne Wong. During the summer the Hall of Fame’s steering and election committees were reviewing submissions that will culminate in a vote scheduled to take place in early Fall / Winter ‘09.
Also from a 1987 interview: “I’ll be happy to still be skiing when I’m fifty, but I’ll be skiing long after I’m not walking. I can promise you that.”
Hopefully the mountain will continue to lead him - right into the Hall of Fame. Good Luck Greg!
A Brief Bio
Masters Coach of the Year (2004)
Coach of the year, North York Ski Centre (2005)
Head Coach/Supervisor of Skiing, Blackcomb Ski Club (1985)
Director & Head Coach, Greg Lee International Ski Camps (1985- present)
Alpine Canada Alpin, Director, Patrons Program (1989 – 2001)
Head Coach, International Masters Academy (2001 - 2009)
Head Coach, Alpine Ski Club (1987 - 1989)
Georgian Peaks Ski Club (2002 –2006)
International Masters SL Coach, North York Ski Club (2002 – present)
Craigleath Ski Club, Masters Coach (2007 – present)
Blue Mountain / Jozo Weider Ski Club (2006 – present)
Skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads. ~Author Unknown
Originally born in Halifax, NS and now a Collingwood mainstay, Greg Lee first skied at Don Valley. With a vertical drop of only 72 feet, it is a curious place to have launched a number of national level athletes, but, in hindsight, a fitting place for Greg to begun his colourful career.
As though being a top ten ranked tennis player in Canada wasn’t enough, Greg spent much of the 1960’s and 1970’s competing on world pro ski circuits. “Things were a little different then,” he says. “There were a lot of different circuits, some larger than others and all with different ways to qualify. Typically people would ski on the amateur circuits and then go pro,” Greg laughs, “but Al Green thought some of us may have had too many ‘discipline problems’ for the amateur circuit, and figured we might as well just turn pro.”
“Lots of us would race for a few weeks, stop and coach for a while, then rejoin the tour. You might win $10,000 – which was a big deal back then.”
Greg was sponsored by K2 (a $10,000 deal which was big industry backing for the time) when he and his teammates were approached by Playgirl. Being the high-spirited guys they were, they agreed. They were each paid $1000, but because of a morality clause in their K2 contract, they lost the sponsorship in its entirety. “We made $1000 and lost $10,000.”
Turn right, turn left, repeat as necessary. ~Author Unknown
The transition from racing to coaching was a natural one. Greg began coaching at the Toni Sailer/Dave Murray Summer Ski Camps, where the masters format was initially introduced, and for the next 30 years coached alongside triple gold medalist Toni Sailer, Dave Murray and a host of other Hall of Fame athletes. He went on to develop his own Greg Lee International Ski Camps which have been held throughout Canada, the USA & Europe.
Today Greg is recognized as one of the top Masters ski coaches in the world, and along with the late Dave Murray, is considered a founder of the masters ski movement in Canada.
Legendary freestylist and Hall of Famer Wayne Wong recalls Greg “ …coaching from the bottom of the race course while sitting in a life guard chair. Greg’s favorite line was "you made some good turns and you made some bad turns. Now go back up and make your bad turns like you made your good turns!"
His list of national Champions spans from the first national Masters meet held in Whistler to the latest in Sun Peaks where Greg had 32 individual and overall champions, including 87 year old, Midland’s Rolf Hauge who has been training with Greg for over a quarter of a century.
Canadian Ski Hall of Fame nominee - criterion for submission:
a national contribution
a sustained contribution
a unique contribution
a contribution beyond the primary reasons for submission
Woven throughout his racing and coaching, Greg was hired as a color commentator for CBC Sports, created and hosted a World Cup radio show (which is now in it’s 7th season), spent time in LA modeling and doing film work (1991’s ‘Ski School’ and Jim Carrey’s first film, ‘Copper Mountain’). He was a Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Bachelor of the Month, (garnering some colourful fan mail), has written about skiing in the desert (among other things), and is currently helping launch a ski and snowboard simulator.
Pioneering a Patrons Program
“One of Greg's major contributions to Alpine Skiing was his position as the chief of fund raising for the Canadian Ski Team,” says Wayne Wong. In addition to providing top level coaching to masters athletes, these camps also linked influential enthusiasts to Canadian national ski programs. The direct result was the formation of the Patrons Program for Alpine Canada; a program that was unheard of at its inception and which Greg was instrumental in developing. The program has since raised millions of dollars for ACA.
Greg Lee, from a 1987 interview:
“I’d also like to make it to the Canadian Skiing Hall of Fame someday. Not so much on skiing ability, but hopefully from the career, the coaching and as someone who has put something back into the sport.” ~
His nomination for consideration to the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame was put forth by the National Ski Academy co-founder Dan Hadley in May of this year, and was seconded by current Hall of Fame Skiers (Jungle) Jim Hunter and freestyle legend Wayne Wong. During the summer the Hall of Fame’s steering and election committees were reviewing submissions that will culminate in a vote scheduled to take place in early Fall / Winter ‘09.
Also from a 1987 interview: “I’ll be happy to still be skiing when I’m fifty, but I’ll be skiing long after I’m not walking. I can promise you that.”
Hopefully the mountain will continue to lead him - right into the Hall of Fame. Good Luck Greg!
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