Apply Today

Author: m7EFZ1jfB6L2

History of National Ski Academy

NSA opened its doors as a full-time ski academy in Canada in 1987, with 16 students and 5 staff. Since we were the first academy, we had to convince people that we could provide the environment and program to meet the needs of student-athletes to succeed at the highest level.

Our Founders

NSA was founded in 1986 by a committed group of inspirational leaders who established the Academy, filling a void and ensuring a home to offer the integration of alpine ski racing and academic excellence for passionate alpine ski racers. Since NSA’s inception the Academy has been guided and directed by a dedicated volunteer Board who drive the strategic direction and goals, ensure the financial health and support the day-to-day operations of the Academy.

Tornaveen – Our Campus & Home History

Tornaveen was built in 1892-93 by Frank Telfer, whose brother Herbert had built Armandale, the house across Third Street on the northwest corner in 1890. Intending to outdo his brother’s grand home, Frank had local architect Fred Hodgson town design the 10,380 square foot building making it the largest and tallest home in Collingwood with 26 rooms including 14 bedrooms.

New Program Director Announced

We are pleased to announce that we have filled the newly created role of Program Director at National Ski Academy. Among many highly qualified candidates, we are excited to announce that our own Jeff Jones has been promoted to this leadership and management position.

The Jurg Gfeller Award

The Jurg Gfeller Award was donated by the Wallace Family and will be presented annually at the Awards Banquet in June. The trophy designed by renowned crystal artist Mark Raynes Roberts depicts a

Escarpment Magazine

Larisa Yurkiw (NSA ’04), Canadian National Ski Team member and founder of Team Larisa Racing launched her post-racing career by interviewing NSA founder,

Join Our Mailing List

Join our mailing list to receive NSA’s latest news and events delivered right to your inbox!

Apply Today
  • © National Ski Academy. All Rights Reserved.
William Vancise
Teacher

wvancise@nsa.on.ca

William teaches our vibrant visual arts and photography programming for all grades, as well as our intermediate Canadian Geography course.  He has worked with the student athletes at the Academy for many years. He holds his Honours Specialist in Visual Arts and History.  He is currently the Arts Department Chair at Collingwood Collegiate.  He devotes his time to instructional practice, community, charity, agriculture and Mother Nature.  Words of wisdom: “Creativity takes commitment and a lot of found material.” Motto: Art for Art’s Sake.

Janet Wilkinson
Teacher

jwilkinson@nsa.on.ca

Janet has been delivering an exceptional Grade 12 English program to our senior student athletes since September 2016. Before retiring in 2016 from her career as a secondary school teacher, she designed and delivered essential English literacy courses; taught an extensive array of programs, ranging from Grade 9 LDCC English to Grade 12 University preparation; and wrote English curriculum at the local and provincial levels. Since retirement, she has been busy tutoring student athletes, skiing, hiking the Bruce Trail, and volunteering in the community. Janet is a playwright and a member of the board of directors for local Gaslight Community Theatre Production.  Her short story “Breathless” placed second in the Toronto Star’s short story contest in 2018.  Janet lives in Collingwood with her husband and their German Shepherd, Tucker.

Tomas Rivas
Fis Coach, Men

Tomás “Tomi” Rivas is an alpine ski coach with 12 years of experience coaching alpine and a strong background in sports psychology and kinesiology. Tomás is Chilean and has experience coaching at a variety of levels from FIS to U10 in the US, Chile, and Argentina. Prior to NSA, he was  the U14 Head Coach with Big Sky Ski Education Foundation in Montana. In addition to his experience coaching alpine, he has a Bachelors in Kinesiology which is complemented by his master’s studies in Sports Psychology. This education gives him the tools to work as part of an integrated support team to help athletes reach both alpine and mental performance goals. “I am really looking forward to returning to NSA’s coaching staff and am excited to continue work with the FIS athletes. I am an avid supporter of academic excellence because I believe it is a key component of athlete development and I hope to support NSA athletes in their high-performance pursuits as well as their academic ones.”

Will Gyles
Fis Coach, Men

Will joins NSA as a Men’s FIS Coach. He is an ACA Performance Level coach and has a long history of coaching in Ontario. Will is a product of our provincial system, racing through the ranks at the club, regional, and provincial levels. He has led athletes and teams at Georgian Peaks, Devils Glen, and the SOD Team. Will’s experience includes working with numerous athletes from across Ontario, some of whom have gone on to ski at the Provincial, NCAA, and National Team levels. Will has many years of work experience in the ski industry and brings specific skills related to boot-fitting and race ski preparation. Will is disciplined, organized, and hard-working. He has a high ski racing IQ and his knowledge of the sport development pathway will aid in supporting our athletes. Will is familiar with the independent school system as he is a graduate of Crescent School (’02). Will spent his postsecondary years earning an Honours Degree in History at Queen’s University (’07).

Daniel Gagnon
Fis Coach, Women

Daniel (“Hootie”) Gagnon joins NSA as a Women’s FIS Coach. We are excited to be welcoming this NSA alumni (’14) and NSA Blake Award winner back to the family. He is an ACA Development Level Coach, working towards his Performance Level certification, and has spent 5 years coaching U16 OCUP at the Toronto Ski Club. He was TSC ‘Coach of the Year’ this past season and instrumental in the planning and logistics for both out-of-province/country training projects. Jeff Jones, our Program Director, adds “Daniel will bring energy and enthusiasm to our school community. His understanding of the athlete’s journey (high school ski academy life and post-graduate experience in the US) will be an asset”.

Fabrizio Cavallari
Fis Coach, Women

Fabrizio Cavallari joins NSA as a Women’s FIS Coach. He is an Italian Certified Level III Tech. and Speed Coach and brings with him a wealth of experience from the international ski community. As founder and Head Coach of Skitime International, based in Hintertux, Austria, Fabrizio has coached athletes of all levels. Over the last 30 years, his focus has been on FIS athletes; training in Italy, Austria, and Argentina; and competing in Italy and other venues in Europe and North America. He is fluent in English, Italian, German and Spanish. Fabrizio’s extensive experience includes coaching speed disciplines (SG, Downhill) and he has graduated athletes from Europa Cup to the Italian National Team. Jeff Jones, our Program Director, adds “Fabrizio has an impressive level of experience and work ethic, a strong belief in developing athletes, and a great sense of humour”.

Zak Bensdira
Chef

zbensdira@nsa.on.ca

This is Chef Zak’s third year keeping NSA’s community well fed. Chef Zak has trained at Le Cordon Bleu and loves introducing our students and staff as well as lucky guests to new cuisine, be it Thai, Italian or French. He has a love for patisseries so there are lots of delicious things on the dessert menu as well. Zak travels on many of the training camps with the student athletes to ensure everyone eats properly and does meal prep and planning with the coaches for away race series throughout the year. Zak lives in Collingwood with his wife and daughter. He hopes this year to be able to once again host the fun and delicious Friday Night Family Dinners!

Robert Pierce
Maintenance and Facilities Manager

rpierce@nsa.on.ca

This is Robert’s fourth year taking care of NSA’s heritage home, Tornavene which was built in 1893. He is responsible for day to day maintenance at the school as well as planning and carrying out the special heritage grant projects to keep our building looking great for its 126 years. Over the past 18 months, Robert has been, and continues to be, instrumental in making sure everyone stays healthy and safe by implementing our COVID-19 procedures and protocols. This summer he has overseen the complete renovation of the kitchen as well as numerous other projects. Robert is retired Canadian military and lives in Collingwood with his wife and three children.

Alex Procenko
Teacher

aprocenko@nsa.on.ca

This is Alex’s fifth year at NSA. She works with both junior and senior students exploring science with inquiry based experiments ranging from meteorite impacts to lung capacity to impacts on ecosystems. She has a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Genetics and a minor in Psychology from UWO and completed UWO’s Bachelor of Education program as part of the first ever STEM cohort. She grew up in Wasaga Beach and now lives in Stayner with her husband. And whether it is fetal pig dissection, coding for robotics or taking her classes outside to explore the spectacular Georgian Bay Biosphere right outside our door, Miss P. brings the exciting world of science into the classroom.

Mary Kawamura
Teacher
mkawamura@nsa.on.ca

This is Mary’s second year teaching senior Physics at NSA and will be adding secondary science and math to her teaching schedule this year. Mary has taught Grade 7 – 12 Math and Science for 18+ years in both independent and public systems across southern Ontario as well as Nunavut, and abroad in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. She enjoys travelling, immersing herself in new cultures and languages, and hopes to continue travelling soon, but is happy to be back home and spending as much time as possible with her five nieces and nephews. Mary also enjoys hiking the local trails and experiencing the abundance of nature that the Collingwood area offers.

Heather grant
Director of Guidance & Counselling

hgrant@nsa.on.ca

Heather Grant has over 25 years of experience as a guidance counsellor, teacher, house director and coach at Appleby College, Neuchâtel Junior College (Switzerland) and most recently, Havergal College. In 2018, Heather set up her own private educational consulting practice, Clearview Educational Consulting. Working with students and their families from all over North America, Heather provides expertise and support in a variety of areas including academic and personal counselling, elite athletics and Canadian, U.S. and International post-secondary applications.

With an M.Ed in Educational and Counselling Psychology and an M.A. in Sport Sociology, Heather has devoted her career to providing essential support to students throughout high school and beyond with a primary focus on supporting well-being in all aspects of their lives. Heather loves the outdoors and in the winter months can be found trying to keep up with her husband and kids on the hills at Devil’s Glen.

Carol Tolles
Finance Manager

ctolles@nsa.on.ca

This is Carol’s fifth year at NSA. She brings over 20 years of bookkeeping experience with charitable organizations and prior to joining NSA worked with the United Way in Guelph. Carol is an avid skier and worked as an instructor for many years. She divides her time between Collingwood and an island in Georgian Bay where her husband manages a marina. Carol’s dog, Gypsy is the official NSA office greeter.

Jeff Jones
Program Director, U16 Head Coach

jjones@nsa.on.ca

Jeff Jones brings with him an immense depth of expertise including local and international coaching experience from U10’s at the club level, all the way through the development pipeline to elite U21 athletes at the Continental Cup level. He has been an Interim GM, Program Manager and Head Coach. He has sports psychology acumen and physical training discipline. Jeff is a licensed CSC level 4 Program Director, CSC EL, DL and PL Course Facilitator, Level 4 NCCP coach, Level 4 CSIA instructor and most recently completed his training as a FIS TD.

“I am beyond excited to be selected for this position at NSA,” shares Jeff. “I feel as though I have spent my coaching career building towards this moment and this opportunity. I intend to carry on NSA’s legacy that began in 1986 with founder Jurg Gfeller. I look forward to collaborating with all NSA’s staff to honour our past, deliver great programs now and prepare NSA for the future.

Tobin Walsh
Head of School

twalsh@nsa.on.ca

Tobin Walsh took on the role of Head of School in 2017-18. Prior to taking on the leadership role at NSA, she had a 15 year career in teaching and educational leadership with the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). She was a coordinator for the Specialist High Skills Major Programs in the Pathways Department at the TCDSB Catholic Education Centre. She has extensive teaching and leadership experience in the areas of Guidance, Co-operative Education, Geography, Career Studies and Science. Over her career, Tobin has focused on and excelled at building relationships among stakeholders, developing partnerships, building community and the creation of engaging student learning opportunities to enhance student success. Tobin has been involved in the ski industry for close to 30 years, and along with her husband Paul, are members of Alpine Ski Club’s race crew. Their son Jasper is a budding U8 racer.

Attend A
Virtual House

Watch it Here

Passcode: @hiU1ygM