HIGH ACHIEVERS: Canadian Ski Hall of Fame welcomes cross-country ski builder Dave Dyer

By Martin Cleary

When Dave Dyer was a student-athlete at the University of Waterloo in the mid-1970s, he spent his non-academic classroom time in the fall playing rugby and football.

As a kinesiology and exercise science major, he knew the importance of keeping fit and training year-round to be prepared for his next combative sport season. But his major concern was how to train and keep his aerobic system strong during the long, cold winter.

The answer was cross-country skiing, but, unbeknownst to him at the time, it would become the backbone of his future professional life for more than 40 years.

After graduating university, Dyer discovered the emerging sport of triathlon. In 1980, he paid the $3 entry fee, joined 11 other participants in the Smiths Falls Triathlon and won what was believed to be the first triathlon (swim/cycle/run) staged in Canada.

In 1982, Dyer entered the Ironman Triathlon World Championships and placed in the top one-third of the overall men’s standings at 224th in 12 hours, eight minutes, 45 seconds, and was 70th in the men’s 25-29 age group. He also created the National Capital Triathlon that same year and was its race director through 1986.

Despite his love for the contact in rugby and football and the gruelling elements of distance swimming, cycling and running, it was the rhythmic and free-flowing sport of cross-country skiing, which captured his attention and sent him skating down a successful career path.

Dyer touched many aspects of cross-country skiing in a golden manner from local to international and was recognized by his peers for “motivating volunteers, working with event organizers, supporting marketing initiatives and applying structure to programs.”

Those words were written by his nominator and led to his induction as a builder into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame at a ceremony earlier this month in Montreal. The Russell, ON., resident was one of 10 skiers from cross-country, alpine, freestyle and telemark called to the hall either as athletes, coaches or builders.

That group also included Ottawa coaches Joey Lavigne (alpine) and Jack Sasseville (cross-country).

“I knew something was cooking. I was asked last spring if I was officially retired,” said Dyer, 69, in a phone interview. “I was doing technical work for Nordiq Canada, events work and compiling results.”

Dyer officially retired in April and signed off on a career that included being a coach, a long-time events leader and an invaluable FIS committee representative for Canada.

“Then I received a letter in the summer saying I had been nominated and would be inducted into the hall. It was quite a surprise. I’m humbled to be recognized for doing a job that didn’t feel like a job.”

Back in 1981, Dyer met legendary cross-country ski coach Heinz Neiderhauser, who hired him as an apprentice nordic coach. His job description was expanded to include being the National Capital Division co-ordinator for the Jackrabbit ski program to introduce young children to the sport.

Dyer also developed the Jackrabbit Ski League in 1982 and a year later unveiled the inaugural Jackrabbit Ski Day in the division. By 1984, he was hired by the former Cross-Country Canada (now Nordiq Canada) to be the national Jackrabbit co-ordinator.

For the next eight years, he worked for the national sports governing body and was in charge of the national events and marketing portfolio. During that time, he played a major role in finding sponsors and introducing the Vachon Canada Cup, the Fleischmanns Ski Odyssey Loppet Series and World Cup races in Thunder Bay and Silver Star.

He also negotiated long-term contracts with other companies like Canadian Pacific, Haywood Securities, AltaGas and Teck.

Working with federal, provincial and local officials, Dyer used his hard work to contribute to several successful Canada Winter Games. In 1992, he was hired as the Canada Games Council’s director of marketing and communications, a position he held for almost a decade.

But in 2002, Cross-Country Canada rehired Dyer at a critical time as it had been undergoing federal budget cuts and there were only two people working in the national office. He was brought back as director of marketing and events management with the purpose of kick starting the association’s events strategy and growing the budget with “robust marketing initiatives.”

“In 2003, Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics and that was a huge plus for all winter sports,” Dyer said. “It made marketing easier.”

He wanted to bring World Cup races back to Canada, but there was a concern it would be a money-losing venture. In Europe, they are money-making events.

Canada previously held World Cup races in Labrador City, Silver Star and Thunder Bay, the last being in 1995. Dyer joined the FIS cross-country World Cup committee in 2004 and helped to put Canada back on the map as a competition site.

In the past 18 years, Canada has played host to World Cup races in Canmore, AB. (five times since 2006), Quebec City (four times since 2013), and Montreal (2016), Gatineau (2016), Vernon, B.C. (2006), and Whistler, B.C. (2009), (all one time).

Dyer’s crowning moment was the staging of the inaugural Ski Tour Canada from March 1-12 in 2016. The world’s top men’s and women’s skiers raced in Gatineau Park, Montreal’s Mount Royal, Quebec City’s Plains of Abraham, Canmore and Lake Louise over a dozen days.

The tour was a first for North American cross-country skiing and won the Prestige Award as the Canadian Sport Event of the Year in 2016 from the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance.

Dyer also joined the FIS marketing committee in 2010 and negotiated TV rights contracts for international event sponsorships.

“If you don’t roll up your sleeves and get involved, things don’t tend to happen,” Dyer said in a story on the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame website. “Doing stuff for the ski community just makes sense.

“There’s a pride in ownership. Cross-country skiing is a sport where you can have a positive influence and long-term impact.”

Dyer, who was dedicated to his roles as a paid employee as well as a volunteer, considered himself a co-ordinator for the volunteers.

“My role was really to offer checks and balances and to sometimes step in with troubleshooting and offering best practices,” he added. “And if you need a hand, I will be the first one to help out.”

Dyer can be found volunteering at the Eastern Canadian championship/Candy Cane Cup on Dec. 15-17 and the 2024 national championships on March 10-16 at the Nakkertok Ski Club. He also plans to assist at the World Cup races in Canmore on Feb. 9-13.

And now that Dyer is retired, he’ll have more time to snap into his skis and hit the trails, just like five decades ago, when he was a young athlete looking to maintain his fitness levels during the winter at university.

“I’m going up to Nakkertok this weekend to see how the legs feel,” he said enthusiastically. “I hope to get out two to three times a week and enjoy the fresh air.”