Arnold Midgley

Arnold Midgley first took up ski racing in 1948 with the Ottawa Ski Club, where he competed against competition within the Gatineau zone of the Canadian Ski Association. 

From 1953 to 1955, he was a member of Carleton College (later Carleton University) ski team and from 1955 to 1957 he joined the Queen’s Ski Team in Kingston, Ontario. He became the champion in multiple disciplines within the Ontario & Quebec Athletic Association, in both 1956 in Collingwood, Ontario, and in 1957 at Mont Gabriel, Quebec.

While living in England in 1957 and 1958 Arnold joined Great Britain’s training squad and the British Universities Ski Team, who competed against the Swiss Academic Ski Club during events such as the Commonwealth Winter Games at St Moritz, Switzerland, in January 1958. Arnold had impressive results, winning four races, including the Roberts of Kandahar downhill and slalom. In April 1958, he travelled to Geilo, Norway, with the British team to compete against a squad from Bergen University, where he won both the slalom and giant slalom.

In the 1958–59 season, Arnold was a member of the Canadian training squad in Europe based at Kitzbuhel, Austria, where they trained under the legendary Pepi Salvenmoser. He competed in major races at Adelboden, Switzerland, the Lauberhorn at Wengen, Switzerland, and the legendary Hahnenkamm at Kitzbuhel, Austria, as well as the Arlberg-Kandahar in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Returning to Canada for the 1959–60 season, he was a member of the first National Alpine Ski Team, who trained in Rossland and Kimberley, B.C. He competed at the United States Championships in Alta, Utah, at the Roch Cup event held in Aspen, Colorado and was selected an alternate member in support of the national alpine team which competed at the Olympic Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California. When the team returned from the Olympic Games, he won the slalom and combined titles at the Canadian National Championships in Camp Fortune, Quebec. He also won the national championships combined again in 1962 at Mont Orford, Quebec.

In addition to his considerable contribution to skiing as a competitor and administrator, Arnold used his professional engineering skills to design the electrical power and control systems for major snowmaking and power supply installations at a wide variety of skiing venues, from all across North America.

In 1966, Arnold supported a proposal by Mary Brough to gain approval from the Canadian Ski Association to establish the Canadian Ski Museum in 1966. He served as the Chairman of Museum in 1975-76 when Canadian Ski Museum incorporated and returned to Ottawa from C. in 1987, rejoined the Board of Museum and was elected as the Chair in June 2002.

As a coach and member of both national and international skiing bodies, Arnold’s contribution to the world of skiing continued long after his competitive career was over.

Arnold was a founder and first chair of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum and remained actively involved over the years. During his second stint as chair from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, Arnold gave the Museum its first full-time curator and ushered the organization into the digital age.

“Apart from his great achievements in and contributions to skiing, Arnold played a crucial role in preserving the legacy of skiing in Canada – and hence preserving an important part of our culture.”

– Ivo Krupka, former chair of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum.

COACHING

• 1960–1964: Arnold coached at the Ottawa Ski Club, Camp Fortune Quebec, including junior skiers from the Gatineau Ski Zone; the Quebec Division Junior Team at the Canadian Junior Championships held in Thetford Mines, Quebec in 1960; Banff, Alberta in 1961; and Port Arthur, Ontario in 1963.

OTHER ADMINISTRATION ROLES

• 1960 –1965: Technical Chair, Gatineau Ski Zone, Quebec Division, Canadian Ski Association (CSA) Technical Chair, Canadian Ski Association (CSA); Member, International Competitions Committee (ICC), CSA Represented Gatineau Ski Zone at CSA conventions.
• 1962: International Ski Federation – Arnold was named as an additional member to the FIS Downhill-Slalom Committee and one of the first slate of Canadian representatives named to begin participation in FIS committees.
• 1963-1975: International Ski Federation – Named as a member of the FIS Downhill-Slalom Committee (later Alpine Committee). Served as first member on a variety of sub-committees and new committees convened to deal with the changing nature of Alpine competition, including Rules & Control of Competitions sub-committee, Points sub-committee, Alpine Course sub-committee and World Cup Committee.
• 1963-1979: International Ski Federation – Member of the Canadian delegation to eight biennial FIS Congresses.
• 1968: Served as a delegate to major international competitions starting before the formal role of a technical delegate was defined. Officiated at the 1968 Buddy Werner Memorial Team Race, Vail, Colorado; three times at World Cup downhill events at Aspen, Colorado; World Cup downhill events at Sugarloaf, Maine, and Vail, Colorado; United States Championship downhill events at Copper Mountain, Colorado and at Nor-Am technical races held at Stratton, Vermont.
• 1975-1979: International Ski Federation – Elected to the FIS Council and served until resigning in 1979.
• 1972-1978: Active in promotion activities (also within the FIS) for sites bidding for major international competition including the Banff/Lake Louise bid for the 1972 Olympic Winter Games, Lake Louise for the 1974 Alpine World Championships, Garibaldi/ Whistler Mountain for the 1976 Olympic Winter Games and Whistler Mountain for the 1978 Alpine World Ski Championships.

Arnold was also active on the national scene volunteering his wide experience to organizing committees at a number of racing venues including, Whistler Mountain, British Columbia; Crabbe Mountain, New Brunswick; Osler Bluffs and Georgian Peaks, Ontario; Mont Ste Anne, Le Relais, Owl’s Head, Chantecler, Mont Garceau and Mont Tremblant, all in Quebec.