Bjorger Pettersen

Born in Norway, Bjorger Pettersen’s family immigrated to Canada in 1953, settling in Prince George, B.C., where his father, John, profoundly influenced the development of cross-country skiing both locally and throughout the province.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Bjorger expanded the tradition to encompass development of the sport provincially and internationally. He spent his life working full-time with cross country skiing and was a pioneer of this sport in Canada. He was a successful leader and groundbreaker as a coach, administrator, official, race organizer, ski industry developer and as Canada’s first full time professional in nordic skiing.

After a short racing career which resulted in being named to the 1963 Olympic training squad, Petterson moved into coaching full time in 1962, first as the head coach of the Canadian Ski Association, Western Division. After coaching the Canadian junior team for two years, he was promoted to head coach and program director of the national ski team for the next six years. He completed his coaching career by part-time coaching the  BC provincial team for seven years.

Along with his coaching years, Bjorger also built a leading Canadian sporting goods importer and distributorship company, Vikski Canada Ltd., which was the first in Canada to supply a full line of cross-country equipment. This company was followed by other service companies for cross country skiing. As a ski official and race organizer, Bjorger assisted with and promoted the first international FIS sanctioned cross country and biathlon races in Canada, with competitors from many foreign countries. His most noteworthy being: 1965 FIS North American Cross Country and Biathlon Championships; 1967 FIS Centennial Races; World Cups; and World Junior Championships.

Bjorger was Canada’s FIS representative on the FIS cross country committee for 27 years, sitting on all major committees and on the executive board representing the overseas countries for 16 years. He was FIS Technical Delegate at three Olympics, Chief of Race and was the Venue Manager at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• 1957: Assisted in the founding of the Hickory Wing Ski Club, Prince George, and served as club coach from 1959 to 1963.
• 1963-1966: Chair of Cross Country, British Columbia. Program Director, Western Division, Canadian Ski Association.
• 1965: Chief of Competition, Canadian National Senior Championships. 
• 1966-1967: Vice-Chair, Cross Country Canada
• 1967: Chief of Competition, Centennial North American Championships (the first sanctioned FIS cross-country race held in Canada). Co-founder of the Inuvik Ski Club, Northwest Territories. Named Program Director & Head Coach of the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program.
• 1971: Assistant Technical Delegate, Canadian National Senior Championships.
• 1972: Head Coach & Manager, Canadian Cross-Country team, 1972 Winter Olympic 
• 1976: Chairman, Cross Country BC (until 1978). Attended 1976 Winter Olympic Winter Games as Canada’s representative at FIS meetings.
• 1977: Technical Delegate, Canadian National Senior Championships. 1978  Chief of Competition, Western Canadian Championships.
• Winter Games, Sapporo, Japan. Founded the Yellowhead Ski Club, McBride, British Columbia. Appointed a member of the FIS Cross Country Committee
• 1980: Technical Delegate, Jury Member for Nordic combined, 1980 Winter Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid, USA.
• 1981: Chief of Competition, Canadian National Senior Championships. 1982  Jury Member, World Ski Championships, Oslo, Norway.
• 1984: FIS Executive Member at 1984 XIV Olympic Winter Games, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, part of the Calgary delegation (OCO).
• 1988: Chief of Competition, Cross Country events, 1988 Winter Olympic Winter Games, Calgary, Alberta.
• 1989: Chief of Competition, World Cup event, Canmore, Alberta (last World Cup race to be held in Canada until 2005).
• 1992: Assistant Technical Delegate & Jury Member for Nordic combined at 1992 Winter Olympic Winter Games, Albertville, France.
• 1993: Assistant Technical Delegate, world championships, Falun, Sweden.
• 1994: Technical Delegate & Jury Member for Nordic combined at 1994 Winter Olympic Winter games, Lillehammer, Norway.
• 1997: Retired from FIS Cross Country Committee and Executive, installed as an Honorary Life Member of FIS.

AWARDS

• 1988: Air Canada Award for the Top Sport Official of the year in Canada
• 1991: Dave Rees Award, Cross Country Canada
• 1993: Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada
• 1994: Canadian of the Day, 1994 XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer, Norway
• 1999: Canada Ski Council Award
• 2000: Canadian Ski Council’s Millennium Award for developing and leaving a legacy for Canadian Skiing
• 2000: Named as one of three Honorable Lifetime Members of the FIS Cross Country Committee

Note: The information gathered in this biography was compiled from a number of sources; it may not be inclusive of all accomplishments. Copyright © Canadian Ski Hall of Fame & Museum. For personal and/or educational use only. All rights reserved.