Mountain Division triumphs in national CSP skills competition

The team representing Mountain Division placed No. 1 overall in the 2026 CSP National Skills Competition held March 28 at Big White, B.C.

A CSP Edmonton Zone-based team of Noel Chant, Chris Coleman and Aiden Derksen topped the field of six teams from across Canada in a first aid scenario-based competition held on the slopes of Big White. The trio are patrollers at Marmot Basin in Jasper, Alberta.

Second place went to a team from Manning Park Resort in Pacific South Division (Gayle Brady, Michele Ingall and Emma Savard-Maltais), and third place to a team from Quebec Division (Olivier Roman, Daniel Pouliot and Éric Poissant). The scenario involved two patients; one with a fractured clavicle, and the other with a fractured pelvis.

The Mountain Division victory was the highlight of the Canada Night evening at the 25th Congress of the International Federation of Ski Patrols (FIPS), which was being held at Big White. Representatives of patrols from more than 15 countries were in attendance to share expertise and build worldwide patrolling comraderie.

Mountain Division was extremely well represented at the skills competition and at FIPS, with Mountain Division patrollers Andy Hill, Chris Oliver and Louise Charron playing leading organizing roles in the competition, and division members Amy Scullion and Mike Palamarek representing the CSP board of directors. Co-executive director Jean Rioux from Calgary was also in attendance, along with a large contingent of Mountain Division delegates. Those delegates included Mountain Division president Cody Whitten.

Photo info: CSP 2026 National Skills Champions from left to right: Aiden Dersen, Noel Chant and Chris Coleman. Photo by Geoff Scotton.