Matchett elected Canada West President

June 19, 2024 - The Canada West Board of Directors will have new leadership in the President's role beginning in 2024-25, as University of Calgary Director of Athletics Ben Matchett was unanimously elected to a two-year term at the conference's annual AGM earlier in May.

Matchett takes over the post from retiring University of Winnipeg Athletic Director Dave Crook, who served as the conference's President over the past two seasons.

It's an exciting new challenge for Matchett, who brings over two decades of Canada West experience to the board. The born-and-raised Calgarian has been an integral ambassador for Dinos Athletics since beginning his career at UCalgary, recently being appointed the eighth athletic director in Dinos history in July 2021. He has also served in numerous volunteer roles with Canada West and U SPORTS.

"It's certainly an honour and a career milestone to be able to move into this leadership role with the conference," says Matchett. "We have a very strong membership and a group of really committed athletic directors, coaches and staff. It's a fantastic group and I'm honoured to give back and be part of the leadership group for the next two years."

Three additional new faces will join Matchett on the Board of Directors in 2024-25, with Robin D'Abreo (UBC) elected as VP Sport and Gene Muller (Manitoba) elected as VP Research & Planning. In addition, Shannon Chinn (Saskatchewan) has been appointed director-at-large.

Board members entering their second year of two-year terms include Loralyn Murdoch (UNBC, VP Finance), Jeff Gamache (Trinity Western, VP Marketing), and Kavie Toor (UBC, VP Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion).

"The group we have on the board is representative across the conference. We have diverse perspectives which I think is important, and the most important thing is that everyone shares a desire to make our conference as good as it can be and to provide the best opportunity for our student-athletes to have a great experience," says Matchett. "It's also important to recognize and thank those who are leaving the board, including Dave [Crook], Adrienne Healey, Joel Mrak and Katie Spriggs, for the time and dedication they gave the conference over their terms."

While every year brings new challenges and opportunities, Matchett says he's excited to focus on several key areas to help the conference continue to grow moving forward.

"Over the last two years there's been a lot of heavy lifting on schedules, Safe Sport and EDI, and I know there's work there that needs to continue," says Matchett. "One of my priorities is going to be on the governance file and ensuring we have strong policies and procedures established as we enter our next stage. At the end of the day, we want to make sure we're growing our capacity and our opportunity to positively impact the student-athlete experience and solidify our conference as a leader across Canada."

The CW Board of Directors is made up of volunteers from member institutions who serve one or two year terms providing valuable leadership to the membership. The conference elects members of the board annually at its AGM.