Olympic cross-country ski champion Beckie Scott named CEO of Nordiq Canada

Beckie Scott has lived many different lives.

She was an Olympic cross-country skiing champion, an athlete representative at the International Olympic Committee, and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency during the Russian scandal emanating from 2014.

Since 2017, Scott was founder and CEO of Spirit North, a non-profit intended to empower Indigenous youth through sport.

On Monday, the next chapter of her career began. Scott was named CEO of Nordiq Canada, the national sport organization that oversees cross-country and Para Nordic skiing.

"I'm going to be leaning on various aspects of my experience with the last number of years, but I think also holding very close in my heart the value of the power of sport because I've lived it at every level," said Scott, the Vermilion, Alta., native.

"I was a jackrabbit in a small community in northeastern Alberta. I was an Olympic champion. I've lived through that whole spectrum and arc of everything sport is. I'm such a believer in the power of it and what it can do. As individuals and communities, I think that will be my inspiration every day in this job."

First, though, the 50-year-old Scott wants to take a step back and listen.

But even as she enters her new role armed with all kinds of experience, Scott's plan, first and foremost, is to hear from those currently living through it.

"I'm looking forward to going on what I'm calling a listening tour, because Nordiq Canada is an NSO, but it really is embedded in the community. And I have been a part of this community my entire life," she said.

Scott said the opportunity to take over Nordiq Canada came about in November, as her role with Spirit North was winding down.

She was encouraged to apply.

"After thinking about it and just really internalizing how much I still care about the sport, how much I really still believe in high performance sport in particular, I decided to throw my hat in the ring," she said.

Morgan Rogers, the chair of the Nordiq Canada board, said Scott "exemplifies everything the Nordic community in Canada requires in a leader."

"Beckie is a trailblazer who has achieved several goals never reached before. She had the courage to imagine it was possible and the fire in her heart to make it happen. I look forward to her bringing that same tenacity to this role," Rogers said.