Cycling Canada brings on Scott Kelly as Chief Sport Officer

Cycling Canada is looking to build a better bridge between development teams and elite national programs with the creation of a new Chief Sport Officer (CSO) position. Scott Kelly, a key figure in the Canadian racing community for over a decade, will be the first to fill the new role.

Kelly’s job as CSO will be to “ensure seamless progression from development levels through national team programs,” says Cycling Canada. The CSO work will closely with current High Performance Director Kris Westwood to bring together and integrate different regional and development programs into a more cohesive national strategy. The CSO will work with the goal of “building a culture of collaboration and excellence within the framework of a safe, inclusive and sustainable sport community.”

“We have some big goals as an organization, and I’m convinced that if everyone takes a pull at the front, we can achieve great things. I’m truly excited to do my part to help us get there” said Kelly. “I’m truly excited to do my part to help us get there”

“We want to work alongside, and build meaningful relationships between Cycling Canada and all of our stakeholders; whether they be athletes, coaches, clubs, professional teams, provincial sport organizations, funding partners or cycling fans,” Kelly added, in describing his aims. “We want to become the best version of Cycling Canada possible and it’s only by working together that we’re going to make our ambitions a reality.”

Kelly is a central figure in the Canadian racing community and will bring nearly 15 years of experience in professional, provincial and national level racing. He’s worked with Canada’s top international mountain bike teams at the World Cup level, including 3 Rox Racing, Clif Pro Team and, most recently, Norco Factory Team. Scott has contributed countless volunteer hours leading Canada’s national cyclocross program since 2013. He’s worked at over 20 world championships across all cycling disciplines, as well as the 2011 Pan American Games and 2012 Olympic Games.

Kelly balances this international experience with his time on the staff of Alberta Bicycle and with Ontario Cycling’s high performance and events committee. Since 2012, he has been the co-owner of Ontario’s Dundas Speed Shop.

“We are thrilled to welcome Scott to our team,” said Cycling Canada Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Jeffries. “In addition to tremendous passion and enthusiasm, he will bring to this position a proven track record of program management, exceptional team building and leadership skills, as well as an important breadth of perspective from having worked across so many different branches of our community. No doubt he will be a great asset for our entire organization as we work towards our mandate of holistically developing the sport across all cycling disciplines from coast to coast.”