{"id":5,"date":"2014-12-03T22:37:16","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T03:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skipatrol.on.ca\/wp1\/?page_id=5"},"modified":"2016-01-24T17:10:17","modified_gmt":"2016-01-24T22:10:17","slug":"about_csp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/skipatrol.on.ca\/wp1\/about_csp\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Ski Patrol"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian Ski Patrol (CSP)<\/h2>\n

The Canadian Ski Patrol<\/a>\u00a0is a national, non-profit, registered charitable organization that is\u00a0volunteer-based and provides advanced first aid and emergency response services at more than 230 ski resorts and Nordic centers as well as hundreds of recreational and sporting events across\u00a0Canada.\u00a0The CSP has more than 4,500 members\u00a0consisting of all alpine disciplines, Nordic skiers as well as non-skiers, making it the largest volunteer-based certified first responder\u00a0organization in Canada.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

In 1941, a doctor of osteopathic medicine named Douglas Firth was asked by the Canadian Amateur Ski Association (CASA) to organize and train a first aid rescue group to patrol the ski hills in the Toronto\u00a0area. It was from this request that the Canadian Ski Patrol System (CSPS) was formed. The CSPS was originally a standing committee of the CASA with independent patrols in different areas. During the years between 1941 and 1948, the Second World War restricted expansion, but the Toronto-area and Montreal-area patrols united to form the nucleus of a national organization.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, following a dramatic increase in the popularity of skiing as a family sport, the services that the CSPS provided were in great demand. Registration grew to more than 650 individuals, with members providing services in\u00a0Quebec,\u00a0the Lakehead area (now\u00a0Thunder Bay,\u00a0Ontario), Winnipeg, Calgary\u00a0and\u00a0Edmonton\u00a0in addition to the original central Ontario\u00a0and Montreal\u00a0regions.<\/p>\n

In 1961, the CSPS became an accredited national charity and gained independence from the CASA.<\/p>\n

In 1967,\u00a0Governor General Georges Vanier\u00a0became the first patron of the CSPS.<\/p>\n

During the late 1960s, expansion continued both east and west with the addition of an\u00a0Atlantic\u00a0Division and formation of a zone which covered a broad area in the interior of British Columbia. Membership grew proportionately, with approximately 2,500 patrollers registered by the end of the decade. The following year, Saskatchewan\u00a0Division was formed and, by 1975, registration had reached 4,200 patrollers.<\/p>\n

A national management committee was established in 1978 to handle the operation of the system and the following year the organization moved its head office to a permanent facility in the Ottawa\u00a0area. The head office remains in the same location today there, with three full-time staff members who manage day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n

In 2013, the Canadian Ski Patrol System name was officially changed to the Canadian Ski Patrol (CSP) and the current logo, of a red leaf with a white cross was adopted.<\/p>\n

Organizational Structure<\/h2>\n

The Canadian Ski Patrol is governed by a national board of directors, consisting of a chair, the national president\/chief executive officer and six other members, with the member directors and the chair serving two-year elected terms. The organization is managed by a national management committee of five vice-presidents who report directly to the national president\/CEO. Their portfolios include administration, education, communications, operations and fund development. Nationally, the organization is divided into nine divisions, 59 zones and roughly 220 patrols, all of which are led and managed by their own elected executive teams.<\/p>\n

The CSP is divided into the below 9 divisions:<\/p>\n