Town of Banff

Thomas Grandi

Banff Sports Hall of Fame -
2008: Athlete

Banff Sports Hall of Fame - Thomas Grandi

Thomas Grandi is Canada’s best male technical alpine racer in the 38-year history of the World Cup. He became the first Canadian male to reach the podium in the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom, and the first to win a giant slalom. In the 2004-2005 season, Grandi posted not one, but two first-place finishes in this event, helping him achieve third overall in World GS standings. The following season, Thomas stood on the podium enough times to be fifth overall in slalom, and sixth in GS. A 14-year member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, Thomas also represented Canada in four Olympic Winter Games.

Thomas was a tremendous leader of the men’s team, setting an example of dedication and focus on high performance that had a profound influence on the younger members of the team, including Banff residents Jan Hudec and Paul Stutz, who have subsequently become current leaders of the men’s team. Thomas has not forgotten the young aspiring athletes of the ski club to which he belonged as a boy – the Banff Alpine Racers- attending club events and encouraging young racers.

As President of Alberta Alpine since the fall of 2007, Thomas has extended these same leadership qualities to Alberta’s provincial ski program, inspiring not only athletes, but parents, officials, and volunteers.

Not just a great skier and sports leader, Thomas acted on his concern for the environment by working with the David Suzuki Foundation to initiate a “carbon-neutral” program in which athletes purchase carbon offsets to reduce the size of their carbon footprint. Thomas can be very proud that the Alberta Alpine Team is the first Canadian team to be carbon-neutral: now that’s worth gold.