Skate Canada has announced that Mike Slipchuk will be stepping down as high-performance director after the 2026-27 season, concluding his two-decade tenure in the position. Slipchuk joined Skate Canada back in 2006 and during his leadership, Canadian figure skaters achieved remarkable success by securing a total of 10 Olympic and 24 world championship medals.

Notably, Canada clinched four Olympic medals under Slipchuk’s guidance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, with ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, along with the team event skaters, claiming gold. Virtue and Moir’s gold medals made them the most decorated Olympic figure skaters in history, with a tally of three gold and two silver medals.

Despite recent Olympic challenges, including no medals in Beijing 2022 and a lone bronze by Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in ice dance in Milan Cortina this year, Canada has consistently produced world champions across various disciplines over the past two decades. Notable achievements include Patrick Chan’s three consecutive men’s world titles from 2011-2013 and Virtue and Moir’s three gold medals.

The most recent world champions from Canada were pairs skaters Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps in 2024. Following his resignation as high-performance director, Slipchuk will continue to support Skate Canada in an advisory capacity to facilitate a smooth transition to the new high-performance director.

Reflecting on his time with Skate Canada, Slipchuk expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the high-performance program, emphasizing the privilege of working alongside exceptional athletes and coaches. He shared that witnessing Canadian athletes proudly stand on the podium draped in the national flag with their hard-earned medals has been an enduring and cherished memory for him.