David Dore (August 9, 1940 – April 8, 2016) was a Canadian

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

competitor and official. He won the 1964 Canadian national title in

four skating Four skating is a figure skating and artistic roller skating discipline. Fours teams consist of two women and two men. The sport is similar to pair skating, with elements including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals, and throw jumps, as wel ...

. He later served as

Skate Canada Skate Canada ( Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual ...

's president and director general and as vice-president of the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Net ...

Personal life

Dore was born on August 9, 1940 in

East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He nearly died from

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at the age of 12 and had to regain his ability to walk. He and his wife had two children, Paul and Chris. He died in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

on April 8, 2016.

Career

Having started skating as therapy after a bout of polio, Dore was coached first by Wallace Diestelmeyer and then by

Sheldon Galbraith Sheldon William Galbraith, (May 24, 1922 – April 14, 2015) was a Canadian figure skating coach whose students have won all three categories at World Championships (men's, ladies' and pairs'). His students also won Canada's first Olympic gold me ...

. In 1964, he became a Canadian national champion in

with Bonnie Anderson, Laura Maybee, and Greg Folk. After retiring from competition, he became a judge and served at seven

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ...

and the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

. Dore became a director of the

Canadian Figure Skating Association Skate Canada ( Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual ...

(now known as

) in 1972. He became the CFSA's youngest President in 1980 and served in the role until 1984. From 1984 to 2002, he served as CFSA/Skate Canada Director General. He stepped down on January 31, 2002. During his tenure, he developed the National Team program, created the Athlete Trust, developed marketing and television concepts, and staged three

. Under his leadership, Canadian skaters won more Olympic and world medals than during any other time. In 2002, he was elected as the 1st Vice President Figure Skating of the

. He was the first Canadian to serve in the role. Dore was one of the most decorated administrators and volunteers in Canadian sport. In 2002, he received the International Olympic Committee's highest honour, the Olympic Order. In 2008, he was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame and into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Career

References

Further reading