Skate Canada disclosed on Wednesday that Mike Slipchuk will be stepping down from his position as high-performance director following the 2026-27 season, marking the end of his 20-year tenure in the role. Slipchuk became a part of Skate Canada in 2006, overseeing a period where Canadian figure skaters achieved remarkable success with 10 Olympic and 24 world championship medals under his guidance.

During Slipchuk’s tenure, Canada excelled at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, securing four Olympic medals, including gold medals by ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, as well as the team event. Notably, Virtue and Moir became the most decorated Olympic figure skaters with three gold and two silver medals. However, Canada’s recent Olympic performance in Beijing 2022 did not yield any medals, with only one bronze medal by Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in ice dance at Milan Cortina earlier this year.

Over the past two decades, Canada has seen multiple world champions emerge in various disciplines, with highlights such as Patrick Chan’s three consecutive men’s world titles from 2011 to 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.

Upon his departure, Slipchuk will continue to support Skate Canada in an advisory capacity to facilitate the transition to a new high-performance director. Expressing his gratitude, Slipchuk stated, “Twenty years ago, Skate Canada entrusted me with leading their high-performance program, and it has been a tremendous privilege to collaborate with such exceptional athletes and coaches. The moments of witnessing our athletes stand on the podium with their medals and the Canadian flag draped around them will forever hold a special place in my heart.”