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Vol. 13, No. 24, Wednesday April 11, 2018 www.LamontLeader.com
Lamont Councillor doubles as coach of world-class athletes BY JOHN MATHER Lamont town councillor Dave Taylor wears two very different sets of clothing. In his councillor vestments he is busy trying to improve life in the town through improving recreation facilities while keeping costs under control. Outside of council he dons a Captain Canada cape as coach of up and coming Paralympics Nordic biathlon competitor Derek Zaplonsky of Smoky Lake and as one of the specialist coaches of the Canadian National Paralympics ski team. Taylor, 49, was born in Lamont and grew up and attended school in town. He left to go to the University of Alberta. “When I was growing up I was always called Dave,” he said. “But when I started skiing competitively, a Norwegian skier learned my second name is Bjorn and he started calling me by it. It stuck and in all my skiing circles I’m Bjorn Taylor.” Taylor skied cross-country and biathlon as a youth growing up. He has degrees in physical education and sports physiology from the University of Alberta. “I was working at the University of Calgary coordinating some of their skiing programs when I landed a job at Canmore working with the national Paralympics team,” he explains. “I was able to do program consulting and program co-ordination for the cross country and biathlon teams.” The program had a visually impaired skier medal at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002. This resulted in the national program receiving more funding and it took off. Taylor was then contracted to work with the national team in administration, and as a program director. He also functions as a wax technician doing wax support work for the team. He soon moved up to become the team leader at the 2006 Torino and 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Taylor said he was contemplating completing a master’s degree when the Canmore opportunity came along and he jumped at it. “But you have to be wealthy to live in Canmore and working for the national team wasn’t going to allow me and my family to live there.” Continued on Page 3
Team Canada Paralympics coach and Lamont town councilor Dave Taylor (left) gives some last minute advice to paranordic skier Derek Zaplotinsky prior to setting out on a training run at Strathcona Wilderness Centre.