ACA Board Profile

PRESIDENT

Mark lives in Okotoks and climbs out of the Calgary Climbing Center with his family. He was first introduced to climbing about 27 years ago in Saskatoon, where he and his friend went to Vic's Vertical Walls. Just before graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1996, he had his first experience climbing on real rock on his first trip to Red Rocks, Nevada. After that, he decided to move to Calgary for the climbing and engineering opportunities. When he moved, he took out a $2000 loan and spent $200 of that on new climbing gear. 12 years later, his two-year-old daughter, Sydney, began to take an interest in climbing. A few years later, his son, Seth, began climbing as well. As a family, they would spend a lot of time at the climbing gym and his kids would watch the youth teams train in awe. When his kids started competing, he began volunteering as a judge at the competitions. The competitions weren't just volunteering, but a social event to connect with the community and be a proud parent. Over the years, he got more involved in volunteering and was asked by the ACA board at the time to join as the Technical Chair. His father was very involved in the hockey community and he always looked up to his dedication, so taking on a role on the ACA board was a huge honour. Now as President of the ACA, he is grateful for all the volunteers before that brought the ACA to where it is today. He is proud to stand on the shoulders of those giants.

VICE PRESIDENT

Paul is our new Vice President. He continues to boulder in a startlingly mediocre fashion at gyms around Calgary and likes to ride bicycles and ski when he isn't helping out at climbing competitions. He sometimes works as medical support at competitions, too. Say hi when you see him!

PERFORMANCE CHAIR

Born and raised in Ecuador, Ana brings more than 13 years of experience working with athletes and sports organizations across a variety of competitive levels. She began participating in competitive sports at a young age and developed a passion for athletics early on. It was through racquetball, however, that she reached a high-performance competitive level and began her journey as a coach and sports leader, developing a strong appreciation for the impact that quality coaching and positive sport experiences can have on young people.

After discovering rock climbing, she quickly fell in love with the sport and found a new passion in helping climbers develop both on and off the wall. Over the past several years, she has worked extensively in the climbing community, supporting athlete development and contributing to the growth of the sport.

She is particularly passionate about increasing youth participation in sport and ensuring that more young people can experience the confidence, community, and lifelong benefits that climbing and sports provide.

ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

Maelle is a passionate climber who has been competing at the national level for the past three years. She started climbing at the age of 8 after trying outdoor climbing in Thailand. Since then, her love for the sport has grown immensely. After finding out about competition climbing in 2022, she has qualified for and competed at all three national championships since. Maelle trains with the Calgary Climbing Centre on the Performance Team, and has also spread her love for climbing by coaching youth teams as well as instructing summer camps, school groups, and junior climbing clubs. Outside of the climbing community, she is studying for her bachelor’s degree at the University of Calgary.

This year, Maelle took on the role of Female Athlete Representative in hopes of being a strong and active voice for athletes within the ACA. She is always open to hearing opinions and answering questions! You may find her at the CCC SoCal location where she spends much of her time training and working at the Approach Cafe and Bar or instructing the next generation of climbers.

She is very excited and honoured to be a voice for the athletes of the ACA and hopes to help competition climbing in Alberta grow and flourish!

TECHNICAL CHAIR

Werner Lau is an “honorary native” Calgarian having moved from Vancouver with his family at 2 months old. He had always maintained active by climbing the exterior of fibreglass trees in his kindergarten class to running on top of monkey bars in elementary school and later channeling that energy into team sports throughout junior high and high school. This interest in human movement and performance was a natural fit influencing his career starting as a clinical kinesiologist, leading to injury prevention and management, and now working as a foot and ankle biomechanics specialist both as a technician and clinician.

Werner may still have his original Calgary Climbing Centre (Chinook) membership archived in the index card box at CCC since summer of 1996. He took several years off climbing and was re-introduced to the sport and community in 2016 by his son who picked sport climbing as a “team” sport. The climbing community in Alberta took Werner’s perception and stigma of “competitive sport” to another level; it was humbling for him to see parents of competitors, and competing athletes cheering for one another! This was the right environment for Werner; he has since committed to volunteering to help maintain this positive competitive community.

TEAM MANAGER / COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR

Jacquelyn became involved in the ACA as the Team Manager during the 2022-2023 season and joined the ACA Board in 2024. Jacquelyn started learning about and loving rock climbing when her twins joined their first team at the age of 7. Since then the sport has become a big and wonderful part of her life. Jacquelyn loves being a member of the ACA community; helping the athletes navigate the season, spending time with the community at competitions, meeting new people at events, and watching all of the athletes work hard to achieve their goals. 

TREASURER

ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

Evan has qualified for the Youth National Climbing Team for four consecutive years, earning seven youth national titles. At 16, he placed in the top five at his first Senior Nationals and most recently earned 2nd place in Lead at the 2024–2025 Senior Nationals. He is now a member of the Senior National Team and has qualified for multiple IFSC World Cups, including Wujiang, Bali, and Innsbruck.

Beyond competition, Evan is passionate about fostering community and advocating for athletes. He currently serves as the male athlete representative for the Alberta Climbing Association and holds a Member-at-Large position on Climbing Escalade Canada’s Athlete Commission. Over the past five years, Evan has volunteered at climbing competitions across Canada — from local to national events— and has mentored younger athletes to help build their technical skills and confidence.

He believes in creating a climbing community where every athlete feels heard, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential. As athlete rep, Evan is committed to amplifying athlete voices and ensuring that Alberta climbers continue to thrive both locally and on the world stage.

COACH REPRESENTATIVE

Dallas Mix is a passionate climbing coach with a Master’s degree in Coaching and an undergraduate degree in Education. Drawing on years of experience working with athletes of all ages, Dallas blends a strong foundation in sport science with a focus on creating a safe, supportive, and challenging environment. He believes in developing resilient athletes by fostering both technical skill and mental strength, helping climbers reach their potential on and off the wall.

SETTER REPRESENTATIVE

SECRETARY

Born and raised on the Bay of Fundy, Julia moved to Lethbridge Alberta in 2009 and is now the proud mom of three girls. Her eldest, Lily-Anne, fell in love with climbing at Coulee climbing and has been competing with ACA since 2023. Julia works in Medical Genetics as a Genetic Counsellor, and has served on a number of boards and committees supporting her profession. While not a climber, Julia loves to watch and support climbing