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

Nicole was born and raised in Edmonton, has a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of Alberta and has been working for the City of Edmonton in the areas of sport, recreation, and festival and event management for over 30 years. Currently, Nicole is the Director of Civic Events and Festivals for the City. In 2025 she will be involved in coordinating city services for the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup and YEG Ice Fest and the Sport Climbing North American Cup Series in Edmonton.

Nicole started judging ACA competitions at the end of the pandemic in 2022. This is Nicole’s third year on the Board and as Vice President she hopes to continue to advance the organization’s capacity to achieve greater effectiveness through policy development. She enjoys being behind the scene helping to deliver seamless competitions that ensure athletes have the opportunity to perform at their best.

PERFORMANCE CHAIR

Paige is a climber and coach from Calgary, Alberta; she is currently based in Montreal. Paige competed from Youth D to the senior level in Alberta and represented Canada at numerous international youth and senior events. For the past few years, she coached at the Calgary Climbing Centre and was the Canadian co-head coach at the 2024 Youth World Championships in Guiyang, China. She loves the complexity and humanity of coaching and the opportunity to see personal growth in her athletes.  Currently pursuing studies in exercise Epidemiology, Paige also has a background in Kinesiology and has contributed to research in climbing exercise physiology and sport policy. As the Performance Chair for the Alberta Climbing Association, she plays a role in organizing events and shaping policies to advance the development and success of Alberta’s athletes on the national stage.

COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR

COMPETITION COORDINATION

After being dragged to a climbing gym with a friend in the Covid era, Jeremy instantly fell in love with the sport and the community. He started to bring his kids to join in on the fun. It wasn’t long before his kids expressed interest in joining a team and competing.

Volunteering at ACA competitions has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Meeting the other organizers, learning more about the sport, and helping athletes reach their potential has become his new favorite hobby.

Jeremy is constantly amazed by the climbing community. Athletes cheering on their competitors, volunteers donating hundreds of hours of their time, and the overall positivity make this sport truly unique. He’s looking forward to help the ACA provide an improved membership experience.

MEMBER AT LARGE

Mark is a Calgary based climber and board member, climbing out of Bolder Climbing. He has been volunteering as the ACA (male) athlete rep for the past several years, and has been involved in Alberta climbing over the past decade in several capacities as a coach, athlete, and board member. When not climbing in the gym or outside he’s focused on growing his business, and connecting with the local climbing scene through grassroots initiatives and community events.

ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

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

SECRETARY

TREASURER

MEMBER AT LARGE

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

SETTER REPRESENTATIVE