WinSport Canada

The Canadian Winter Sport Institute, also known as WinSport Canada is a non-profit organization based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada whose mandate is to provide training y development to Canada's Olympic athletes, and to maintain the facilities built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It was created in 1956 as the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) to bring the Olympics to Calgary, succeeding in its fourth attempt. CODA has been credited with dramatically improving Canada's performance at the Olympics, as medal totals have increased at each subsequent Winter Games held since 1988, to a peak of 26 in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

CODA was formed in 1956 with the aim of bringing the Winter Olympic Games to Calgary. It bid for both the 1964 and 1968 games, losing to Innsbruck, Austria and Grenoble, France, respectively. Aided by Peter Lougheed, CODA made a third bid for the 1972 games. The effort appeared to be a sure winner before environmentalists protested Calgary's bid, arguing that the games would cause irreparable damage to Banff National Park. Calgary once again lost, finishing second to Sapporo, Japan. CODA became dormant following the 1966 vote.

In 1979, CODA was resurrected as Calgary began its fourth attempt, initiating a bid for the 1988 games. Led by chairman Frank King, and relying on thousands of volunteers, CODA spent four years attempting to woo support, attending every major sporting event it could to sell International Olympic Committee (IOC) members on Calgary. Calgary faced strong bids from Falun–Åre, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the latter bidder pressuring the IOC to "punish" the Calgary bid for Canada's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Calgary nonetheless won the bid at a vote held in Baden-Baden, West Germany on September 30, 1981.

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