Liam Gill

Biography

Liam Gill represented Canada in all three freestyle snowboard disciplines at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, finishing eighth in big air, 11^th in slopestyle and 13^th in halfpipe. He went on to be selected to both the slopestyle and halfpipe junior national teams in 2020-21. For 2021-22, he was named to the halfpipe senior national team. Gill was Canada’s lone competitor in the men’s snowboard halfpipe event when he made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2022.

Gill competed at his first senior FIS World Championships in 2023, finishing 13^th. He matched that result in 2025.

Gill made his World Cup debut in his hometown of Calgary in February 2020, competing in both slopestyle and halfpipe. His subsequent World Cup appearances have all been in halfpipe, starting with his first overseas event in Laax, Switzerland in January 2021. He earned a career-high eighth-place World Cup finish at the Laax Open in January 2024.

Gill’s first taste of international competition came at a Nor-Am Cup event in March 2017. His next appearance on the circuit in January 2018 resulted in a victory in slopestyle in Sun Peaks, B.C. The feeling of winning ignited a fire in him. But his season was cut short when he broke his collarbone in March, forcing him to miss the national finals in Calgary.

Gill won halfpipe gold for Team Alberta at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer but he also competed in three other snowboard events: parallel giant slalom, slopestyle, and snowboard cross. He went on to compete in slopestyle and big air at the 2019 FIS Junior World Championships. But in April 2019, he broke his collarbone again, this time undergoing surgery to attach a plate and screws.

Through his father, Gill is a proud descendant of a long line of Dene people from the Northwest Territories and represents the Dehcho Dene as a member of the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation. He was born and raised on Treaty 7 land in Calgary, but his connection to his Dene heritage remains strong. His mother had fled communist rule in Poland as a child, eventually settling in Canada.  

A Little More About Liam

Getting into the Sport: Started snowboarding at age 4 and was competing by the next year… Grew up competing in skiing and snowboarding, but by age 11 he enjoyed snowboarding more, even giving up the chance to compete in ski freeride final because he didn’t want to pass up a good day of riding his board… Loves putting in the work to learn new tricks and the creativity he finds in snowboarding… Outside Interests: Enjoys rock climbing, skateboarding, fly fishing, and attempting to beat his fastest time to solve a Rubik’s cube… Would like to learn about film and media editing and production… Was awarded an OLY Canada Legacy Grant in 2023 and 2024 that helped fund “Liam & Friends”, a project through which he brought Indigenous youth to Banff to give them better access to snowboarding… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “Win or lose, it’s always fun”… Collects coffee mugs from his travels…