How Nagano Skate was founded?

Nagano Skate, when knowledge meets passion

It is no coincidence that the fate of two enthusiasts gave birth to a company like Nagano Skate.

François Drolet and Éric Bédard were already, in the 90s, driven by the same passion and the same objectives: speed skating. Both members of Canada’s national team, they were training to represent their country at the Olympics. Which took place in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Afterwards, they each took different paths, but the passion remained the same. They were interested in performance, in improving the techniques of their sport and in the research and development of new technologies that could improve both the equipment and the practice of the sport as such.

Having never lost contact, they agreed to say that the fruit of their efforts and their research should never be forgotten and that it was absolutely necessary to benefit them. new generation skaters.

So it was in the fall of 2016 that what would become Nagano Skate took shape. Of course, the choice of the name of the company is not foreign to the common history of our two founders! Combining their technical knowledge of the equipment but also their high level of skills in training, they had everything in hand to start a great adventure.

The official launch will take place on March 2, 2017. New business partners will join the team, including Patrice Cauchon, Kenan Gouadec, Charles Hamelin and most recently Bruno Paradis-Bolduc. Initially, only training camps, jigs and sharpening stones were offered.

Since then, nearly 15 training camps offered by the Nagano Skate Academy in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario have perpetuated the passion among young skaters. The range of high performance products is regularly enhanced and the international clientele continues to grow. Nagano Skate products are now used by the world's greatest skaters.

The quality of Nagano Skate products is well established. These always at the cutting edge of technology and defying the competition are designed to meet the highest standards of comfort and performance.

Whether you're a rookie skater, an Olympic prospect or even the best skater in the world, we all agree that Nagano Skate is a leader and a trusted partner in the world of speed skating.