2012 Call for Nominations!
• A woman who has made a significant difference through sport for girls and women in British Columbia?
• A woman who has worked to create access and opportunities for participation in sport and recreation?
• A woman who inspires through her own athletic achievement, passion and dedication?
We are CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT and are seeking nominations for inclusion in the IN HER FOOTSTEPS exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
Michelle Hohne, Lia Threlfall, Ron Putzi, Sue Griffin, Gail Wilson 2011 Honouree, Karin Larsen, Honourable Ida Chong, Howard Kelsey, Vale Savege 2011 Honouree, Pamela Ponic
THREE MORE OUTSTANDING WOMEN HONOURED BY ProMOTION Plus
Three outstanding athletes/coaches/builders were honoured Thursday night at Vancouver’s Segal Centre as the 2011 honourees for IN HER FOOTSTEPS...CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT.
At a sold-out ProMOTION Plus-sponsored event, Vale Savage, Misty Thomas and Gail Wilson were recognized for their incredible contributions to women’s sport.
The IN HER FOOTSTEPS event honours women who are or have been athletes, coaches, officials, judges, pioneers or advocates who have made significant contributions to girls and women in sport, inspiring others through their own athletic achievement, passion and dedication.
They join a long list of outstanding BC women who have been so honoured, a virtual who’s who of women in sport in BC and who are featured in the IN HER FOOTSTEPS exhibit at the soon to be opened new BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Vale Savage has made significant contribution to sport in BC, Canada and beyond. A multi-sport athlete, she was a member of both Canada’s national volleyball and basketball programs. She was co-founder of the women’s volleyball program at Simon Fraser University and was the first women to officiate an International volleyball match in Japan.
Misty Thomas is a multi-talented athlete and coach and her credentials spread to basketball, volleyball, badminton and track and field. She was the youngest player on Canada’s fourth-place 1984 Olympic basketball team. She played on the national team for four years and took time out to play professionally for Italy for one year. In 1998, at age 34, she became the youngest individual inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame. As a coach she guided the UBC women’s basketball team to their first Canada West title in 20 years. Through a series of leg injuries, she began playing wheelchair basketball in 2005 and became one of the world’s best.
Gail Wilson is a highly respected athlete and coach, recognized for her dedication and success in women’s field hockey at UBC and Canada’s national team as an assistant coach. She joined the UBC field hockey coaching staff in 1977 and continued in that capacity for the next 16 seasons. She is a legend at UBC as she guided UBC to seven Canada West titles and five CIS National championships. In 1993 she was inducted into the University of Toronto’s Sports Hall of Fame for her leadership in field and ice hockey and swimming and in 1995 was the first recipient of the CIS Gail Wilson Award, awarded for her outstanding contributions both on and off the playing field.
IN HER FOOTSTEPS is an annual recognition program organized jointly by ProMOTION Plus, BC Sports Hall of Fame, 2010 Legacies Now and the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health organizations.
For further information:
Christine Bradstock, Executive-Director
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In Her Footsteps Honorees for 2011 Announced:
June 9, 2011— ProMOTION Plus is pleased to announce the three inspirational honourees of the In Her Footsteps…Celebrating BC Women in Sport event. The event will be held on October 27, 2011 to recognize Vale Savege, Misty Thomas and Gail Wilson for their tremendous success and positive influence on girls and women in sport.
In Her Footsteps is an annual recognition program. It honours women who are or have been athletes, coaches, officials, judges, pioneers or advocates who have made significant contributions to girls and women in sport. These women have created opportunities for participation in sport and recreation in British Columbia, inspiring others through their own athletic achievement, passion and dedication. Their stories are featured in the In Her Footsteps exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
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Call for Nominations for 2011 Deadline: March 31st, 2010
Do You Know a Woman We Should Know?
• A woman who has made a significant difference through sport for girls and women in British Columbia? • A woman who has worked to create access and opportunities for participation in sport and recreation? • A woman who inspires through her own athletic achievement, passion and dedication? We are CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT and are seeking nominations for inclusion in the IN HER FOOTSTEPS exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. |
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Make a donation
In Her Footsteps is an annual recognition program. It honours women who are or have been athletes, coaches, officials, judges, pioneers or advocates who have made significant contributions to girls and women in sport. These women have created opportunities for participation in sport and recreation in British Columbia, inspiring others through their own athletic achievement, passion and dedication. Their stories are featured in the In Her Footsteps exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
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In Her Footsteps 2010  Sue Griffin, Chair of ProMOTION Plus and CEO of the BC Sports Hall of Fame, Diane Clements, Allison McNeill, Hon. Stephanie Cadieux, Minister for Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Kathy Newman
Women Leaders Honoured for Their Contributions to Sport Health and Physical Activity
by Wendy Long
VANCOUVER, November 5, 2010 – Olympic sprinter, athletics organizer/administrator and cookbook author Diane Clement, national women’s basketball coach Allison McNeill and BC Wheelchair Sports executive director Kathy Newman were recognized Thursday night as the 2010 honourees for IN HER FOOTSTEPS….CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT.
The program, a shared project of the BC Sports Hall of Fame, ProMOTION Plus, 2010 Legacies Now and the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, annually recognizes up to three women who have made significant contributions to girls and women in sport, fitness and healthy lifestyle initiatives in British Columbia. Their stories are featured in the In Her Footsteps exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Diane Clement competed on Canada’s 1956 Olympic team, earned a bronze medal at the 1958 Commonwealth Games and went on to serve as president of Athletics Canada. Diane and husband Dr. Doug Clement also co-founded the Richmond Kajaks Track and Field Club and the annual Vancouver Sun Run. Clement received a Queen’s Jubilee medal for her contribution to fitness and sport and in May 2010 Diane and Doug Clement received the International Lions Medal of Merit for their lifetime contribution to sport and healthy lifestyle.
Allison McNeill has devoted her life to basketball, from inspiring and mentoring young children on the court to developing and nurturing promising talent to coaching top players in British Columbia and Canada. From 1988 to 2001 she coached the Simon Fraser University women’s basketball team, leading the team to compete in 11 NAIA championships. From 1998-2000 she served as head coach of the national junior team and has coached the Canadian women’s team since 2002. She is committed to developing youth coaches and in helping athletes succeed as students and community members.
Kathy Newman joined the BC Wheelchair Sports Association in 1981, serving as office manager before advancing to executive director in 1986. With considerable energy and enthusiasm she has helped create opportunities, in sport and in life, for people with disabilities. She co-chaired the 2009 Americas Cup International wheelchair basketball tournament and Canada’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships, and has worked with government and business to increase funding and awareness. Through her work also emerged Bridging the Gap, a program encouraging individuals with disabilities to participate in wheelchair sports and recreation.
In addition to recognizing the 2010 honourees, the evening served to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ProMOTION Plus, the provincial organization launched in November 1990 to encourage sport and physical activity opportunities for girls and women in BC.
For more information contact:
Christine Bradstock, Director of Operations
604 333 3477
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Past Honourees of the In Her Footsteps... Exhibit: 1930 UBC Women’s Basketball Team |
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Inspiration and Community: 2009 Honourees Celebrated  Unveiling 2009 Honouree plaque: Darlene Currie, Diana Chan, Ann Pederson, Jenna and
Maya Beaudry
 2009 Honourees: Darlene Currie, Shirley Olafsson and Michel Beaudry,
husband of honouree Wendy Ladner Beaudry
INSPIRATION AND COMMUNITY: 2009 HONOUREES FOR IN HER FOOTSTEPS CELEBRATED VANCOUVER, October 23rd, 2009– Mentors, coaches and exceptional athletes were celebrated in a moving ceremony Thursday night at the annual IN HER FOOTSTEPS…. CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT, a recognition program and exhibit celebrating exceptional BC women in sport, housed at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Darlene Currie, the late Wendy Ladner-Beaudry and Shirley (Gordon) Olafsson were celebrated in the permanent exhibit celebrating women who have made a difference through sports for girls and women in British Columbia, whether through their own athletic excellence or by increasing opportunities for others. They join 40 additional women and teams who have been honoured since the program began. Despite being born with a clubfoot, honouree Shirley (Gordon) Olafsson became one of the world’s top high jumpers. “As a child growing up with a club foot and many surgeries, I was always told I couldn’t do anything in sport,” she said. “But I grew up and won championships, and I did it against able-bodied people.” Olafsson was so strongly motivated; she adapted the scissor technique in order to compete in the high jump, developing a unique style to accommodate her immovable left ankle. She went on to represent Canada at the 1948 London Olympics, and remained BC’s champion jumper from 1945-1952. She also excelled in basketball and field hockey. “You just have to keep on going. I struggled and struggled, even though I had not a hope in hell.” In addition to her Olympic history, Olafsson has had a long and distinguished career as a coach, administrator and role model. In Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, Olafsson was the oldest of 852 torch carriers. She has since brought that same Olympic torch into schools, allowing thousands of schoolchildren to run with the torch. Olafsson challenged future Canadian Olympic torchbearers to reach out to their communities in the same fashion, so all Canadians can share in the experience. Honouree Darlene Currie has inspired and motivated women of all ages with her lifelong participation in sport. Currie played on the Canadian National Women’s basketball team from 1959 to 1968, and then went on to coach the National team before beginning a long career of coaching in schools. “Sport is fun,” she said simply of her continued involvement with sport. “You meet so many people and you want to share the good times.” Currie has continued to spread that sense of fun and community her entire life, notably helping to promote the involvement of older women in sports. She was instrumental in starting a curling league for older beginners and won gold in the 2005 World Masters Games with what a later documentary later dubbed, “The Oldest Basketball Team in the World”. The late Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was an exceptional mentor, administrator, volunteer and role model, in addition to being a nationally ranked swimmer, a member of BC and Ontario senior field hockey teams, and a Masters Champion in telemark skiing. Just before her death, Ladner-Beaudry was actively engaged in increasing participation among inactive women and girls from less privileged backgrounds than her own. Kelly Mann, Chief Executive Officer of the B.C. Games Society, summed up Wendy’s considerable influence on her community, “Wendy’s ideas were like pebbles dropped in a pond where the ripple effect of that pebble would connect with the ripples of other organizations to become this great wave of change.” An emotional Michel Beaudry spoke on behalf of his deceased wife. “Sports can be a social tool for change,” he said. “If you teach a young woman about sports and fitness, you have a stronger, healthier, happier person.” Wendy’s style of activism was personal and intimate. “Wendy wasn’t afraid to work with people one at a time, one on one.” Beaudry challenged the crowd to continue Wendy’s work of advocacy and inspiration. “It’s important to realize how much we can change things if we try.” IN HER FOOTSTEPS…CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT is a joint initiative of the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, 2010 Legacies Now, ProMOTION Plus, and the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. The program, launched in 2005, recognizes extraordinary achievements and contributions by women to sport in British Columbia. New honourees are celebrated each October in conjunction with Women’s History Month. |
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The Opportunity to Imagine: 2008 Honourees for In Her Footsteps Celebrated October 30. 2008
Exceptional athletes, community leaders and role models for women and girls in sport and physical activity were celebrated Wednesday night at the annual IN HER FOOTSTEPS…. CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT, a recognition program and exhibit housed at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
 L-R: Sally Samler, Deborah Pyne, Sue Griffith, Minister Mary Polak, Kathy Kovacs, Andrea Neil, Bruce Dewar, Lorraine Greaves and Tricia Smith
This year Andrea Neil, Tricia Smith and Roberta Ann Steen join 37 previous honourees in the permanent exhibit celebrating women who have made a difference through sports for girls and women in British Columbia, whether through their own athletic excellence or by increasing opportunities for others.
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2007 Honourees Celebrated October 25th
Honouree Margaret Maxwell Callaghan, Minister Ida Chong, Irene Schell,
Lorraine Greaves and Honouree Sandra Stevenson
Heroines can change the world, was the message at the celebration of the 2007 honorees for IN HER FOOTSTEPS….CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT, a recognition program and exhibit celebrating BC women in sport, housed at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
From creating healthy bodies to teaching cooperation, fair play and ethics, involvement in sports and physical fitness helps girls and women in both body and spirit. The IN HER FOOTSTEPS exhibit honours those women who embody excellence in sport and fitness, whether through their own performance, or by enabling others to participate and excel. As honouree Sandra Stevenson said, “I fundamentally believe that sports can change the world.”
This year, Helen and Margaret Callaghan, Kathy Shields and Sandra Stevenson join 34 previous honourees in the permanent exhibit celebrating women who have made a difference through sports for girls and women in British Columbia, whether through their own athletic excellence or by increasing opportunities for others.
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GRANT TAKES WOMEN IN SPORT EXHIBIT TO THE FINISH LINE VANCOUVER Ministry of Community Services
Feb. 6, 2007 The Province is contributing an additional $15,000 to ProMOTION Plus to enable the
non-profit society to complete In Her Footsteps...Celebrating BC Women in Sport, an interactive exhibit recognizing women leaders and athletes at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Community Services Minister Ida Chong and Vancouver-Burrard MLA Lorne Mayencourt presented the cheque today.
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2006
Cutting the ribbon: Bruce Dewar, Marion Lay, Minister Ida Chong, Lorraine Greaves,
Irene Schell and Dann Konkin
IN HER FOOTSTEPS . . . CELEBRATING BC WOMEN IN SPORT is a joint initiative of ProMOTION Plus, BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, 2010 Legacies Now and the B.C. Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. The exhibit housed at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum marks the expansion and renaming of what was initially the Leaders and Legends display, which was unveiled in October 2002 to salute 31 prominent BC women in sport as part of Women’s History Month celebrations. In 2006, Marion Lay, Ivy Granstrom and Prime Ultimate Team served as inaugural honourees in the new FOOTSTEPS gallery, with up to three new additions chosen each year via selection committee.
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