Orienteering Canada Celebrates 50 Years by Announcing Inductees to Inaugural Hall of Fame
Orienteering Canada – Dec 1, 2017 (Calgary, AB) – Orienteering Canada (OC) was incorporated in 1967. Fifty years later, the organization is recognizing this milestone by inducting ten people into the newly created Orienteering Canada Hall of Fame.
Orienteering Canada was officially incorporated as the Canadian Orienteering Federation on December 1st, 1967 with its head office in Dorval, Quebec. The initial directors were Patricia Skene, Christian Skene and Michael Rowland. Orienteering Canada has grown to have a membership of over 7000 orienteers, 8 provincial and territorial orienteering associations and 25 clubs across the country.
Orienteering Canada’s is celebrating the 50th anniversary with its new Hall of Fame. The organization also created an on-line archive to showcase historical correspondence, orienteering maps, photos, promotional documents and stories. Additionally, Orienteering Canada is undergoing a fundraising drive to create a 50th anniversary endowment fund.
The goal of Orienteering Canada’s Hall of Fame is to recognize key builders, athletes, coaches and officials who have driven Canadian orienteering forward. The following individuals are being recognized as Builders. These individuals have made distinguished, lasting, valuable contributions and commitment to build and enhance Canadian orienteering.
Pat de St. Croix (posthumous)
Pat was an advocate for women in sport, coaching and fair play. A PhysEd teacher by profession, she was instrumental in developing orienteering in the Niagara region in the 1970’s until moving to Ottawa where she continued to provide leadership and development of the sport in the National Capital area. Pat served on various orienteering boards in Ontario and nationally, including President of OC.
Jack Forsyth (posthumous)
Jack was an instrumental leader at the OC level as a Board member for 23 years and was OC’s President. Jack was part of the initial group who founded the Manitoba Orienteering Association in 1972. Jack conceived the idea of a Western Canadian Orienteering Championships organized the first Western Canadians in Hartney in 1979. Jack organized many events, trained officials and was a mentor to many event organizers.
Kitty Jones
Kitty has been involved in the annual Sass Peepre Jr Training Camp since 1985 – which helps build many of Canada’s future orienteers. She has been the main driver for this important OC program for the last ten years. Kitty has also made a tremendous contribution over the past 33 years in Western Canada as the Alberta Orienteering Association President, club Board member, athlete, coach, mentor, mapper, official and trainer of officials.
Colin Kirk (posthumous)
Colin served for many years as Executive Director as well as Past President of Orienteering Canada, was a key figure in building orienteering in Canada. Detailed information about Colin is available at www.orienteering.ca/2012/09/colin-kirk.
Jack Lee (posthumous)
In 1966, Jack Lee founded the Hamilton Orienteering Association, which has grown into Canada’s largest orienteering club today (DontGetLost). Jack assisted in the development of the sport throughout North America through mapping, authoring orienteering books, race organization and organizing numerous clinics and workshops. He was a disciple of the sport for almost 50 years. In the mid 70’s he started the Hamilton Schools Adventure Run that has grown to annual participation of over 1000 students and forms the backbone of Adventure Running Kids today.
Charlotte MacNaughton
Charlotte has been a major builder and promoter for orienteering for over 20 years, first at the club and then provincial level in Alberta before her involvement with OC. Charlotte was President of OC and served as OC’s volunteer Executive Director for a decade, rebuilding and refocusing the organization to align it with major initiatives in Canadian sport including the High Performance Program (HPP) and the Long Term Athlete Development program (LTAD).
Sass Peepre (posthumous)
Alex “Sass” Peepre, affectionately known as the “father of orienteering” in Canada, In the mid 1960s, he introduced many of the early Canadian orienteering leaders to this new sport, organizing clinics across Ontario, the Maritimes and BC. Sass was a founder of the Ontario Orienteering Association, was involved in the early years of OC, and served as President from 1974-1976. He is remembered for his endless enthusiasm in spreading the word about orienteering, and for his dedication to leadership and youth training.
Chris and Patricia Skene
In 1967, Chris and Patricia Skene formed the Montreal Orienteering Club and the Quebec Orienteering Association. In the same year, representing Quebec, they joined with the Ontario and Nova Scotia groups to form and incorporate the Canadian Orienteering Federation (now OC). Pat started Canada’s first orienteering newsletter and Chris made the map for the 1967 Canadian Orienteering Championships, one that was re-used 50 years later as a “re-run event” as part of the 2017 Canada 150 Orienteering Festival
Jim Webster
Jim has been driving force in developing the sport of orienteering in Alberta and BC for over 30 years. He has lead at the club, provincial and national levels. As the main organizer behind numerous national, continental and international major events, Jim’s superpower skill is recruiting individuals and groups to contribute to help organizationally.
We are grateful to the Hall of Fame selection committee comprised of Pam James, Marg Ellis, Mike Waddington, Marion Owen, Tracy Bradley and Anne Teutsch.
Going forward, nominations of the Building category will be invited bi-annually. In 2018, Orienteering Canada will be we will be inviting nominations for the following awards:
Athlete, Coaching Leadership and Officials Leadership.
About
Orienteering Canada is the national sport federation for the sport of orienteering. Orienteering involves cross country running while navigating with a detailed map through unfamiliar terrain on foot, cross-country skis or mountain bike. Learn more about Orienteering Canada at:
facebook.com/orienteeringcanada
instagram.com/orienteeringcanada
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For more information, please contact
Anne Teutsch, President, president@orienteering.ca
Tracy Bradley, Executive Director, tracy@orienteering.ca
Tel (403) 283-0807