CAF Sports Hall of Fame

LGen Arp’s lifelong love of soccer began as a successful competitor where he won a gold medal at the CAF National Soccer Championship in 1978. In the years that followed, he worked tirelessly as a builder of the sport creating opportunities and supporting CAF athletes as they trained and competed in Canada and around the world
 
As a Chief of Mission, LGen Arp led the teams competing at the CISM Americas Men’s Soccer Championship in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009. In 2005, he fulfilled the same role at the CISM World Military Men’s Soccer Championship. In women’s soccer, he served as Canadian Chief of Mission at the CISM World Military Women’s Soccer Championship six times between 2000 and 2009. He was also involved in the administration of CISM in a broader capacity serving as Canadian Chief of Delegation to CISM at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) from 2003 to 2005 and at regional meetings from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, he served on the Board of Directors of CISM and attended their AGM in Rome. LGen Arp was also the CAF Sports Patron for both men’s and women’s soccer from 1998 to 2009 and the CAF Sports Patron for the National Men’s Soccer Championship from 1998 to 2008.

Within the military, Maj Ashcroft was a member of the CAF CISM Rifle Team as an athlete and coach for a full decade beginning in 1992. In 1987, he was honoured as the CAF Athlete of the Year.
 
In the civilian world, he won major prizes every year between 1984 and 1993. In 1984, he was the Canadian champion – Olympic style (prone rifle iron sights). In 1987, 1988 and 1991, he was crowned the Canadian champion in the individual prone rifle event at the National Championship and he also won the gold team medal in 1988 at the World Cup in Mexico. He attended the Commonwealth Games in 1986 winning the gold team medal and the silver team medal in 1990. At the Pan Am Games, he won the gold team medal in 1987 and took 5^th place in the individual prone rifle event in 1991. In Olympic level competition, he took 8^th place in the team prone rifle event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea and 15^th place in the team prone rifle event at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Maj Ashcroft was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Shooting Federation of Canada in both 1988 and 1989.

Champion track cyclist Capt Barlee competed in several events at the prestigious Alpenrose International Track Festival in Portland, U.S.A. winning gold medals in the Olympic sprint event in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He also won the silver medal in the match sprint in 2005 and the gold medal in the same event in 2007. At the World Masters Games in Edmonton, he demonstrated the range of his ability by winning a gold medal in the 1 km time trial and a silver medal in the 20 km scratch race.
 
In 2005, Capt Barlee won a silver medal in the Olympic sprint event at the Canadian National Championship. Two years later, he won a gold medal in the 1 km time trial. In 2006, he traveled to Sao Paolo, Brazil to compete in the Pan American Games where he won a bronze medal in the 1 km time trial. The same year, he placed 8^th in the same event at the Los Angeles World Cup, and won silver medals in the Olympic and match sprint at the Full Speed Ahead (FSA) Grand Prix.


 

A review of Maj Barteaux’s record as a runner reveals a long list of first place finishes over the course of 25 years. His success began in 1982 when he took 1^st place in the CAF European Marathon in Germany and 1^st place at the CAF Marathon in Ottawa in 1988, 1989 and 1994. In civilian competition, he ran his first ultramarathon in 1982 in Biel, Switzerland and placed in the top 15%. Between 1995 and 2007, he took 1^st place in 16 competitions in Canada: from marathons to 100 km races to 6-hour races.
 
From 1987 to 1988, and again from 1999 to 2006, he ran a total of 1,136 km in support of the Terry Fox Run. He also raised over $37,000 for cancer research in 10 events ranging from 100 to 160 km. Maj Barteaux was a member of the teams that participated in the 100 km World Cup in 2002 (Belgium), 2003 (China), 2004 (Netherlands), 2005 (Japan), 2006 (South Korea) and 2007 (Netherlands) where he placed 4^th in the masters age category.

A naturally gifted athlete, Capt Benoit played in over a dozen sports including athletics, badminton, basketball, hockey, golf, running, soccer, softball, squash, tennis, triathlon, pentathlon, powerlifting, volleyball and wrestling. Throughout his 42-year military career, Capt Benoit participated in over 200 CAF Regional Sports Championships and more than 30 CAF National Championships, at which he won 13 gold medals.
 
During the first decade of his career he excelled in wrestling, but by the mid-1970s he turned his focus to pentathlons. In 1975, he placed first in the Modified Pentathlon at CFB Valcartier and then went on to train with the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. In 1976, he became a member of Canada’s Modern Pentathlon Olympic Organizing Committee.
 
In the 1980s, Capt Benoit placed 1^st in the MP Fund for Blind Children Half Marathon and 3^rd in the Half Ironman Triathlon, both at CFB Chilliwack.
 
In 1988, he took up squash and again he excelled with 10 CAF National Squash titles and a 1^st place finish at the Canadian Masters Squash Championship in 1996.

Capt Bermel’s outstanding athletic career as a runner and triathlete reached the highest level of competition. In Canada, she was the CAF National Running Women’s champion every year from 1983 to 1990. On the international stage, she was the top Canadian female runner at the CISM World Cross-Country Running Championship in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1992. In 1992, she placed 5^th at the CISM World Cross-Country Running Championship held that year in Nigeria.
 
In recognition of her accomplishments, she was named CAF Female Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years from 1987 through 1989. Capt Bermel also competed in triathlons. In 1989, she placed 1^st in the CISM World Triathlon Championship in Belgium. In 1991, she placed 1^st in the Invitational Canadian Long Course Triathlon Championship held in Orillia, Ontario.

Capt Birgentzlen was a member of the CAF CISM Taekwondo Team from 1993 to 2002.  During that decade she garnered an extraordinary number of wins and awards.  At the 1993 CISM World Military Taekwondo Championship in Kingston, ON she placed 1^st in the Lightweight Division and was named Female MVP. She went on to be named the 1993 CAF Female Athlete of the Year. In 1994, she placed 2^nd in the Lightweight Division at the CISM Military World Championship in Lima, Peru.
 
Capt Birgentzlen also excelled in civilian taekwondo competition. She placed 2^nd in the Lightweight Division at the Canadian Championship in 1993, repeating the achievement in 1996. Three years later, Capt Birgentzlen placed 1^st and was honoured as the Female MVP. In 1997, she represented Canada at both the World Cup in Egypt and the World Championship in Hong Kong.
 
To cap off her career, in 2002 she placed 1^st in the Middleweight Division of the Canadian Championship. She also represented Canada at the World Cup in Tokyo and at the Pan Am Games in Ecuador.

Capt (Retd) Boa’s tremendous string of wins began in 1951 when he won the King’s Prize at the National Rifle Association’s annual competition at Bisley. He would go on to earn a place as a member of the Bisley team eight times over the course of his athletic career. In 1954, he won the gold medal at the World Championship in Caracas using a smallbore rifle with a record score of 598 out of 600 points. Two years later, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia to compete in the Olympic Games winning the bronze medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event. A decade later, he won the gold medal at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in the smallbore rifle event and won a silver medal in the same event the following year at the Pan American Games held in Winnipeg.
 
At home in Canada, Capt Boa won the Queen’s Medal at the Canadian Service Rifle Championship four times. He was named the Canadian Fullbore Rifle champion twice and won the Governor General’s Prize in 1955. His remarkable accomplishments have also been honoured with inductions into the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1941, track and field athlete Sgt (Retd) Bortolussi won a gold medal in the 100 yard sprint at the Canadian Indoor Sprint Championship. That same year, he also won the silver medal in the 440 yard race at the Canadian National Exhibition Athletic Meet.
 
Overseas the following year, he competed in the 4x100 relay at the 1942 Empire Armed Forces Meet in Aldershot, England and won gold for our country. In 1943, he again won a gold medal in the 100 yard and the 220 yard sprint at the Allied Forces Athletic Meet in London, England.

Cpl (Retd) Boucher’s outstanding athletic career as a boxer lasted close to a decade during which time he competed in 213 fights of which he won 201, lost only 11 and saw one end in a draw.
 
In 1951, his first year of competition, he was named both the Maritime amateur flyweight and the bantamweight champion. It was also at this time that he became the Atlantic Command Armed Forces flyweight champion. In 1952, he was named the Canadian flyweight champion at the Olympic Trials and the following year he qualified for the U.S. National Championship. Two years later, in 1954, Cpl Boucher won the Canadian Amateur Flyweight Championship and ascended to the international stage representing Canada in the Commonwealth Games.
 
In 1956, he attended the Canadian Championship and the Olympic Trials in the featherweight class. In the final year of his boxing career, in 1958, he again attended the Canadian Championship as well as the Commonwealth Games Trials in the bantamweight class.

A profound knowledge of Canadian football and a great passion for the sport made F/L (Retd) Boucher an ideal candidate to officiate at this sport’s highest level. From 1950 to 1965, not only was he an on-field CFL official, but he was also selected to officiate in twelve CFL Grey Cup games during that time.
 
The highlight of F/L Boucher’s officiating career came in 1961 when he was appointed Chief Official for that year’s CFL Grey Cup game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Cpl (Retd) Boudreau had a successful boxing career, winning 27 of his 30 matches. Among his most notable achievements was being named the Eastern Command welterweight champion in 1960, an accomplishment he would repeat in 1963 and 1964. Competing in Germany in 1961, he claimed the Brigade Welterweight Championship title. He was also overseas in 1962 as a member of the CAF team competing in the British Empire Championship.
 
1963 was an exceptional year for Cpl Boudreau with four major titles to his name including Tri-Service welterweight champion, New Brunswick Open welterweight champion, and the New Brunswick Championships Best Boxer Award. He was also named the Canadian Armed Forces welterweight champion, a title he would claim again the following year.

MWO (Retd) Bradley’s love of boxing led him to an officiating career that would span decades. He is one of the few Canadians to take on officiating duties at the most senior international levels.
 
Beginning in 1971, he served as an official at the North American Boxing Championship. Following five years in this role, he ascended to the top level in 1975 by becoming an official at the International Boxing Championship, a role he would continue to fulfill for the next decade. MWO Bradley also served as Chief Referee/Judge for Canada from 1975 until 1981. In 1985, he became the Chief Official for Canada.

Col (Retd) Brick was a highly valued member, organizer and Commandant of various National Rifle Teams. He was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association of the United States, Great Britain and South Africa, and he was named Life Governor of the Canadian Rifle Association.

MWO Burdett shared his skill and ambition as a skeet shooter with his wife, WO M. Burdett. They competed as a pair, reigning as husband and wife Canadian champions for seven consecutive years from 1966 to 1972. In 1969, they rose to the international stage and enjoyed great success, becoming four-time husband and wife world champions from 1969 to 1972.
 
In 1972, the pair set the world record for a husband and wife team, shooting down 1,078 out of 1,100 clay pigeons earning their place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
 
MWO Burdett also competed as an individual, and was the 1975 20-calibre world champion.

WO Burdett was an extraordinary skeet shooter. As an individual, she was named the Women’s World Champion in 1969. At the national level she competed annually in the All-Round Ladies Competition of the Canadian Skeet Shooting Championship, placing 1^st seven out of eight years leading up to her retirement in 1972.
 
She and her husband, fellow Hall of Fame inductee MWO D. Burdett, competed together and were the husband and wife Canadian champions from 1966 to 1972. They also competed on the international stage and were four-time husband and wife world champions from 1969 to 1972. In 1972, the pair set the world record for a husband and wife team, shooting down 1,078 out of 1,100 clay pigeons and earning their place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

At the beginning of her CAF career, LCdr Burghardt distinguished herself as the first women to land a 1^st place finish at the 1987 CISM World Military Cross-Country Championship. She went on to match this accomplishment from 1993 to 1999.  During this period, she was also a seven-time champion at the CAF National Running Championship. Among many successes in civilian competitions, she set the Canadian Armed Forces women’s marathon record at the 1998 California International Marathon with a time of 2:47:14.
 
In 1995, she competed in the 3 km run at the CISM Military World Games in Rome, Italy and in 1999 she won 1^st place in the master category and 5^th overall in the marathon event at the CISM Military World Games in Zagreb, Croatia. Her achievements and experience with CISM made her the perfect choice to represent the Canadian delegation at the CISM World Congress from 1999 to 2001.  In 2002, she was honoured for her contribution by being awarded the CISM Order of Merit, Grand Knight.

LCol (Retd) Burke’s astonishing list of achievements in rifle shooting began in 1924 when, at the young age of 19, he won the prestigious King’s Prize at the National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom’s home in Bisley. He was the youngest person ever to win this prize, a record that stands to this day. He placed 2^nd in the same competition for three consecutive years beginning in 1927. In 1928, he won the Grand Aggregate at Bisley and then in 1932, he won both the Grand Aggregate and the All-Comer’s Aggregate which, when combined, were considered at the time to be the greatest test in the world of consistent marksmanship with a service rifle. Over the course of his sporting career, he was selected for the Canadian Bisley team 22 times and was able to attend on twelve occasions.
 
In Canada, he won numerous competitions and was named Champion of the Decade for the 1940s. The highlight of his success on home soil came in 1952 when he won the Governor General’s Match Canadian Championship. LCol Burke holds the distinction of having won more prizes than any other Canadian marksman and his accomplishments have also been acknowledged with an induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

The first of CPO 2 (Retd) Carter’s many wins in his professional boxing career came in 1961, when he claimed the title of Atlantic Command Lightweight Champion. He quickly moved on to compete nationally, and was named the Canadian Featherweight Champion just two years later. In 1965, he competed in two divisions, and was named both the Canadian Lightweight and Featherweight Champion.
 
At the pinnacle of his career, CPO 2 Carter competed for the World Featherweight Championship, losing to Dave Hilton who was then ranked 8^th in the world. Over the course of his 44-fight boxing career, CPO 2 Carter had an astonishing record of 39 wins, two draws and only three losses.

PO 1 Cashin is an exceptional marksman with an impressive number of trophies and medals that he won both here in Canada and in competition at Bisley, England which he attended four times as a member of the Bisley Shooting Team.
 
Here in Canada, he excelled in the CAF Small Arms Concentration Competitions and won medals and top honours on eight occasions including the Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot (Top Shooter) in 2009. In 2002, he became the first Regular Force Naval Personnel to be inducted into the CAF Elite 50. He was inducted for a second time in 2008. In 2005 and 2006, he participated in the National Service Conditions Competition and was named the Canadian National Sniper 2-Man Team champion in 2005. He was also awarded the first Highest Possible Score Cross (HPS) the same year.
 
Competing in Bisley, England in 2007, PO 1 Cashin was awarded Bronze Bars for three National Rifle Association Matches (Bisley Bullet, Wantage and Service Rifle Championship). 2009 was an extraordinary year for him in Bisley – a year that saw him win two gold medals, four silver medals, one bronze medal, and earn a place among the top 60 competitors.

Track and field star Cpl (Retd) Cassis achieved top-level performance not just in one event, but four. From 1952 to 1956, he competed in the Canadian Track and Field Championship in high jump, long jump and triple jump winning one gold, four silver, and four bronze medals.
 
In 1958, his passion emerged for another track and field event: discus. He excelled quickly in the sport, winning gold in both discus and the high jump at the United Nations Olympics for the Allied Forces in Gaza that year.
 
By 1964, his focus switched to basketball and he again enjoyed success, winning a gold medal as a member of the All-Star Team at the Quebec Provincial Basketball Championships.

Ssgt (Retd) Cathline was an outstanding marksman and a long-time member of the Canadian Rifle Team. Between 1954 and 1970, his team was chosen 13 times to compete at Bisley, England. He enjoyed several successes while at Bisley, among them a 1^st place finish in the Grand Aggregate (Canadian Team) in 1959, 1^st place in the McKinnon Team Match in 1964, and 1^st place in the Empire Team Match in 1965. Ssgt Cathline was awarded the Canadian Army Gold Rifle Marksman Badge, the first badge ever to be authorized by the Chief of Defence Staff. In 1959, he broke the Fort Benning U.S. Army Marksmanship Team record at 1,000 yards, registered in 1939. Here in Canada, Ssgt Cathline competed in twenty-six National Rifle Competitions taking 1^st place thirteen times and placing in the top five on numerous occasions.
 
At the provincial level, Ssgt Cathline competed in a number of Ontario Rifle Association competitions, taking 1^st place nine times. Between 1952 and 1966, he had nineteen 1^st place and fourteen 2^nd place wins as the RCEME Armourer of the Royal Canadian School of Infantry.

Cpl (Retd) Chesson was an exceptional boxer in the latter half of the 1950s. In 1957, he was the Canadian lightweight champion. The following year, he was again crowned Canadian lightweight champion.
 
In recognition of his tremendous boxing skills, he was voted the most outstanding amateur boxer in Canada for 1958.

Sgt Cloutier is an exceptional runner, coach and builder who has participated in four CISM Military World Games, competed in twenty-seven CISM Military World Running Championships and twenty-three CAF National Running Championships. He has been nominated six times for CAF Athlete of the Year.
 
As a runner in military competitions, he participated in various cross-country races internationally between 1986 and 2008 as part of the CAF CISM Cross-Country Team, consistently placing in the top 5. Here in Canada, between 1982 and 2008 he earned ten 1^st place finishes, eight 2^nd place finishes and four 3^rd place finishes in the CAF National Running Championship. In 1995, he was the top-ranked Canadian finisher in the marathon at the Military World Games held in Rome. In 2001, he won a gold medal in the CISM relay race in Barbados. In 2002, he won gold medals at the CAF National Running Championship – one gold in the 10 km category with a record time of 31:22:00 and the other gold in the half marathon with another record time of 1:11:19.
 
As a civilian, he had a number of top ten finishes to his name in marathons across the continent. In 2007, he was appointed coach of the CAF CISM Running Team and the same year was voted CAF Coach of the Year.

Cmdre (Retd) Cooper’s vision and determination to increase exposure for the CAF Sports Program at the international level resulted in a number of prestigious sporting events coming to Canada for the first time. Because of his efforts as a builder, the program is now among the most admired in the world of military athletics. From 1986 to 1991, Cmdre Cooper served as CAF Chief of Delegation to CISM and he represented CISM at twenty-five Military World Championships between 1987 and 1998. In 1988, he initiated not only the CAF Sports Patron Program and the CAF Athlete of the Year, but also the annual CAF Sports Award Ceremony.
 
In 1990, he became the first Canadian ever to be elected to the CISM Executive. The following year, he was elected as a CISM Member for the Americas and in 1994, he was elected CISM Vice-President for the Americas. In 1998, in recognition of his efforts in supporting our athletes and athletic programs, he was appointed Commander in the CISM Order of Merit.

Capt (Retd) Cunningham is a tremendous skilled and versatile marksman who competed in numerous shooting competitions as a member of both the CAF and the Canadian National Rifle teams.
 
On Canadian soil, Capt Cunningham participated in the CAF Small Arms Championships 26 times during which he won the CAF Target Rifle Champ 10 times and was selected in the Top 50 Awards 24 times.
 
In civilian competitions, Capt Cunningham dominated the national scene by winning over 27 different Canadian national titles, in the Combined Target Rifle and Service Rifle Championships, the Canadian Full-bore Rifle Championship, the Canadian ISU (300m Prone) Championship, the Canadian Long Range Championship and the Canadian Sniper Rifle Championship.  For his achievements, he won the Desmond Burke Award twice (1986 and 1992) from the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA).
 
His performances in Canada resulted in his selection to represent both the CAF team 7 times and the Canadian National Target Rifle team 5 times at U.K.’s National Rifle Association Centre in Bisley, England.  He was also selected twice to compete in the American Forces Small Arms Meeting in 1994 and 1996 during which he was the top Canadian in 1994 and won a total in 6 medals in the team competitions. Moreover, Capt Cunningham was selected 7 times to represent Canada and the CAF as part of the CAF CISM Shooting team.
 
Additionally, Capt Cunningham was selected as member of the Canadian National Target Rifle Team representing Canada at the World Long Range Championship (PALMA) 4 times during which he won a silver medal in the team competitions (1992) and 5 individual medals.  As well, he was selected to represent Canada at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Cpl Cyr is a three-time Olympian, having competed in biathlon in 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics. He also represented Canada in four World Championships during the same period. Here at home, he won the Canadian Biathlon Championship four times, including wins in both the 10 km and 15 km competitions in 2002.
 
His accomplishments are extraordinary not only for the very high level of international competition in which he’s participated but also because of his success in biathlon courses of varying lengths, ranging from
10 km to 30 km. 
 
In addition to his accomplishments in biathlon, Cpl Cyr has twice placed 2^nd in the Continental Cup, a 30 km cross-country skiing race.

The latter half of the 1970s was an exceptional period in the athletic career of Canadian badminton champion Capt Czich. In 1976, he served as a member of the Thomas Cup team winning the North American Division title before advancing to the quarterfinals of the International Division. In 1977, he won a gold medal as part of the Canadian National Men’s Doubles Team competing in the Pan Am Badminton Championship. The following year, he won a silver medal in the team event at the Commonwealth Games and won both the men’s singles and doubles titles with the Canadian National Team competing at the North of Scotland Open.
 
In 1979, his final year of competition, he won the Canadian Men’s Closed Singles title. He was selected again as a member of the Thomas Cup Team that would win the North American Division title and advance to the quarterfinals of the International Division. He was also a member of the national team at the Am-Can International mixed team event where they defeated the U.S. team 7-0. He also competed with the national team at the Mexican Open, winning the men’s doubles title.

LAC (Retd) Daly excelled in weightlifting on the international stage in the 1950s. His training and great discipline was rewarded in 1954 with a gold medal in the middle heavyweight combined class at the British Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
 
Four years later, in 1958, LAC Daly became a member of the Canadian British Commonwealth Weightlifting Team.

Cpl (Retd) Depree is a true champion in the track and field discus event.
 
In 1954, she competed in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver and won a bronze medal with a throw of 38.66 m.
 
In 1958, she was named Canadian champion and she also set a new distance record in the women’s discus throw.

Cpl (Retd) Desrosiers first pursued his amateur boxing career at CFB Esquimalt. He reached the peak of his success in the mid-1960s, and was named the Canadian welterweight champion in 1964. Building on this success, Cpl Desrosiers was selected for the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team and represented Canada in the men’s welterweight competition at the 1964 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo.
 
In 1965, he once again reached the Canadian Championship, and took home gold as the Canadian light heavyweight champion.

Cpl Dickson’s six year bodybuilding career began and concluded with wins at the highest level of the sport in Canada. In 1986, she won the gold medal at the Canadian National Championship, a feat she repeated the following year and in the final year of her career, 1991. She also won bronze medals at the competition in 1989 and 1990.
 
Cpl Dickson won gold medals at the Vancouver Island Championship and at the British Columbia Provincial Championship in 1986, 1987 and 1991. She enjoyed further success at the Western Canadian Championship and at the Canadian Forces Invitational Championship, winning silver at both events in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

Cpl Dobie is the personification of the “all-around athlete” having competed at the national and international level in several diverse sports. By her final year of high school she was a national champion in discus, shot put and javelin.  In 1962, she was named the Canadian women’s javelin champion and the same year was chosen to join the British Commonwealth Track and Field Team, one of only three Canadian women to make the team. During those Games she set a Canadian record in the javelin event with a throw of 145 ft., 9^½ inches.
 
By 1963, she had turned to basketball, and won a Canadian Women’s Basketball Championship with the Saskatoon Aces. During the same decade her passion for fencing came to the fore, and in 1967 she was awarded the Governor General’s Prize in fencing.
 
In recognition of her accomplishments, Cpl Dobie has been inducted into both the New Brunswick and the Saskatchewan Sports Halls of Fame.

Capt Donnelly became a national champion at a young age. As a swimmer, she competed at the national level as a 12-year old and she was the Canadian champion in the 100m butterfly by age 14. She competed in the Canadian Olympic Swim Trials when she was only 15 years old.
 
She continued to pursue her athletic career while serving with the CAF and in 1995, she was named the CAF Female Athlete of the Year. In 1997, she won a silver medal at the CISM World Triathlon Championship. On the civilian side, in both 1997 and 1998, she was named the Canadian World Cup Triathlete of the Year. In 1997 and 1999, she was the Canadian National Triathlon Champion. Capt Donnelly was the pride of Canada in 1999 when she won the gold medal at the Pan Am Games held in Winnipeg. In 2000, she traveled to Sydney, Australia to compete in the Olympics and in 2002, she participated at the Commonwealth Games earning a 5^th place finish. That same year, she placed 8^th at the 2002 World Swimming Championship.

CWO (Retd) Doucette has made significant contributions to sport as an athlete and builder and to running in the Canadian Armed Forces for almost two decades. At the CAF Regional and National Running Championships, he placed in the top five every year from 1978 to 1993. In 1997, he participated in the CISM World Military Cross-Country Championship held in Brazil. In civilian competition, he won numerous races of various distances and on five occasions, he completed the marathon at/or under 2:30:00, with a personal best of 2:24:14. CWO Doucette’s civilian accomplishments are; holding three marathon records, breaking a 54-year old provincial record, being inducted into the Pictou County Sport Heritage Hall of Fame in 1985 and being awarded Prince Edwards Island’s Road Runner of the Year and their Senior Male Athlete of the Year.

As a civilian builder, CWO Doucette was on numerous Organizing Committees for championships in a variety of sports. As a builder within the military, he was instrumental in supporting the CAF delegation at the CISM World Military Games in Zagreb, Croatia in 1997 as the Operations Manager. In 1997, he served as a Member of the Organizing Committee for the CISM Executive Committee meeting in Ottawa. In recognition of his contributions and accomplishments, he was appointed and knighted to the CISM Order of Merit.

Lt(N) (Retd) Dufton has been at the forefront of CAF sports for more than 30 years. He was instrumental in establishing the CAF Athletic Trainers Program, and provided exemplary leadership as the head of the program from 1991-2000. During this time, he was also the CAF CISM Taekwondo Team’s head trainer, and provided excellent trainer support at numerous national and international competitions.
 
Lt(N) Dufton’s impressive sports résumé includes significant contributions in hockey and baseball. He is a Master Course Conductor with the Canadian Hockey Association, and has helped organize both World Juniors and Women’s World Championships. In baseball, Lt(N) Dufton has umpired at every level from recreational to Canadian and International Championships. He has volunteered with Right to Play, and accompanied the Langley B.C. Little League team on a trip to Uganda. In 2013, Lt(N) Dufton, the team and their supporters were honoured with the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award for their volunteerism.

Maj (Retd) Fabbro is a champion windsurfer who competed successfully in different environments around the world from inland lakes and large rivers to ocean waters.
 
Beginning in 1984, he took 1^st place at both the Atlantic Windsurfer Championship in Rustico, PEI and at the Western Canadian Windsurfer Championship in Wabamun, AB. The same year he took 2^nd place in the Olympic Triangle Event at the Canadian Windsurfer Championship in Vancouver, BC and 37^th place in the Olympic Triangle Event at the Windsurfer World Championship in Perth, Australia. In 1985, he took 3^rd place overall at the North American Windsurfer Championship in San Diego, California, U.S.A.
 
In 1986, Maj Fabbro traveled to Bahia, Brazil where he competed in the World Windsurfer Championship, placing 23^rd. In 1987, he took 1^st place at the Canadian Forces Windsurfing Competition in Halifax, NS. His success continued into the 1990s and he took 1^st place at the World Windsurfing Freestyle Championship in Sainte-Marie sur-Mer, France (1990), 1^st place in the overall masters and 1^st place in the wave event at the Canadian Windsurfing Championship in Rustico, PEI (1997) and 2^nd place at the Canadian Freestyle Championship in Aylmer, QC (1999).

Capt Fawcett’s skill and strength as a multi-sport athlete made her a tremendous paratriathlon champion on the international stage.
 
She competed in the International Triathlon Union’s World Paratriathlon Championship three times, and placed in the top four on each occasion. In 2008, she raced the Olympic distance and placed 3^rd. In 2010 and 2011, she raced the sprint distance and placed 3^rd and 4^th respectively. Also in 2010, she participated in the USAT Paratriathlon National Championship in New York City racing the Olympic distance. In 2011, she competed in the London ITU Paratriathlon World Cup, racing the sprint distance.
 
Capt Fawcett also successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania twice, reaching the summit of the Uhuru Peak in 2009 and again in 2012. In 2011, she became the Canadian record holder in Para Athletics for the T42 Women’s 100 m and the T42 Women’s 200 m.

Cpl Feunekes’ athletic career in wrestling began in earnest in 2008
when he won a silver medal at the Junior National Championship held in Charlottetown, P.E.I. In 2009, he would repeat that accomplishment in Saskatoon where he won a silver medal again at the same championship. By 2010, he had risen to the senior national level, winning a silver medal at that championship. That same year, he competed in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports National Championship, where he won a gold medal and was chosen as All-Canadian Athlete and MVP.
 
On the international stage, Cpl Feunekes enjoyed success early on. In 2008, he competed in the Junior Pan Am Games and brought home a silver medal. The next year, he competed in the same games this time winning gold. In 2010, he traveled to Delhi, India where he won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games.

MWO (Retd) Fraser’s boxing career spanned a remarkable four decades and during that time he was involved as a competitor, coach, official and administrator.
 
He began boxing at the Royal Canadian School of Signals in 1959. He participated in 17 bouts over the course of three years, winning 15 of them and culminating with a win at the 1961 Eastern Ontario Area Lightweight Championship. Afterwards, he turned to coaching and worked with the Royal Military College Boxing Team from 1970 to 1972. He was the provincial coach for the New Brunswick Team at the 1983 Canada Winter Games. Between 1976 and 1986, he officiated at eight Canadian national championships, seven provincial championships, two Canada Winter Games and two Ontario Winter Games. He also officiated at the USA vs Canada International Championship in 1984 and at the Multi-National Canada Cup in 1986. In 1987, he officiated at the President’s Cup in Indonesia and was selected as Best Official.
 
As an administrator, he served as Vice-President of Boxing Ontario, President of the New Brunswick Boxing Association, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association. In recognition of his invaluable contributions, he was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

MCpl George is a champion powerlifter with a long list of wins to his name in the 100 Kg and 110 Kg events.
 
The first of his many awards came in 2004 at the Nova Scotia Provincial Powerlifting Championship where he won the silver medal in the 100 Kg event. From then on, he competed regularly at the Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Eastern Canada Championships winning three gold, five silver and one bronze during that time. He was also an active organizer, serving as Director/Coordinator of the Newfoundland Provincial Powerlifting Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
 
On the national stage, MCpl George won the bronze medal (100 Kg) at the Canadian Powerlifting Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2011, he won the bronze medal (120 Kg) in the Masters division at the same competition. He enjoyed success on the international stage as well, winning the bronze medal (110 Kg) at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship in the UK in 2005. He also came in 13^th place in the 110 Kg event at the World Powerlifting Championship in Sweden in 2007.

MCpl Gillies was a national biathlon champion both in the military and in the civilian realm of sports. In 1989, she was named the Canadian National Biathlon champion and in 1990, she became the Canadian Armed Forces’ National Biathlon Champion.
 
In 1991, MCpl Gillies competed in the CISM Military World Skiing Championship winning the bronze medal in the 15 km individual race. In 1990-1991, and again in 1993, she won three bronze medals in team events at CISM Military World Championships. 

Prior to his military career, W/C (Retd) Golab was a celebrated Canadian Football League (CFL) player, winning the Grey Cup with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1940. He joined the RCAF in 1941, and his football career nearly ended when his plane was shot down in 1944. Overcoming severe shrapnel injuries, W/C Golab staged a remarkable comeback in 1945 and returned to the Ottawa Rough Riders. A true champion, he was named the All-Canadian Running Back that year, and the All-Canadian Flying Wing in 1947 and 1948.

The Rough Riders had a tremendous autumn of regular season play in 1948, and defeated the Hamilton Tigers 19–0 to become the Eastern Champions. From there, they went on to the Grey Cup, but lost to the Calgary Stampeders.
 
The 1950s saw W/C Golab transition to coaching, beginning with the Hamilton Panthers, and then on to the RMC Football Team. In 1959, he was elected Vice-President of the Atlantic Football Conference. He was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.

MWO (Retd) Grossek’s biathlon career began in 1956 with a 5^th place finish at the International Military Championship with 4 CMBG Team, a feat he would repeat the following year. In 1958 and 1959, he captured 2^nd place finishes in the team event at the Canadian National Championship. In the last three years of his career as a competitor, he won the British National Senior Cross Country Championship from 1960-1963.
 
In 1965, MWO Grossek embarked on a very successful career as a biathlon coach. From 1965 to 1968, he served as Head Coach of the Canadian biathlon team and saw his teams place in the top 10 in several international competitions. In 1968, he served as Head Coach of the Canadian Olympic Biathlon Team that competed in France.

Lt (Retd) Haddad competed as an amateur boxer in Manitoba and British Columbia during the 1940s before being selected as a member of the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team in 1948. In the summer of that year, he traveled to London, England to compete and was successful in making it all the way to the quarterfinals of the lightweight class. That same year, he was awarded the Norton Crowe Trophy as the outstanding amateur athlete in Canada. Two years later, in 1950, he won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.
 
His accomplishments have also been recognized with inductions into the British Columbia and Canadian Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame.

Maj (Retd) Hampton was an extraordinary competitor in the sport of rifle shooting and one of its greatest advocates here in Canada.
 
He qualified as a member and was an organizer and Commandant of 21 Bisley Teams. In 1966, he won the Queen’s Prize at Bisley with a score of 280. Over the course of his athletic career, he rose through the field of competitors to place in six Queen’s Prize finals and was in the top 50 of the Grand Aggregate on five occasions. Due to his achievements, he was named Champion of the Decade for the 1950s by the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association.

Maj Harper had an outstanding athletic career as a marksman that spanned four decades. During that time, he was the first competitor to fire a double possible score in the MacKinnon Competition at Bisley, England, scoring 50 out of 50 in both the 900 and 1,000 yard events. He is the recipient of three Queen’s 100 Badge awards and two Donnegal medals. Over the course of his career, he qualified as a member of the Canadian Bisley Team eight times and accompanied the team on six occasions. He also qualified for, and accompanied, two Palma Teams.
 
Among his career highlights, while still a cadet, Maj Harper became a member of the first Canadian Cadet Team to win at Bisley (1955). Two years later, he won the “TYRO” match (individual award) at the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) competition. Between 1958 and 1961, he was a member of the Overseas Team and scored 99 out of 100 in both the 300 and the 600 yard events. In 1981, he was the winner of the DCRA match, winning the Individual award at Connaught Ranges in Ottawa, ON and that same year was honored with the Achievement Award for Amateur Shooting.

From 1954 to 1956, S/L (Retd) Hartman earned world record scores in the sport of skeet shooting. From 1958 to 1959, and again from 1962 to 1963, he placed in all around competition. S/L Hartman won two individual and two team bronze medals at the 1959 and 1963 Pan Am Games. As proof of his ability and consistency, he won the Canadian championship in the 12-gauge division for seven consecutive years.
 
S/L Hartman also has the distinction of being inducted into eight different Sports Hall of Fame in both Canada and the United States.

Capt (Retd) Hartnett has made a significant contribution to the world of Canadian running. With his infectious love for the sport and drive to support the athletic community, he has excelled as an athlete, event organizer, builder, and especially as a coach. Track and field athletes he coached have competed in the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games, and five CISM Military World Games.
 
In the CAF, Capt Hartnett’s contribution as a running coach is unparalleled. Among his many accomplishments, he served as the Head Coach of the CAF CISM Running Team from 1987-2004, Canadian Representative on the CISM Technical Committee for Running from 1992-2005, and CAF CISM Team Manager from 2004-2006. To recognize his stellar contribution, he was named a CISM Grand Knight.
 
On home soil, Capt Hartnett was the CAF Running Chief Official from 1986-2002. He was a driving force behind pairing the National Running Championship with the Ottawa Race Weekend, and more recently laid the groundwork for the Canada Army Run, one of Canada’s largest races. Thanks to his dedication to the sport, Capt Hartnett has given thousands of CAF and civilian runners the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, and compete alongside world-class athletes.

Cpl Hayes is an outstanding marksman who demonstrated his ability repeatedly in competitions both at home and abroad. Over the course of 23 years, from 1978 to 2001, he competed in the Canadian National Championship, the Shooting Federation of Canada Winter Postal program, as well as the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) Winter Postal program winning an astounding 23 gold, six silver and four bronze medals.
 
From 1995 to 2002, he was a member of the CAF CISM Rifle Team and in the 1999-2000 season, he was the top overall CISM shooter.  In 1998, he competed in the World Shooting Championship and in 2002, he earned a place on the Canadian National Rifle Team. In 1998, as a member of the Nova Scotia Inter-Provincial Team, he helped them win a gold medal and set a new Canadian record. At the provincial level, he was the Nova Scotia Rifle three position champion every year from 1995 to 2001.

In 1895, Pte (Retd) Hayhurst became the first Canadian ever to win the Queen’s Prize at the National Rifle Association of England’s home in Bisley, England. That same year he won the Canadian Club Cup.
 
During his sporting career, he qualified for the Canadian Bisley Team six times. He made the Queen’s Prize Final five times and the Grand Aggregate 50 on one occasion.

MWO Hickey is truly an international champion in the sport of ultramarathon. In 1998, he placed 1^st overall, 24^th in the world, 6^th in his age group, 1^st in North America and was the 5^th person in Canadian in history to break the 7 hour mark in the 100 km race at the IAU 100 km World Challenge Race in France. As a result of this extraordinary feat, he was named the CF Male Athlete of the Year.
 
From 1999 to 2001, he placed 1^st in the 100 km Canadian Nationals, and was the first person to win the event for three years in succession. In 1999, he won the 100 km race at Biel Running Days in Switzerland, becoming the first Canadian to win the prestigious race in its 48-year history.
 
In both 2000 and 2001, he won the Canadian Forces National Running Championship. He took 36^th place overall and 8^th in his age group at the 2001 IAU 100 km World Challenge Race in France, the same event where he began his international running career 12 years earlier – a tremendous accomplishment in an endurance sport.

Maj (Retd) Hillier’s various roles in the world of sports are as diverse as the sports in which he has been involved. As an athlete, he competed in no less than thirty-eight CAF Regional and National Championships between 1965 and 1992. Among his wins were four gold medals in soccer, judo and broomball, a silver in judo at the European International Judo Championship in 1967, and a bronze at the 1977 Canadian Broomball Championship. Contiguous with his athletic activities, Maj Hillier also gave an extraordinary amount of time as a coach. Between 1966 and 1997, he coached no less than twenty-five CAF Regional, seven CAF National, eighteen university/provincial/national, and six international teams in sports such as midget hockey, weightlifting and both men’s and women’s soccer. From 1988 to 1992, he was the first head coach of the CAF CISM Men’s Soccer Team.
 
As a builder in 1981, he planned, coordinated and hosted the 1^st Brigade Sports Championship during RV81, the largest military sports competition since World War II at that time. From 1993 to 1997, he was responsible for the CAF National Championships and International Sports Programs. In 1994, he was named the Vice-President of Logistics for the Ontario Summer Games.

In Canadian broomball, there are few whose career achievements match those of MCpl Hins. He competed at 19 consecutive CAF Regional Championships, winning six gold and three silver medals. Competing in the CAF Nationals, he won two gold and four silver medals and was twice selected for the All-Star Team. In 2002, he was honoured with the Dedication to CAF Sports Award for his contributions as a coach.
 
His tremendous love for the sport led him to participate in civilian competitions at all levels. Over the course of 22 years, he won five provincial championships and was named MVP on several occasions. In the 2000s, he won one gold and two bronze medals at the Canadian Senior Broomball Championship. In 2004, he reached the international level and placed 4^th in the World Broomball Challenge Cup.

Canadian Track and Field champion Sgt (Retd) Hurley’s athletic accomplishments are remarkable as they were earned while facing the pressures of a wartime environment. In 1941, he won the gold medal in the 220 yard sprint at the Canadian Indoor Sprint Championship. That same year, he won gold medals in each of the 110 yard, 220 yard and 440 yard sprint races at the Canadian National Exhibition Athletic Meet. By 1942, Sgt Hurley was overseas but he was able to continue training and racing. He competed in the Empire Armed Forces Track & Field Meet held in Aldershot, England where he won a gold medal in the 4x100 yard relay. In 1943, and still in the U.K., he competed in the Allied Forces Athletic Meet in London, England winning silver medals in each of the 100 yard sprint, the 220 yard sprint and the long jump

WO (Retd) King was one of the CAF’s greatest boxers.  Already an accomplished boxer in the welterweight division before joining the military, he won all 20 of his amateur fights in the first or second round. Upon his return from the Korean War, WO King recorded a career record of 51 wins in 56 bouts with 45 by knockout, 43 of which came in the first round.
 
He was the Korean War champion, the British Commonwealth champion, and he was both the Canadian Army champion and the Canadian Amateur Heavyweight champion simultaneously.

Throughout his impressive CAF athletic career, he struggled to find opponents worthy of his talents and he chose to fight in heavier weight classes. WO King was also under consideration from the Canadian Olympic Committee. In addition to boxing, WO King was a CAF national champion in shotput and the Western Command judo champion. In recognition of his prodigious talent, WO King was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.

LCdr King was a rowing enthusiast whose great contribution to the sport in Canada was both as a coach and as a renowned promoter and organizer.
 
LCdr King generously gave his time planning and developing a variety of rowing events and programs over the course of his career. At the same time, he worked tirelessly to promote the sport itself and to train and encourage competitors of all levels. In recognition of his contributions, he was named “Canada Executive of the Year” in 1980.

In 1956, Sgt Knight succeeded in becoming the World Champion in men’s open singles five pins bowling.

Capt (Retd) Kokkonen’s role as a builder in the sport of biathlon was critical in supporting competitions both here in Canada and at the Olympic Games. In 1981, he became a member of the Biathlon Alberta executive and the Biathlon Canada executive. He became president of Biathlon Alberta in 1984 and of Biathlon Canada in 1988 and again in 1994. In 1984, he also served as a member of the International Biathlon Union’s Technical Committee and worked as a Technical Observer at the Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games.
 
His contributions at the Olympic Games would continue for another sixteen years. In 1988, he dedicated a tremendous amount of time to the organization and operation of the Calgary Winter Olympic Games. He served as Biathlon Competition Chief and Jury Member and was responsible for designing the organizational structure, stadium, officiating procedures and communications plan for those Games. In 1992, he was the Biathlon Technical Delegate and Jury Chairman of the Albertville Winter Olympic Games and he co-designed its biathlon stadium and trails. He served as an international referee at the Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games in 1994 and again at the Nagano Winter Olympic Games in 1998.

Cpl (Retd) Larocque was introduced to para ice hockey while recovering from injuries suffered in Afghanistan. A gifted athlete, it only took a few months from his first para ice hockey clinic to his selection on the Canadian National Para Hockey team.
 
At the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, Cpl Larocque scored two goals in Canada’s opening win and later added a goal and an assist as Canada went on to win the bronze medal.
 
Following Sochi, Cpl Larocque knew he could have a bigger impact on the game as a goaltender. It was not an easy feat to go from forward to goalie, but Cpl Larocque’s hard work and relentless determination paid off. At the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championship, he backstopped Canada to its first gold medal since 2013. He earned two shutouts in the preliminary round, then won both playoff games. At the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, he was once again in the net to help Canada win silver.
 
Cpl Larocque has been an inspiration as someone who has overcome great obstacles and achieved success.

CWO (Retd) Latulippe was a champion in the sport of long distance walking with several very significant international wins.
 
In 1971, he established a new world record for non-stop walking by covering a distance of 218.65 miles in 63 hours and seven minutes. The following year he established a new world record of 257.40 miles. Later that same year, he set another record by walking 300 miles.

Over the course of seven years with the CFL, LCdr (Retd) Loney balanced his naval service with a remarkable football career with the Montreal Alouettes, the Toronto Argonauts, the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Calgary Stampeders. He earned Grey Cup victories with the Argonauts in 1946 and the Rough Riders in 1951.
 
After retiring from the Navy and the CFL, LCdr Loney dedicated himself to building up his sport as the “Father of Maritime Football”. He was head coach at St. Francis Xavier from 1957 to 1973, where he led his team to 133 wins, 31 losses and two ties, including an incredible eight-year winning streak. LCdr Loney was also instrumental in creating the Atlantic Bowl and the Vanier Cup.
 
LCdr Loney’s accomplishments have been acknowledged with inductions in the St. Francis Xavier Sports Hall of Fame, the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame, the City of Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

CWO Lopes’ tremendous success in the sport of karate is evident in the number of gold and silver medals he earned over the course of his athletic career.
 
Beginning in 1980, he won silver at the North American and the Canadian National Championships. In 1986, he won gold at the German All-Styles Open Karate Championship. In 1989, he won silver at the same Championship. That year, he won the gold medal at the Canadian National Exhibition Karate Championship.
 
Beginning in 1989, he won four consecutive gold medals at the Ontario Eastern Regional Karate Championship in Kingston, ON. In 1990, he won gold in the heavyweight division and became Overall Grand Champion at the Shuri-Te Invitational Karate Championship in Toronto, ON. In both 1992 and 1993, he won gold in the heavyweight division at the Ontario Grand Prix Championship in Toronto, ON. In 2003, CWO Lopes was awarded his 6^th degree black belt in Japanese karate (Shotokan style).

LCol Markewicz’s achievements as a pistol shooter are extraordinary with a total of 28 gold medal wins in provincial, Canadian and international level competition. Equally impressive is the range of events in which he competed, from military rapid fire to Olympic rapid fire and from centrefire pistol to standard pistol.
 
At the provincial level, he competed in various Alberta Provincial Championships between 2003 and 2006, as well as in the Saskatchewan Handgun Association Provincial Championship in 2008. On the national stage, he participated in the Canadian National Pistol Championship for over ten years placing 1^st in class several times. He also competed in the Expert Class and was named Canadian champion six times. Internationally, he attended the World Masters Games in 2005, winning gold medals in both air pistol and centrefire.

BGen (Retd) Martineau was the driving force behind establishing taekwondo as an official CAF sport. He founded the CAF Taekwondo Team in 1987 and was the team’s Senior Administrator for the decade that followed. From 1987 to 1992, he coached the CAF team. In recognition of his contribution he was named to the 1992 CAF Sports Honour Roll.
 
From 1992 to 2002, he was the CAF Taekwondo Patron. In 1993, he took the team to the international level as Tournament Director and Chairperson of the Organizing Committee for the CISM Military World Taekwondo Championship in Kingston, Ontario. The following year, BGen Martineau became a member of the CISM Technical Committee for Taekwondo, serving as its President from 1998 to 2003.
 
In his civilian life, he served as Director of Taekwondo Canada from 1990 to 2000 and as Vice President of Sport from 2000 to 2003.

Over the course of CWO Mason’s career in boxing during the 1950s, he garnered a number of significant prizes and reigned for several years as a welterweight champion.
 
In 1954, he became the Armed Forces Commonwealth welterweight champion, a title he would regain and hold from 1956 to 1959. In 1956, he was named the Canadian light welterweight champion and became a member of the Canadian Olympic Team that same year.

MWO McBain’s passion for the sport of lacrosse was apparent in the tremendous amount of time he dedicated to developing the sport and supporting its athletes.
 
As a coach, he was highly regarded by his players. As an organizer and promoter of lacrosse events and programs in Canada, he was without equal. He represented the Canadian Lacrosse Association on the Commonwealth Committee in 1978 and was later elected President of the Canadian Lacrosse Association in 1980.

Capt McGrath’s accomplishments as a mountain climber are extraordinary by all standards in the sport. She is the first CAF member and the second youngest female to climb Mount Everest. She is also the first CAF member and the youngest Canadian female to summit the “Seven Summits” – the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. These include Tanzania's Kilimanjaro and Argentina's Aconcagua (both in 2002), Alaska's McKinley and Mount Elbrus on the Russia/Georgia border (both in 2003), Antarctica's Vinson Massif (2004), Australia's Mount Kosciuszko (2006) and Mount Everest, Nepal (2007).
 
In addition to these achievements, she made countless climbs on other mountains in the United States and around the world, in many cases unguided. Capt McGrath was also honoured in Nepal for her bravery when she saved the life of a dying climber near the summit of Mount Everest in what is known as the "death zone", a treacherous portion of the mountain known for its high winds, thin air and icy terrain.

When Capt (Retd) McKillop joined the CAF in 1951, he was already a well-respected boxer in the civilian world, having been named the Cape Breton lightweight Golden Gloves champion. He soon turned his attention to boxing within the military and enjoyed a successful decade-long athletic career marked by a number of significant wins. In 1955, he became the first Canadian Infantry Brigade middleweight champion. The following year, he won both the Canadian Army and the Central Command Middleweight Championships. That same year, he also earned a silver medal at the Olympic Trials.
 
Capt McKillop’s accomplishments continued into the 1960s when he was named the fourth Canadian Infantry Brigade middleweight champion in 1961. Two years later, he competed in the light-heavyweight class and was both the Canadian Army light-heavyweight Champion and the Eastern Command light-heavyweight champion. In his final year of competition in 1964, he won both the Canadian Army Middleweight Championship and the Eastern Command Middleweight Championship.
 
In 1985, he was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame and the Cape Breton Heritage Sports Hall of Fame.

Maj (Retd) Menard’s contribution to the CAF, both as an athlete and a builder, are exceptional by any measure. As an athlete in military competition, he participated in six CISM World Championships and one CISM Military World Games between 1986 and 2011. He also attended sixteen CISM World Championships as team physician and five CISM Military World Games as Chief Medical Officer for the CAF delegation. At the national level, he attended nine CAF National Championships as an athlete, participating in 14 events. He achieved top-three finishes in over 10 events, including four 1^st place finishes and four 2^nd place finishes.
 
As a builder, Maj Menard was instrumental in providing medical support to CAF athletes from the local to the international level with the development of the CAF Athletic Trainer Program. He also represented the CAF as a member of the CISM Medical Commission. As Chief Medical Officer, he provided direct support at numerous civilian and military events such as the Military World Games, the IAAF World Track and Field Championship, FIFA U-17, CONCACAF and World Cup, and the 2012 Olympic Games.

LCol (Retd) Molnar won many significant prizes as a marksman in competition at Bisley, England and at the CFRSAC, including the prestigious Queen’s Medal. Over the course of his athletic career, he attended four Bisley competitions, twice as a Commandant. In 1973, he became a Palma Team Member and from 1974 to 1978 was a National Pistol Team Member.
 
LCol Molnar won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games and a bronze medal at the Benito Juarez matches. From 1975 to 1978, he was the top-ranked free pistol shooter in Saskatchewan where he also set a new provincial record. He was a member of the CAF CISM Pistol Team in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996. He also served as a Member and Council Member with several provincial and national shooting organizations. He qualified for the CISM Military World Games in Rome and for the CISM Military World Championship held in Sweden.

Track and Field star Maj (Retd) Money left his competitors far behind in 1956 by executing a high jump of six feet, eight inches – a Canadian record at the time. He would go on to earn a place on the Canadian Olympic Track and Field Team and travel to Melbourne, Australia where he earned a 5^th place finish. In 1958, Maj Money became a member of the Canadian Empire Games Team.
 
Over the course of his athletic career, he would be named Canadian high jump champion for five consecutive years from 1955 to 1959.

Capt (Retd) Ogilvie is recognized as one of the builders of the CAF Sports Program and he is remembered particularly for his dedication to officiating at CAF National Hockey Championships over the course of 26 years.
 
Between 1972 and 1998, he officiated at 27 CAF National Hockey and Old-Timer’s Hockey Championships. He also officiated at a number of international hockey tournaments during 1988-1989 season. As an official, he played a vital role in providing a forum for players to compete, to learn and to thrive. His interest in the training and development of players inspired him to create and develop the CAF Hockey School in 1994. In appreciation of all his efforts and accomplishments, he was named the 1994 CAF Official of the Year.

Maj O’Keeffe competes in Ironman triathlons at the international level since 1994, when he took part in his first Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii. From there, he went on to compete in three more World Championships, culminating in a 2^nd place finish at the Ultraman Triathlon World Championship and becoming the Canadian record holder. Maj O’Keeffe is also a 14-time participant in the Ironman Canada Triathlon in Penticton, BC and a five-time age group winner. 
 
In 1995, he placed 1^st at the US Armed Forces Ironman Championship and was named the NORAD Athlete of the Year. Throughout his career, he also received Athlete of the Year honours from the Air Command (1994), CFRETS (1998) and NDHQ (2002). In 1995, he was named Team Captain of the CAF CISM Triathlon Team while competing in the CISM Military World Games in Rome, Italy.

Maj Ouellette is considered one of the most outstanding marksmen in Canadian history. He was a three-time winner of the Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championships and placed second on three other occasions. Over the course of his career, he won the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association’s (DCRA) Grand Aggregate four times. Showing remarkable diversity in skill, he won the Canadian Service Pistol Championships in 1957.
 
On the international stage, he qualified fifteen times for the Bisley Team and in competition there he made it to the Queen’s Prize Final eight times and placed in the top 50 of the Grand Aggregate on nine occasions. Competing as a smallbore shooter, he earned a place on the Canadian Olympic Team and won gold for Canada at the 1956 Games in Melbourne with a perfect score of 600; a feat never before achieved by a Canadian. In 1959, Maj Ouellette won four medals at the Pan Am Games. He later won a silver medal at the 1967 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg.
 
His accomplishments have also been honoured with inductions into the DCRA and the Canadian Sports Halls of Fame.
 
In 1996, Canada Post created a commemorative stamp in his honour.

Beginning in 1990, Cpl Paquet took 1^st place in the 10 km and 20 km events at the Canadian Biathlon Championship on six occasions. At the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Championship, he won the 50 km race in 1999 and the 15 km race in 2001.
 
Cpl Paquet participated in both the Biathlon World Cup and World Biathlon Championship. In 1992, he placed 10^th in the Biathlon Relay at the Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France. He earned a 1^st place finish at the 1994 World Loppet Cross-Country Skiing Championship followed by another win at the North American Championship in Fort Kent, US.
 
At the CAF Biathlon Championship, he placed 1^st in the 20 km race in 2001 and 1^st in the 10 km race in 2002. During his 12-year athletic career, he also did not miss a single CISM World Military Biathlon Championship.

Capt (Retd) Parks was an extraordinary shooter, making his mark multiple times in the most prestigious arena of rifle shooting competition – Bisley, England, home of the National Rifle Association and the site of the annual Imperial Meeting. Each year, the Imperial Meeting culminates in the awarding of the Queen’s Prize for the best rifle shot in the Commonwealth. In 1968, Capt Parks was the winner of this prestigious honour. 
 
The following year saw him win the Governor General’s Prize in Ottawa, a feat he repeated in 1975. Due to his amazing accuracy, he also qualified for the Bisley team 10 times between 1964 and 1976, winning the St. George’s Cross in 1973.

LCol (Retd) Pearson’s vital role as a sports builder propelled the CAF Sports Program in a myriad of ways and the results of his efforts are visible everywhere today in the many sports programs and initiatives he developed for our members.
 
For three years beginning in 1977, LCol Pearson served as chairman of the Jury of Appeal for various CAF National Championships. In 1985, he was appointed CISM Team Manager and oversaw the CAF CISM Running Team at the CISM Military World Running Championship in Portugal, Algeria and Brazil. From 1988 to 1996, LCol Pearson conceived and implemented the CAF Patron Program as well as the CAF National and the International Sports Programs.
 
LCol Pearson believed strongly in honouring the accomplishments of our extraordinary military athletes and so he conceived, developed and implemented the annual CAF Sports Awards Ceremony. He also introduced the annual Achievement Awards for athletes, coaches, officials and teams to ensure that grassroots personnel were represented at the CAF Sports Awards Ceremony. Between 1990 and 1996, LCol Pearson participated as a CISM delegate at various CISM general assemblies held around the world.

Pte Perry of the 6^th Regiment, The Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles, was an excellent marksman. In 1904, he became the first ever native-born Canadian to win the King’s Prize at Bisley, England.
 
Over 1,500 people participated in the first round of shooting. Pte Perry stood out for having great speed and the calmness of a veteran, a combination that few other competitors could equal. His score included bullseyes with three inners and he finished the competition with an aggregate of 321. Over the course of his athletic career, he made the Bisley team three times.

Capt Pitcairn was a member of twenty-five Canadian Bisley Rifle Teams from 1963 to 1993 and was the Grand Aggregate winner in 1965. In Canada, he was the Governor General’s Prize winner from 1962 to 1964. Between 1966 and 1995, he was a member of nine Canadian Palma International Long Range teams. In 1975, he was a member of the Canadian Rifle Team that competed in New Zealand and Australia. Over the course of three decades of competition, his skill never faltered. In 1990, he was named both Grand Aggregate winner at the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association Championships as well as Canadian Target Rifle Champion.
 
Throughout Capt Pitcairn’s athletic career, he took up the challenge of competition whenever possible. In addition to his international successes, he also participated regularly at the provincial level.
 
Over the course of 34 years, he was a member of several different provincial rifle teams and participated in numerous championships. From 1978 to 1993, he was the BC High Power champion. He was also a Lieutenant Governor’s Prize winner on four occasions from 1976 to 1994.

BGen (Retd) Popowych’s tremendous contributions as a builder have resulted in a legacy that remains evident to this day with the success of CISM.
 
It began in 1993 when he was appointed CAF Chief of Delegation to CISM, a role he held until 2000. From 2000 to 2004, he served as CISM Vice-President for the Americas and was a member of the CISM Board of Directors. In 2003, he developed the first Strategic Plan for the Americas that would become the model for CISM. In 2004, he created the first annual CISM Business Plan.
 
Developing opportunities for female athletes was a priority for BGen Popowych and in 2000, he conducted the CISM Sports Commission in Ottawa with a focus on advancing the role of women in sport. In 2001, he realized this goal by spearheading the growth of women in sport throughout CISM. His invaluable contributions to the organization have been acknowledged with several honours including the CISM Order of Merit, Grand Knight for Leadership in Sport (1997), the CISM Order of Merit for the implementation of a new governance structure (2002) and the CISM Order of Merit, Grand Officer, for expansive growth of CISM in the Americas (2004).

RAdm (Retd) Porteous’ accomplishments are extraordinary not only for the extent of his success but because he was a champion in two different sports, boxing and running, at the same time.
 
Competing in the 1920s, RAdm Porteous was named the cross-country running champion Atlantic Fleet in 1921-1922 and again in 1923. As a boxer, he earned the title of middleweight champion, Atlantic Fleet in 1922-1923 and again in 1924.
 
In 1927, he won both the Royal Marines Light Heavyweight Boxing Championship and placed second in the Royal Navy Home Fleet cross-country race.

In 1965, Capt (Retd) Presley was a cadet at RMC when he was selected as a member of the Canadian Four-Man Bobsleigh Team bound for the World Championships of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (now known as the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation). A talented all-round athlete, he played hockey and football at RMC and excelled as a sprinter, but had no competitive bobsleigh experience.
 
With no proper training facilities in Canada, little was expected of Capt Presley’s team. Despite their underdog status, the Canadians astonished everyone by beating the Italians and the Americans to take the gold medal in their event, the first Canadian team ever to do so. In recognition of his tremendous performance, Capt Presley was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

An exceptional athlete in the sport of biathlon, Sgt (Retd) Rattai successfully earned a place on the 1968 Canadian Olympic Biathlon Team and represented our country in the Olympic Winter Games held that year in Grenoble, France. He participated in both the Individual Men’s 20 km race as well as the Men’s 4 x 7.5 km relay.
 
In 1969, he became a member of the Canadian National Cross-Country Ski Team and in 1970, he represented Canada at the World Biathlon Championship held in Östersund, Sweden.

Cpl Rauhanen was one of the most consistently successful biathlon champions in the Canadian Armed Forces.
 
He won the Canadian Biathlon Championship title for three consecutive years from 1983 to 1985. He also competed for Canada in the World Championship in 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986.

Throughout his boxing career from 1955 to 1964, Sgt Reti won the Alberta Golden Gloves title an astonishing seven times. He was a three-time Canadian Champion, winning the welterweight title in 1961 and the light welterweight title in 1962 and 1963. 
 
Also in 1962, he won bronze at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia. In 1964, Sgt Reti made the Canadian Olympic Team and represented our country at the Summer Games in Tokyo. In honour of his achievements, this champion was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.

Pte (Retd) Roach-Leuszler was an exceptional and highly skilled athlete who excelled at a variety of sports such as long distance swimming, water-skiing, softball, and track and field. She earned the distinction of being named the Junior National Amateur Athletic Union champion, the Canadian Women’s Army Forces Senior champion and the Army, Navy and Air Force swimming and track and field champion, all in 1944.
 
In 1951, Pte Roach-Leuszler joined 20 of the best distance swimmers from around the world in a race to swim across the English Channel. She succeeded with a time of 13 hours and 25 minutes, becoming the first Canadian ever to swim the channel. In 1953, she turned her attention to water-skiing, becoming the first Canadian to perform with the Cypress Florida Water Skiers. The following year, she was nominated for the Lou Marsh Trophy for outstanding Canadian Sports competitor. By 1957, she had focused her interest on yet another sport and became the first female softball and baseball official in Canada to hold papers to officiate in the men’s loop.

Ssgt (Retd) Shears had already enjoyed several successes in the boxing ring by the time he became the Canadian Army champion in 1944. In 1947, he was named the Canadian lightweight champion and he also won the Bunny Sabbath Trophy as the top boxer in the Black Watch (RHC). In 1950, he won the final prize of his remarkable career by taking the bronze medal in the lightweight class with the Canadian team at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
 
Ssgt Shears is the founder and organizer of the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association and the person responsible for introducing the mandatory use of headgear in amateur competition throughout the world. He was very involved in the Amateur International Boxing Association with appointments on both the Executive Committee and on the Technical Commission. Ssgt Shears was the Technical Boxing Advisor at the 1976 Olympics and organized the World Cup Boxing Championships held in Montreal in 1981. His tremendous contributions to this sport have also been honoured with inductions into the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame.

Cpl Shwaluk was an outstanding weightlifter who began his career with a bronze medal win at the Ontario Open Championship in 1957, a feat he would repeat over the next two years.
 
In 1959, he won the title of Canadian heavyweight champion. He broke the Canadian record with a 380-pound lift. That same year at the Pan American Games, he placed 4^th in the heavyweight category.
 
In 1960, he won a silver medal at the North American Championship and was named a member of the Canadian Olympic Weightlifting Team. At those Olympic Games, he earned a 6^th place finish out of 43 competitors

Sgt (Retd) Sneath was one of the CAF’s top hockey players. Over the course of his 22-year sport career, Sgt Sneath won 22 CAF national medals and 35 CAF regional medals in five sports.
 
He was named an All-Star 23 times and was honored with countless MVP awards. Sgt Sneath’s talent was recognized by the elite hockey community when, in 1992, he earned a tryout with the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. He was also invited to the Canadian national hockey team tryouts in 1995.
 
Whether playing ice hockey, ball hockey, golf, slo-pitch or soccer, Sgt Sneath’s athletic accomplishments were distinguished by his sportsmanship and leadership on and off the ice and the playing field. In addition to his remarkable talent on the ice, Sgt Sneath was active in coaching and offered instructional hockey clinics to many CAF members and their families.

Sgt Stoddart’s success in the sport of five-pin bowling is astonishing by any measure. He was selected as an all-star at every Canadian Armed Forces Regional Bowling Championships in which he competed between 1983 and 1999.
 
In 1990-1991, he was named the Canadian Five-Pin Bowling Champion and was ranked number one in the world for five-pin bowling.

Serving for over 40 years, Capt (Retd) Steven Stuart has made an impressionable mark on local, national and international levels of CAF sports.
 
He began his military sporting career as a member of the Royal Military College of Canada’s boxing team and later, laced up his skates and took to the ice, where he won a silver and a gold medal at CAF National Hockey Championships. Capt Stuart began his officiating career in hockey, officiating at five CAF Regional and National Hockey Championships, as well as serving as the CAF Atlantic Hockey Chief Official before switching gears to pursue his passion for volleyball.
 
Over the next 15 years, he went on to officiate at countless military and civilian volleyball matches at both the local and provincial levels with the Atlantic College Athletic Association,  Atlantic University Sport, the Nova Scotia Provincial Volleyball Championships, as well as multiple youth and adult leagues in Halifax.
 
Capt Stuart passionately pursued volleyball as an official at the highest levels. He held many top positions, including Volleyball Nova Scotia’s Referee-in-Chief, CAF Atlantic Region Chief Official and CAF Volleyball Chief Official. To add to his list of accomplishments, he also officiated 11 CAF National Men’s and Women’s Championships, and eight international tournaments, including the World ParaVolley Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Women’s Qualification Tournament, the 2019 CISM Military World Games, CISM World Military Volleyball Championships as well as  FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships.
 
Capt Stuart undoubtedly left a lasting impression in the volleyball community, officiating and mentoring at both Volleyball Canada’s Nationals and Beach Nationals for over ten years, and participating in the Canada Cup, Canada Games and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Championship. He has been honoured as MARLANT Official of the Year four times and is a three-time winner of both RCN Official of the Year and CAF Official of the Year.
 
Capt Stuart’s accomplishments span all levels of competition, and he has represented Canada and the CAF with honour as an official throughout his military career.

A talented and dedicated athlete for over 35 years, CWO (Retd) Stuckless is an ambassador of the CAF Sports Program. As a CAF golfer, he competed at the regional, national and CISM levels as well as locally, provincially and nationally at various civilian events, winning numerous individual and team medals.
 
During his athletic career, he consistently finished in the top 4 in all of the countless tournaments that he entered. He proudly represented the CAF and his country in 9 CISM World Military Championships, reaching the podium 11 times to earn 2 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze in team and individual competitions.
 
As an instructor, he gave back to his favorite sport. On his own time, he generously instructed military golf sessions, helping countless players improve their game. His leadership and enthusiasm were formally recognized in 2009 when his peers unanimously awarded him the Dedication to Golf Award at the CAF National Golf Championship.
 
Though CWO Stuckless was determined to master the sport of golf, he also competed at other sports including broomball, hockey, and softball. His successes show that he was able to balance his career and sport, excelling at both.

WO (Retd) Surette was an outstanding marksman who competed regularly at Bisley, England, considered one of the world’s top forums for shooting competitions. Over the course of his athletic career, he would serve as a member of the Canadian Bisley team 13 times and was awarded the Queen’s 100 Badge in 1980 and 1989. In 1981, 1986 and 1989, he was named the winner of the Helmer Aggregate, the Canadian Service Rifle champion at Bisley, and in 1986 he was also named the winner of Bisley’s Green Jacket Challenge Cup.
 
In every year between 1981 and 1984, as well as in 1989, WO Surette won the Queen’s Medal. He was the winner of the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association and the Canadian Armed Forces Small Arms Competition from 1981 to 1985. In the final years of his athletic career, he was named winner of the Combined Target Rifle and Service Rifle Canadian Championship (1984, 1985, 1990 and 1991).
 
In honour of his accomplishments, he was awarded life memberships in both the Royal New Brunswick Rifle Association and the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association.

WO Sutton is one of the CAF’s most decorated athletes. Over the course of his 25-year sports career, he has won 31 CAF National Championship medals, 24 All-Star Selection, and 14 Most Valuable Player Awards to earn his place among the most winning athletes in the history of the CAF Sports Program.
 
Whether playing slo-pitch, ball hockey, or ice hockey, WO Sutton’s athletic performances were always distinguished by his hard work, consistently high level of skill, and inspirational leadership. Throughout his career, he led those teams to more than 35 CAF regional championship gold medals.
 
While he is certainly recognized among the CAF’s most talented athletes, WO Sutton is also well-respected for his leadership and camaraderie. With his friendly demeanor and his evident love for the game, he leads by example, and has been repeatedly recognized for his sportsmanship and dedication.

S/L (Retd) Tatarchuk’s ascent to the highest level of international sports administration was founded in his great love of basketball and the 19 years he spent as a university level basketball coach from 1963 to 1982.
 
In 1967, his skills caught the attention of the Pan Am organizers in Winnipeg and he was asked to participate as a basketball official. This would be the first in a long list of roles he would perform in the sport’s highest echelons. In 1976, S/L Tatarchuk was named Director of Basketball for the Montreal Olympic Games.
 
In 1984, S/L Tatarchuk became Vice-President of Sports for the Los Angeles Olympic Games and from 1985 to 1988, he worked tirelessly as a consultant and evaluator for the Seoul Olympic Games. From 1981 to 1995, S/L Tatarchuk maintained his interest in helping young athletes improve and was involved in the organization of seven World University Games.

The first significant wins of Capt Vamplew’s athletic career in shooting came in his first year of major competition when he was named the 1977 Canadian champion. That same year, he also won the prestigious Governor General’s Gold Medal. From there, he would go on to compete in all of the world’s top rifle shooting competitions. He won bronze medals in two of the three Commonwealth Games in which he participated. In the fullbore competition, he placed 3^rd at the 1980 World Championships and 6^th in the smallbore event in 1982. He enjoyed great success at the Pan Am Games where he won three silver and one bronze medal at the 1983 games and two gold medals in 1987.
 
Capt Vamplew was named Canadian smallbore champion in 1983, 1984 and 1992. In 1986, he was named both the Canadian smallbore and largebore champion. He is also an Olympian, having been a member of both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic teams. In addition to being an athlete, he was also a highly respected coach serving as coach of the Cadet Bisley Team in 1992 and as both coach and manager of the Canadian Commonwealth Fullbore Team in 1994.

Throughout his amateur boxing career, Cpl Vanstone laced up for 102 fights, recording an incredible 96 wins, five losses and one draw.
 
Six years into his service with the CAF, Cpl Vanstone’s tremendous discipline and talent as boxer took him to the Dominion of Canada Bantam Weight Championships, which he won in 1956.
 
From there, he went on to win a silver medal at the 1959 Pan American Trials and another silver medal a year later at the 1960 Olympic Trials.

Following his service in World War II, F/S (Retd) Varaleau pursued his passion for weightlifting with incredible vigor. He competed at the 1948 Olympics in London, England as a member of Canada’s Weightlifting Team in the Light-Heavyweight division. There, he broke the Olympic bench press record. The same year, he won the British Empire Weightlifting Championship.
 
In 1950, F/S Varaleau won the gold medal in his weight class at the British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand. He represented Canada a second time at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

Capt Vaughan has the distinction of being the first woman in Canada to make 4,000 freefall para jumps. She is also a four-time Canadian Female Parachuting Champion, reaching this level in 1983, 1985, 1988 and 1990. In the first three of those championships, she took 1^st place in both the Overall and Accuracy categories. From 1987 to 1990, she was the captain of the Canadian Style and Accuracy Team.
 
On the international stage, she was the Canadian representative on the Para Demonstration Team at the Olympics in Seoul, Korea in 1988 and represented our country at the World Parachuting Championship in 1990, placing 4^th overall.

LCol (Retd) Vézina has made remarkable contributions to the CAF swimming and lifesaving community and to CISM. She began her sports career in 1998, as manager of the CAF Swimming and Lifesaving Team and shortly after became highly engaged in the administration of international military sports. She has served as President of the CISM Swimming and Lifesaving Committee from 2003 until 2013, and has shown great dedication to supporting military athletes from around the world.
 
LCol Vezina was instrumental in the initiation, planning, and implementation of a Para Sport program for wounded military athletes’ within CISM, including the conduct of the inaugural CISM Para Sport event in 2013. Her tireless efforts and dedication to support CISM and our able bodied as well as our injured military athletes have represented the CAF with admirable distinction.

In 1952, Maj (Retd) Warner competed for Canada in both the World Shooting Championship in Oslo, Norway and at the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. In 1953, he went to Bisley, England to compete in the first of what would be three trips to the UK National Rifle Association’s championship. In his first year there, he won the Argentina Medal, which he won again in 1956 and in 1960. Maj Warner also won the Duke of Gloucester Prize at Bisley in 1956 and came in 3^rd in the Queen’s Prize in 1960. In 1958, he participated in the World Shooting Championship in Moscow, finishing 9^th in the .22 English Match. He made his final Olympic appearance at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he placed 22^nd in the .22 English Match and had the top score in qualifying.
 
On the national stage, Maj Warner competed in the Canadian Forces Small Arms Concentration shooting match on five occasions between 1955 and 1972. In 1955, he won the Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot with a No. 4 Lee-Enfield rifle and took home the same prize, but with a FN C1A1 rifle, in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1972.  At the provincial level, in the Province of Québec Rifle Association Championship, Maj Warner took 1^st place in the Quebec Lieutenant-Governor’s Prize seven times between 1950 and 1971.

An accomplished marksman with a long winning history, MWO Ward is also held in very high regard as a coach both in Canada and on the international stage.
 
As an athlete, he won numerous medals at civilian provincial and national championships between 1990 and 2005. He also won two gold medals and one silver medal in military events during the 1990s.
 
His career as a coach in civilian competition began in 1991 with the New Brunswick Pistol Team at the Canada Games. In 2001, he was named assistant coach of the National Team and in 2004, he took over as the team’s head coach. In 2006, his focus shifted to the international stage when he became head coach of the Canadian National Pistol Team competing at the Commonwealth Games. The team collected one silver and two bronze medals. As coach of the Canadian Junior Male Team in 2009, his team won five gold, one silver and one bronze that year as well as the Top Canadian Male Shooter prize. He has also worked extensively with the National Adaptive Shooting Team, attending the Paralympic Games where his athletes placed in the top ten in several events.

Over the course of five years of competition from 1963 to 1968,
WO Weiler was at the forefront of gymnastics in Canada. He was a champion athlete who succeeded without the benefit of a coach, preferring instead to rely on the advice of teammates who would critique his routine and make suggestions.
 
In 1963, he competed in the Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil surpassing all expectations and returning to Canada a national hero with an unprecedented eight medals: four gold, three silver and one bronze. This achievement earned him worldwide media attention and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The following year, he competed for Canada at the Olympic Games and also won a gold medal at the Long Vault North American Championships and a silver medal at the same championships in 1966.
 
WO Weiler also worked as a coach and judge. He coached the Canadian Olympic Gymnastics Team in 1968 and served as a judge at later Olympics. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1974.

CPO 1 (Retd) Whitney’s dedication to the sport of judo is evident in the 24 years he spent between 1962 and 1986 serving as chief instructor at five different judo clubs. From 1973 to 1986, he served as the Nova Scotia provincial judo coach, training and encouraging athletes to excel.
 
Realizing the need to further develop and promote the sport across the country, he served as the National Councillor with Judo Canada from 1976 to 1984. He also served as President of Judo Nova Scotia (1976 to 1988), Chairman of the Nova Scotia Provincial Grading Board (1976 to 1989), and Vice-President of Judo Canada (1982 to 1986). In 1987, he participated in the Canada Winter Games as an official. In honour of his efforts to support athletes and the sport, Sport Nova Scotia selected CPO 1 Whitney as Executive of the Year in 1984. In 1997, he became one of the original inductees into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame.

As a gold medal winner at the 1980 Canadian Indoor Archery Championship, PO 1 Wills was already an accomplished archer before pursuing a career at the highest levels of coaching.
 
In 1982, he was appointed coach of the Canadian Olympic Team. In 1983, he was named coach of the Pan Am Games Team competing that year in Venezuela. That same year, he was awarded a Master Coach Course Conductor qualification. The following year, he was named coach of the Canadian Olympic Archery Team competing in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In recognition of these achievements, he was selected Coach of the Year by the Federation of Canadian Archers.

In the 1970s, as an assistant coach with the St. Mary’s University varsity football team (the Huskies), CPO 1 (Retd) Wright helped guide the team to eight Atlantic Universities Athletics Association (AUAA) championship victories. In 1973, the team advanced all the way to the top to become national champions.
 
In tandem with his career as a football coach, CPO 1 Wright was equally successful coaching basketball. As coach of the St. Mary’s University varsity basketball team, his team was AUAA champions in 1973 and they finished the 1974 season as runner-ups in the National Championship. In 1978, they became national champions under his leadership.
 
In the mid-1970s, he also served as assistant coach with the Canadian Women’s Olympic Basketball Team at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. His basketball coaching career culminated in 1982 with a silver medal for the National Wheelchair Basketball Team at the Pan Am Games in Halifax. He has been honoured with inductions into both the Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame as a team member. 

Sgt Wykeham-Martin was arguably the best parachuting competitor in Canada in the 1960s, winning multiple world championships over the course of the decade.
 
Beginning in 1962, he and three others from the men’s team won the gold medal for Team Accuracy at the World Championship. In 1966, he became the first Canadian to win a medal (silver) for men’s individual accuracy at the World Championship. At the same competition, he also won a silver medal as part of the men’s team accuracy event and a bronze medal for overall country (men’s). In 1969, Sgt Wykeham-Martin was Canadian champion.
 
At the 1970 World Championship, he and the team won bronze medals in both the team accuracy (men’s) and in the overall country (men’s) events.

With Canadians serving on battlefields during World War II, the Toronto Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Hurricanes inspired a nation by winning the first ever non-civilian Grey Cup game.
 
In December of 1942, after an 8-1-1 season, the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8-5 to win the 30^th Grey Cup. The game was a huge morale booster across Canada, and was broadcast to deployed service members overseas.
 
After the game, 15 of the Hurricanes’ players were deployed overseas but only eight returned; a sacrifice that reflected the experience of many Canadian households at the time. One of the Hurricanes’ players, Jake Gaudaur, would go on to become Commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1968 to 1984.

In 1944, men selected from the crews of the Montreal-based HMCS Donnacona and the nearby HMCS St. Hyacinthe came together to form a team destined for the ultimate prize in Canadian football – the Grey Cup. CFL league play was suspended because of World War II, so the team, known informally as “The Combines”, trained by taking on Quebec-area teams including the McGill Redmen.
 
On November 25, 1944 they faced off against the hometown favorites, the Hamilton Flying Wildcats, for the 32^nd Grey Cup. In front of a crowd of 3,871 football fans, the men of the St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Navy team pulled off a 7 to 6 win and brought the cup home to Montreal.  They were the last amateur team to ever win the Grey Cup.

In 1948, the members of the newly-created Canadian Olympic hockey team, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Flyers, were unknown hockey amateurs. These veterans of the brutal air offensive of World War II once again faced incredible odds, this time on the ice representing our country against Olympic favorites Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Switzerland.
 
Game one against Sweden showed the Canadians the challenges of playing at a high altitude, but they came away with a 3 to 1 victory. After significant wins over other teams, they then faced the confident U.S. team. More determined than ever, the Canadians played an impressive game and won 12 to 3, the worst defeat in U.S. Olympic history. Following a scoreless tie in their match against Czechoslovakia, the Flyers had to beat the Swiss by at least two goals. On February 8, 1948 in front of 7,000 Swiss fans, the Flyers won the game 3–0, and brought home gold for Canada.

In 1957, this exceptional group of players came together to form an unstoppable team in regular and postseason play. By the end of that season, they had become the undefeated Nova Scotia Canadian Football League (NSCFL) Purdy Cup champions. That was just the first of several titles they would win that year. They became the Maritime Football League General Electric Bowl champions as well as the Eastern Canadian Finals Ferguson Memorial Trophy champions. They also became the Dominion of Canada Intermediate Finals Robinson Memorial Trophy champions, the first Maritime team ever to win a National Canadian Football title. As a result, their coach Harvey (Moose) Mills, was elected NSCFL “Coach of the Year” in honour of his leadership.
 
In 1987, in recognition of these exceptional accomplishments, the team was inducted in the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame.