NEWS RELEASE for Immediate Release Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services 2002MCAWS0054-000904 Oct
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NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services 2002MCAWS0054-000904 Oct. 21, 2002 PREMIER UNVEILS TRIBUTE TO B.C. WOMEN ATHLETES VANCOUVER – An exhibit that showcases the achievement of B.C. women in sport was unveiled today by Premier Gordon Campbell at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame. “Our province has some of the world’s greatest female athletes, and they are role models not only for young women but for all British Columbians,” said Campbell. “The 2010 Olympics will showcase the best of B.C. to the world, and this exhibit is a testimony to the incredible talent and accomplishments of these athletes.” The exhibit, Celebrating B.C. Women in Sport – Leaders and Legends, pays tribute to 31 of British Columbia’s most accomplished athletes and teams. “We made a New Era commitment to promote physical fitness and participation in sport while encouraging the pursuit of excellence through healthy, active lifestyles,” said Lynn Stephens, Minister of State for Women’s Equality. “This new exhibit is part of our support for programs that create equity in sports for girls and women. It also celebrates this year’s Women’s History Month theme of ‘Women and Sport – Champions Forever.’ ” The 31 athletes and teams were chosen by a committee of sports leaders including representatives from the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and Pacific Sport. Selection was based on outstanding achievement and contribution to sport and the community. The Premier also announced three projects totalling over $44,000 that will go toward sport development for women in B.C. The funds are from 2010 LegaciesNow, a provincewide sport development program introduced by the province as a public-private partnership with the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corp. and its supporters: • A grant of $10,000 will go toward the creation of an athlete mentorship and employment program through the YWCA and Olympians BC. • $22,487 will be used to enhance a B.C. Amateur Hockey Association program for female high- performance athletes aged 18 and under, and will establish an ongoing program for women athletes 18 and over. • A grant of $12,000 will provide new wheelchairs for the B.C. Wheelchair Sports wheelchair loan program. -2- Over the next few months a total of $230,000 in 24 separate grants from the 2010 LegaciesNow grant fund will go to support various sport development organizations. Note: This release has been updated to clarify the description of the B.C. Amateur Hockey Association program receiving $22,487. -30- BACKGROUNDERS CELEBRATING B.C. WOMEN IN SPORT – LEADERS AND LEGENDS October is Women’s History Month. Established in 1992 by the Government of Canada, and proclaimed in British Columbia to recognize and celebrate exceptional women of the past, present and future, this month provides an opportunity to learn more about women’s accomplishments and their contributions to Canadian society. This year the national theme for Women’s History Month is Women in Sport – Champions Forever. As part of a month-long salute to British Columbia’s women champions, 31 women and teams will be recognized at an exhibit at the B.C. Sport Hall of Fame. For more information on each of the athletes, visit http://www.gov.bc.ca/mcaws Marni Abbott – wheelchair basketball, swimming B.C. Wheelchair Sport named Marni Abbott the Athlete of the Century. She is a gold medallist in both swimming and wheelchair basketball, and was the Canadian flag-bearer at the Paralympics in Atlanta. Abbott is head coach for the 2003 Team BC wheelchair basketball team. Silken Laumann – rowing Ten weeks before the Barcelona Olympics, Silken Laumann’s leg was shattered when a boat collided with her during a warmup. Her comeback won her a bronze medal at the Games. She is a four-time Olympian and capped her Olympic career with a silver medal in Atlanta in 1996. Lynne Beecroft – field hockey Lynne Beecroft, who grew up in Port Alberni, is a field hockey Olympian and coach. At the University of Victoria she has coached a record nine teams to national university championship titles. She was named Coach of the Year in Victoria in 2002 and Field Hockey Canada Coach of the Year in 2000. Alison Sydor – mountain biking Alison Sydor is the world’s best mountain biker. She has been a three-time consecutive World Champion, a three-time overall World Cup champion and an Olympic silver medallist. She has piled up 17 World Cup victories in her career. Lori Bowden – Ironman triathlon Lori Bowden has won 11 Ironman titles, including five in Canada, and is one of only five women to break the nine-hour mark in the event (four kilometres of swimming, 180 kilometres of biking and a 42-kilometre run). -3- Kerrin Lee Gartner – skiing Kerrin Lee Gartner overcame five knee operations, including two reconstructions, to capture the women’s downhill gold at the 1992 Albertville Olympics. She was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Debbie Brill – high-jumping Debbie Brill revolutionized high-jumping with her reverse jumping style known as the Brill Bend. She has won more than 65 national and international championships and has received many awards including B.C.’s Athlete of the Decade in 1980. She was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1983. Isabell Cavallin – Special Olympics Isabell Cavallin dedicated her life to training and coaching athletes with mental disabilities. Her dedication was instrumental in establishing the Special Olympics movement in British Columbia. She was a founding member of the B.C. Special Olympics in 1980. She died in 1994. Norma Foster – karate Norma Foster, the first woman judge for the World Karate Federation, paved the way for women in the sport of karate throughout her 30-year career. She’s a fifth-degree black belt and three-time National Karate Association champion. Angela Chalmers – track and field Angela Chalmers is one of Canada’s greatest track and field athletes. She won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and was Canada’s flag-bearer at Victoria’s Commonwealth Games. Chalmers also received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in Sports, and was recently inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Lori Fung – rhythmic gymnastics Lori Fung won the first gold medal ever awarded in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She retired in 1988 and began coaching and judging rhythmic gymnastics. She is a member of the Order of Canada, and was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. Nancy Greene Raine – skiing NancyGreenRaine,whogrewupinRossland,capturedgoldinthegiantslalomattheGrenoble Olympics in 1968 and won the first women’s World Cup title in 1967. She was instrumental in developing Whistler as one of the top ski resorts in North America and developed Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops into one of B.C.’s most popular resorts. Kathleen Heddle – rowing Kathleen Heddle competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games and the 1992 Barcelona Games, pairing up with Marnie McBean to bring home four Olympic medals – three golds and a bronze. She won rowing’s highest honour in 1999 – the Thomas Keller Award – and was made a member of the Order of British Columbia in 1997, the same year she was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. The Kelley Law Rink – curling Kelley Law, Diane Dezura, Julie Skinner, Georgina Wheatcroft and alternate Cheryl Noble won Canada’s bronze medal at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. They are Scott Tournament of Heart Champions and World Champions and were named Canadian Sports Awards Team of the Year in 2000. -4- Majorie Leeming – tennis Majorie Leeming was one of the most decorated female tennis players in Canadian history. She dominated junior women’s tennis at the tender age of 12, when she won her first of four consecutive B.C. girls’ under-16 singles titles. She was voted B.C.’s outstanding tennis player six times between 1923 and 1931 and was Canada’s singles, doubles and mixed champion in 1925. She died in 1987. Ljiljana Ljubisic – discus Lilo Ljubisic is a five-time Paralympian and six-time medallist, including gold in discus at Barcelona in 1992. She is a member of the International Paralympic Committee Athlete’s Commission. Irene MacDonald – diving Irene MacDonald dominated women’s diving in the 1950s with Canada’s first Olympic medal in diving – a bronze at the 1956 Melbourne Games. She was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1972. She died in June of this year. Karen Magnussen – figure-skating Karen Magnussen captured a World Championship in 1973 in Czechoslovakia, a feat that remains unmatched by any Canadian woman skater. She was a silver medallist at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics. She is a member of the Order of Canada and was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. Ann Mundigel Meraw – swimming Ann Mundigel Meraw set seven world marathon swimming records including the world record for the 55-mile swim. At the age of 10, she swam across Howe Sound. In 1958, in her third attempt to swim Lake Okanagan, she swam the 88-kilometre distance in a record-setting 32 hours and 12 minutes. Diane Nelson – hockey Owner of the Vancouver Griffins female hockey team, Diane Nelson has attracted some of the finest women hockey talent in the world to British Columbia. A former figure-skater and field hockey player, she is a school principal in West Vancouver.