The annual Delta Sports Hall of Fame inductees and champions were announced Saturday night (June 11) at the Coast Tsawwassen Inn. And the award recipients included some of the brightest stars in their respective sports, past and present.
Among them in the Sports Champions category was North Delta’s Troy Brouwer , a member of the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup winning team in 2010. Brouwer was named Male Professional Athlete of the Year.
Brouwer brought the crowds out last summer in his home town when he accompanied the famous trophy for a parade riding on a Zamboni to Sungod Arena.
Other sports champions were track and cross country runner Mark Pinckard and triathlete Carol Peters who were named Master Athletes of the Year.
Male Youth Athletes of the Year were Ladner pitcher Tom Robson – recent draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays – and rower Joe Dart who was a national high school champion in 2010.
The Female Youth Athlete of the Year was field hockey’s Sara McManus. She captained the South Delta Sun Devils Sundevils to a top five finish in the AAA provincial finals and was selected to Canada’s junior and senior teams.
Coach of the Year was Tsawwassen’s Maurice Hamlin who has been guiding young players for the past 23 years.
North Delta resident Glenn Zwick picked up the Volunteer of the Year Award for his dedication to ice hockey.
Male Athlete of the Year honours went to field lacrosse player Logan Schuss who had an outstanding year as a freshman with the Ohio State Buckeyes .
Female Athletes of the Year included a pair of softball players – Jennifer Yee and Nicola Collicutt. Yee played for Canada in 2010 at the World Championships in Venezuela, and Collicutt was a part of SFU’s fourth, NAIA Division II champions.
Team of the Year went to Delta Gymnastics’ 21-member, senior gymnaestrada team that represented Canada at the World Gymnaestrada in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Among the Delta Sports Hall of Fame inductees was Lyle Gatley who co-founded the Delta Deas Rowing Club in 1986. Gatley was inducted in the builder category along with longtime Delta resident Harry Jenkins who has been involved with ice hockey as a trainer for more than 35 years.
North Delta’s Mitch Berger was inducted in the athlete category for his career in football as a kicker which included 14 seasons in the NFL, one of which (2008) was spent as a member of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
Berger also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos.
Also inducted in the athlete category was softball’s Candace Murray. Among her achievements was representing Canada at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
In the Coach category, Ron Johnson was inducted. He has an extensive resumé in ice hockey which includes coaching B.C. to a gold medal at the Canada Winter Games in 1992-93, and leading the North Delta Sun Devils to a Bantam Western Canadian championship in 1998-99. Johnson has also coached provincial championship teams in Junior B, twice with the Richmond Sockeyes.
Receiving the nod for the Team induction was the 2004 Ladner Pioneers Senior B lacrosse team which captured the President’s Cup Senior B Lacrosse Championship.
John Service was recognized in the Pioneer category for his contributions to the swimming community. Service, who passed away in 1996, founded the Winskill Otters Masters Swim Club in 1987.
GML Mechanical was inducted as a sponsor for its support of local sport since 1989.