[Alsfastball] Softball Canada to honour Canada's Softball Heroes

Thu Nov 4 14:41:21 EST 2004

From: "Lisette Johnson-Stapley" <lstapley at softball.ca>
Subject: Release - Softball Canada to honour Canada's Softball Heroes
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 13:54:51 -0500

For immediate release

Thursday November 4, 2004

Softball Canada to honour Canada's Softball Heroes

(Ottawa, ON)  At the same time as the nation is selecting "The Greatest 
Canadian", Softball Canada will be honouring its greatest softball heroes 
at the annual Softball Canada Salute to Excellence Awards Banquet on 
November 13, 2004.  Softball Canada will be inducting 5 recipients to the 
Hall of Fame and will be recognizing the Coach of the Year, HSRS Umpire of 
the Year as well as the Claude Deschamps and Ethel Boyce Student/Athlete 
Scholarship award recipients.

"This is a great opportunity to recognize those who have given so much time 
and dedication for the betterment of softball," stated Softball Canada 
President, Kevin Quinn.  " Our sport has many great athletes, coaches, 
officials and builders that have contributed to its development and we are 
honoured to have them in our softball family."

Softball Canada will be honouring the following Hall of Fame inductees and 
Award Winners:

Hall of Fame Inductees:

(Builder) Dale McMann (Prince George, British Columbia) – Dale served as 
President of Softball Canada from 1990 to 2001 and President of Softball 
British Columbia from 1986 to 1990.  Leading up to his Presidencies, he had 
a varied background as a player, umpire and volunteer.  Currently he serves 
as Vice-President of the International Softball Federation, a position he 
has held since 1993.   Dale is also the Chair or Co-Chair of several key 
ISF committees and serves as an ex-officio member of Softball Canada’s 
Board of Directors.

(Team) The 1978 Doc’s Blues (Vancouver, British Columbia) – The Doc’s Blues 
Senior Women’s team, a perennial powerhouse, represented Canada at the 1978 
ISF World Championships in El Salvador. They were the last club team to 
represent Canada at a World Championships before a national team system was 
put in place. Undefeated through the round robin and elimination rounds, 
the team’s only defeat came to the USA in the final, thereby winning the 
silver medal. The team’s record in 1978 was an amazing 113-16-2.

(Athlete) Tracey Huclack (Vancouver, British Columbia) – Tracey is a 
Centerfielder/Pitcher who played her ball in North Vancouver and New 
Westminster before joining Doc’s Blues in 1979 (later known as Alpha 
Sports) and subsequently the White Rock Renegades. Her teams won 9 Gold 
medals at the Canadian Championships in the 1979-1993 time period, 
personally highlighted by M.V.P. awards in 1985 and 1986 and, the top 
batter award in 1987.  She also helped Team Canada to a silver medal at the 
1987 Pan-American Games.

(Builder) Keith McLean (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) – Keith has been an 
outstanding contributor to the sport of softball locally, provincially and 
nationally. His involvement in coaching as a Course Conductor, Master 
Course conductor and NCCP Instructor has seen him instruct thousands of 
coaches. His contribution to Provincial Championships, Canadian 
Championships and the host organizing committee for 2 ISF World 
Championships has always been recognized as being invaluable to the 
operation of those events.

(Builder) Glen Todd (Surrey, British Columbia) - Glen is best known by the 
national and international softball communities as the founder and Chair of 
the Canada Cup - the international softball event that hosts the best 
female fast-pitch teams from around the world in both the Senior and 
Futures levels. Glen has been a highly successful volunteer, locally and 
with Softball British Columbia, a coach with gold medal winning White Rock 
Renegades teams and as an overall doer who has played a vital role in 
advancing the game.

Other Award Winners:

HSRS Umpire of the Year - Chris Lee from Delta, British Columbia.  Chris is 
most notably recognized, not only as a quality umpire, but as an 
administrator that created and revised educational training resources for 
both the provincial and national umpiring programs, most notably the Umpire 
Certification Manuals.  Chris’s on field umpiring experience comprises 
numerous event assignments in provincial championships including Canada 
Cups, 3 Canadian Fast Pitch Championships, an ISF World Championship and 2 
Pan American Games.  He has also supervised at 8 Canadian Championships as 
an Umpire-In-Chief.

Coach of the Year - Phil Thom.  Phil has been involved in softball for over 
20 years.  A fully certified level 3 coach, Phil has helped over 30 players 
achieve their dreams of receiving scholarships. His players have competed 
for BC at the Canada Summer Games and for Canada’s Junior and Senior 
National Teams. Phil believes a coach must instruct the player on the 
skills and tactics of the game but must also teach them how to be 
successful in the game of life.  This year Phil’s team won Gold at the 
Provincials and was 5th at the Canadian Championships. The highlight of his 
coaching career was winning Gold at the 2002 World Master Games in 
Australia which they hope to repeat in Edmonton in 2005.

Claude Deschamps Memorial Bursary - Softball Canada has been awarding the 
Claude DesChamps Memorial Fund to a male and female athlete who have made 
significant contributions to the sport of softball.  This bursary is a 
$1,000 scholarship and is to be used towards their education.  The 2004 
winners are:

Melanie Matthews - from Surrey, British Columbia, Melanie is a catcher and 
is currently on a Softball Scholarship at Stetson University in Florida 
taking Business Administration.  She plays for the Surrey Storm and her 
Midget Team won the British Columbia Provincials and finished 5th at the 
Canadians where she was selected All-Star catcher.  Melanie was selected to 
Canada’s 2003 Junior Worlds Team and most recently competed at the first 
World University Games for Canada in Plant City Florida where Canada 
finished 4th with a 4-2 record.

Jordan Matt - from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Jordan is in his first year 
in Arts at the University of British Columbia (UBC).  An all-round athlete, 
Jordan currently plays football for the UBC Thunderbirds and is an 
outstanding basketball player. This first baseman/outfielder plays softball 
for the Nanaimo Cardinals and has been invited to try out for Canada’s 
National Team in June 2005.

Ethel Boyce Memorial Bursary - Softball Canada has been awarding the Ethel 
Boyce Bursary to a male and female recipient who have demonstrated 
leadership and talent in the sport of softball.

The 2004 winners are:

Lindsay Miller - from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Lindsay is a first year student 
at the University of Manitoba in Business.  A catcher for the Midget 
Winnipeg Lightning, Lindsay helped lead the team to the bronze medal at 
this year’s Canadian Championships. She will spend hours working with her 
pitchers and actively volunteers with local softball clinics.

Chris Teichreb - a second year student at the University of Saskatchewan in 
Sociology/Criminology, Chris is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and plays for 
the Saskatoon Junior Diamondbacks.  A strong hitter, Chris helped lead the 
Diamondbacks to gold in the 2004 provincial championships. Chris’ 
involvement goes beyond the field as he has helped out many local teams and 
will be taking his Level 1 coaching certification to continue assisting 
younger players at the Minor level. He is also a volunteer with "Meals on 
Wheels" and other charitable activities.

Softball Canada and the entire softball membership will celebrate and 
recognize these accomplishments during the 2004 Annual Softball Canada 
Congress which is taking place from November 10 -14th, 2004 in Richmond, 
BC.  The Salute to Excellence Banquet featuring the induction of the Hall 
of Fame Recipients as well as the other award winners will take place on 
Saturday, November 13 from 6-10pm at the Executive Airport Plaza hotel in 
Richmond, British Columbia.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact Lisette Johnson Stapley, Marketing & 
Communications Director, Softball Canada at 613-523-3386 ext. 3105, Cel. 
613-795-1996 or at <mailto:lstapley at softball.ca>lstapley at softball.ca

Lisette Johnson Stapley
Directrice du Marketing & Communications Director
Softball Canada
2197 Promenade Riverside Drive
Ottawa, ON  K1H 7X3
Tel. (613) 523-3386 ext. 3105
Fax/Telec. (613) 523-5761
<mailto:lstapley at softball.ca>lstapley at softball.ca *** www.softball.ca

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