Image Credit: Jeremy Kneeshaw/Kamloops Sports Council

By Adam Donnelly

CELEBRATION OF SPORTS

Kamloops celebrates sports at 29th Sports Council Awards & Hall of Fame induction

May 13, 2019 | 5:51 PM

KAMLOOPS — Embracing your talent was guest speaker Geroy Simon’s message for all those who attended the Kamloops Sports Council’s annual Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday night.

For those welcomed into the Hall, their talent and passion for what they do is the reason they were celebrated.

After a half-century of excellence in the community, the Kamloops Rugby Club was welcomed into the Hall of Fame.

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Image Credit: Jeremy Kneeshaw/Kamloops Sports Council

“To be inducted into the [Kamloops] Sports Hall of Fame is really a capstone and a testament to what rugby has been in Kamloops for the past 50 years,” KRC President Erin Jensen said.

Joining the KRC in the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 is one of its founding fathers, Paddy Harrington, who many KRC members lovingly refer to as Yoda.

“To see him inducted is an absolute thrill,” Jensen explained. “As a rugby club family we couldn’t be happier for him, and for his lifeblood, the rugby club, to be inducted at the same time, I know he’s ecstatic.”

Longtime Kamloops sports-writer and volunteer extraordinaire Tony Parker also got the call from the Hall in 2019. Parker’s career covering the Kamloops sports scene began at a young age and helped drive his community involvement in athletics.

Image Credit: Jeremy Kneeshaw/Kamloops Sports Council

“Where the volunteer work started was when the scorekeeper in the mighty Men’s Fastball league of that era one day said he was going on holiday for two weeks, and [asked] could I maybe give him a hand and do the scorekeeping,” Parker recounted. “I said sure, and he never returned, so I basically inherited a lifetime job scorekeeping men’s fastball.”

Ted Pierson passed away in 2000, but his legacy continues to live on in the Track and Field community in Kamloops. Pierson was almost an Olympian for Northern Ireland before an injury ended his competitive career, but his passion for Track and Field continued, pushing him to coach, officiate, volunteer and even compete as a master’s athlete.

Image Credit: Jeremy Kneeshaw/Kamloops Sports Council

“From age seven he was involved in athletics in Northern Ireland,” Ted’s son Neil told CFJC Today. “I know when he came to Kamloops, he enjoyed passing along some of that knowledge and background he had.”

Longtime CFJC Sports Director Earl Seitz rounded out the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Seitz has spent over 50 years in the industry, 45 of those at CFJC. Seitz says it’s an honour to be recognized alongside all the other inductees who he joins in the Hall.

“You spend 51 years talking about a lot of other athletes, people who have gone into sports hall’s of fame, whether it be Hockey Hall of Fame, Football Hall of Fame, BC Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, you talk about these people and tell their stories,” Seitz said. “It never crosses your mind that maybe one day you’ll go into a hall of fame. It was truly a humbling experience, and I’m so thankful to those on the Kamloops Sports Council.”

Image Credit: Jeremy Kneeshaw/Kamloops Sports Council

For a man who has dedicated his life covering sports, including World Championships, National Championships, and Memorial Cups, he says he’s grateful for the opportunities he’s had and knows his time bringing games to the Kamloops community won’t last forever.

“Now that I’m in my 70’s, the stagecoach is going to stop in Dodge very soon,” Seitz said. “I’ll have to get on another train in the next journey in life.”