The future of Port Coquitlam sports is bright, if the stars of its past are any indication, says the executive director of PoCo Sports Alliance, Ryan Clark.
And Friday six of those stars are being celebrated at the Terry Fox Theatre when they’re inducted as the first class of the new Port Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.
Clark said the inaugural induction ceremony is a bit of a coming out party for Port Coquitlam’s sporting community, from young house league hockey players to Olympic medalists to professional champions.
“We want to become known as one of the best sporting communities in Western Canada,” Clark said. “Port Coquitlam bleeds pride.”
That starts with a strong base of volunteers who help make sports happen in the community, from coaches to association board members to parents who cut oranges for half time snacks. Their dedication often continues long after their own direct link to a sport — either through a child or family member participating — has moved on to other pursuits. That helps build a foundation for success, Clark said.
“It’s a small town, but if you look at the results of the level of teams, they swing way above their weight.”
And they do it in a variety of sports, from lacrosse to ringette to swimming and volleyball.
Clark said coming up with the five athletes and one builder who comprise the hall’s charter members was a challenge — not to find them but to whittle down a long list that will populate the honour for several years to come.
The list was built in collaboration with the Port Coquitlam Heritage Society, which was charged with doing much of the research into the contributions and achievements of local athletes and volunteers over the years. It was a natural fit, Clark said, especially with the work the society had done to prepare its current museum exhibition celebrating the city’s sporting heritage.
Their findings were then passed on to a committee comprised of people in Port Coquitlam’s sporting community as well as officials from the city for consideration. They had the unenviable task of parsing the names out over several years.
“We know each year we’re going to have some quality,” Clark said.
Of course any list of Port Coquitlam’s sporting heroes has to begin with the late Terry Fox, Clark said. His courageous effort to run across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research after he lost his right leg to the disease helped put the city on the international map of athletic achievement.
Clark said Fox’ legacy continues to inspire athletes young and old everywhere and for that reason he’s the hall’s first inductee as a builder. Fox’ brother Darrell will be a featured speaker at the event and several of his family members are expected to attend.
In fact, Clark said, all of the honourees or their family members got on board with the festivities as soon as they were contacted, which speaks to Port Coquitlam’s unique sporting culture.
“They have the hometown pride and attachment,” Clark said. “They feel a synergy to the community that led to their success.”
And he’s hoping that pride and sense of connection will translate to current and future generations of young athletes, volunteers, coaches and officials as they learn of the hall’s first class on two special interactive digital display boards that are being installed in the lobby at the Hyde Creek community centre before the hall is moved to its permanent home in the lobby of the new Port Coquitlam recreation complex which is currently under construction downtown.
Clark said those large touch screens will offer a dynamic glimpse into the lives and accomplishments of the hall of famers as content can easily be changed and updated. He said he expects as more people become aware of Port Coquitlam’s sporting heroes, more stories of dedication and accomplishment will be written.
“When you recognize these people, a big part of it is to inspire and show what’s possible,” he said. “This is where you can aim to be.”
Port Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame inaugural class
Builder
Terry Fox — Before his famous attempt to run across Canada, Fox was a distance runner and basketball player for his high school and at Simon Fraser University.
Athletes
Bret Anderson (football) — After starring for the football and basketball teams at Terry Fox secondary school, Anderson played college football at Simon Fraser University and then 13 years in the Canadian Football League where he won the Grey Cup in 2000 and 2006.
Tina Connelly (track & field) — The cross country runner of the year in British Columbia in 1996 and 1997, Connelly went on to win bronze in the 10,000m race at the 1999 Pan American Games and then finished 37th at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Mike Gates (lacrosse) — Gates won several scoring and most valuable player titles after he joined the Coquitlam Adanacs in 1965 following a four-year stint with the New Westminster Salmonbellies. He was a Western Lacrosse Association first all-star six times. He’s also a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Port Coquitlam’s Gates Park is named after him.
Christopher Rinke (wrestling) — Rinke is a six-time national wrestling champion. He won gold in the 1982 Commonwealth Games, bronze in the 1983 Pan American Games and bronze in the 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles, Cal. He also finished fourth at the 1986 world championships and he’s a member of the SFU and Canadian Wrestling halls of fame.
Dan Payne (wrestling and football) — Payne parlayed his success on the wrestling mat at SFU where he was a national NAIA champion, into a successful career in football, which he played at Purdue University and then for 14 years in the CFL where he was a member of four Grey Cup champions. He also won a bronze in wrestling at the 1987 Pan American Games and he finished sixth in freestyle and 13th in Greco-Roman at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
