The Western Ontario Athletic Association, headquartered in Wingham and providing sports co-ordination stretching across six counties including Bruce County, will be inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2019. The WOAA has been named as the recipient of the Sandy Hawley Community Service Award which is presented annually to a recipient who best exemplifies dedication to the community. The WOAA celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2017, recognizing the tremendous achievements of teams and athletes from western Ontario who have com
peted over the decades, primarily in hockey and softball, as well as baseball. “It’s a tremendous honour for the WOAA to be recognized by the prestigious Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, acknowledging the tremendous efforts of our volunteer-driven association,” President Allan Dickson of Wingham said in a media release. “Over the decades since 1942, the WOAA has positively impacted thousands of teams and tens of thousands of participants in hockey, softball and baseball.” Other 2019 award recipients include: Baseball broadcaster Jerry Howarth for the Brian Williams Me
dia Award as a person in the Ontario sports media who has distinguished himself in his career; Figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir for the Syl Apps Ontario Athlete of the Year Award for an outstanding and memorable contribution to Ontario sports during 2018, as determined by the people of Ontario who voted in an online poll; Special Olympics’ Dr. Frank Hayden for the Bruce Prentice Legacy Award, presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to a sport or athletics for the well-being of the people of Ontario and beyond.
Other inductees include Paul Beeston (baseball), Jack Donahue (basketball), Angela James, Joe Primeau and Denis Potvin (hockey), Paul Henderson (sailing) and Dwayne DeRosario (soccer). The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) is a volunteer, not-forprofit organization devoted to honouring Ontario’s greatest athletes, builders, personalities and writers for their lifelong contributions to the Ontario sports scene. It is the role of the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame to ensure that these memories remain firmly engrained in our hearts and minds and that time will not diminish the nature of
our legends’ deeds for generations to come. All inductees and award recipients will be recognized at the 25th Anniversary Gala scheduled for Oct. 21, 2019 at The Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto. Details of the ceremony are available at the Hall of Fame website at www.oshof.ca.
For tickets for the Induction Gala or questions about the WOAA, please contact Allan Dickson, president or Linda Espensen, general manager, at the WOAA office in Wingham at 519-357-3512 or by email at woaa@hurontel.con.ca.