Growing up in Wynyard, Lorne Lasuita was in his words “fixated on sports” and looked to find a career that would suit his passion. He earned a Recreational Technology diploma at Kelsey in Saskatoon (now Saskatchewan Polytechnic) where he played on and coached the men’s volleyball team.
After graduating, he became the Parks and Recreation Director for the city of Humboldt and began playing and later coaching the Humboldt Mustangs senior men’s baseball team from 1978-83. Around this time he also began to be involved in Baseball Saskatchewan and served as Commissioner from 1976-79; Vice President from 1980-82; and Board Member through the 1980s.
His involvement with volleyball didn’t wane after leaving Kelsey. He became a provincial-level volleyball referee for 20 years starting in 1972. He founded the Humboldt Volleyball Club in 1974 and served as president and coach until 1978. Upon moving to Regina in 1988, he founded the Regina Volleyball Club and served as coach until 1999. In addition to his 30 years of involvement in volleyball and 13 years in baseball, Lasuita has also been involved as a provincial board member in gymnastics for eight years.
Lasuita made his largest mark on the provincial sports scene working with multi-sport games. He has been part of 24 of the first 25 Saskatchewan Games that had been held at the time of his induction. He has served as the Chef de Mission for Team Sask at the Jeux du Canada Games five times and was part of the Mission Staff with Team Sask at nine other Jeux du Canada Games. In total has represented Team Sask at 18 different Jeux du Canada Games.
At the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Lasuita and his granddaughter Tamsyn, competing in gymnastics, became the first grandfather-granddaughter duo to represent a province at the Canada Games.
Lasuita moved to Regina to become the Provincial Games Consultant, first with the provincial government, and then with the Saskatchewan Games Council when it was formed in 2006.
He was also Team Sask’s Chef de Mission four times and a member of the Mission Staff for Team Sask on four other occasions at the Western Canada Summer Games from 1990-2015.
His experience at multi-sport games led to him serving as a volunteer Administration Officer for the Team Canada Mission Staff at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
Lasuita has also been part of the Team Sask mission staff which won the Claude Hardy Award twice at the 2011 and 2015 Canada Winter Games. The award is given to the staff who best exhibits leadership, cooperation, integrity, and esprit de corps.
In 2023, the Lorne Lasuita Saskatchewan Games Athletic Award was created. A bursary will be given to one male and one female athlete at each Saskatchewan Games who best combines competitive performance, strong leadership skills, good sporting conduct, and a spirit of fair play, cooperation, and friendship.
Installed in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on September 23, 2023.
