Sheila Kelly to Receive Prestigious Schroeder Award

The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) has named Sheila Kelly, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF), as recipient of the prestigious Schroeder Award.

Presented periodically, the W.R. “Bill” Schroeder Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor presented by ISHA and is awarded to individuals for meritorious service of lasting nature in the sports heritage industry.

“Sheila has distinguished herself as an outstanding museum leader and strives for excellence in all aspects,” ISHA President Susan Wasser said. “Her engaging leadership skills, passion, dedication, and ingenuity has transformed sports heritage within Saskatchewan. We are thrilled to be able to honor Sheila with this award and provide her this well-deserved recognition.”

Sheila has served as Executive Director for the Hall of Fame for 28 years. During her tenure, she has impacted sports heritage from the local to the international levels by developing the Hall of Fame as the leading sports heritage association in the province. Additionally, she is credited with nurturing the development of multiple satellite halls, sports museum and sports heritage research projects. On behalf of the Hall of Fame, she also secured a formal agreement with the Province’s most successful sports team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, to house its entire collection.

“Sheila has been the sustaining factor behind the Hall for the more than 25 years and has impacted countless individuals not just across Saskatchewan, but across Canada and internationally as well,” said Rankin Jaworski, SSHF President. “ I have no doubt in my mind that the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame would not exist as it does today without Sheila and I’m beyond pleased to see her recognized on an international level with such a prestigious award for the time, energy and passion she has poured into the Hall.”

The official presentation of the Schroeder Award will take place on October 19, 2017, at “An Evening of Champions” as part of ISHA’s annual conference, hosted this year by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, October 18-20.

For more information, contact:
Sheila Kelly, Executive Director: 306-780-9233, [email protected]
Autumn McDowell, Communications Coordinator: 306-780-9203, [email protected]

 

 

Holiday Hours

Gallery Holiday Hours:

Saturday, July 1: Closed
Sunday, July 2: Noon – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, July 3: Noon – 5:00 p.m.

*We will return to regular hours on Tuesday, July 4:
Monday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Will you be at Wascana Park to celebrate Canada 150 on July 1st? Watch for our Traveling Exhibit, parked behind the Royal Saskatchewan Museum!

Cultural Access Passes Welcome Here!

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Use your CAP card to visit the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame for free!

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame is extremely proud to announce that we now accept Cultural Access Passes! Stop by the SSHF to see the accomplishments that individual athletes and teams have made in the province. The Hall of Fame was established to honour outstanding Saskatchewan athletes, championship teams and sport builders as well as to preserve the history of Saskatchewan sport. To see more tourist attractions in Saskatchewan, visit the CAP directory!

There are more than 1,300 of Canada’s best museums, art galleries, discovery centres, historic sites and nature parks that you can visit for free with your Cultural Access Pass. More attractions join the program all the time. Be sure to visit the Cultural Access Pass website regularly for the most up-to-date listings.

For more information on the CAP and its destinations, please click below:

Cultural Access Pass

 

 

 

April Blog: The Keystone Cup

Throughout 2016, the SSHF will be selecting one special event each month to feature in our “12 Months, 12 Events” 50th anniversary project – dedicated to all 505 of our inductees and Saskatchewan’s rich sport history.

Our fourth event of the year served to celebrate The Keystone Cup in Regina.

A fan forum and autograph session celebrating the 2016 Keystone Cup Championship was hosted on April 15 and 16, 2016 at the Co-operators Centre in Regina. Since the Cup’s inception, 2016 represented the first time this prestigious junior B hockey championship had been decided in Regina. The Extreme Hockey Regina Capitals hosted the 2016 Keystone Cup at the Co-operators Centre from April 14-17.

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In attendance to help celebrate the Championship and our 50th anniversary were the following inductees and special guests:

  • Cliff Koroll (Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame Inductee – Hockey 2015)
  • Morris Mott (Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame Inductee – Hockey 1980)
  • Terry O’Malley (Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee – 2016)

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The SSHF would like to sincerely thank the Keystone Cup organizing committee and our Master of Ceremonies, Taylor Shire, for helping to make this event possible.

Don’t miss your chance to help celebrate our 50th during our next special event!

The SSHF is extremely excited to be involved in the Heritage Fairs held throughout the province this year. For the first time in the history of the Fairs, a Sports specific award is being presented to a student during each Regional Fair (Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Swift Current), and at the Provincial Fair held in Regina. We are thrilled about the opportunity for a standalone Sports Award and look forward to involving inductees in the presentation and judging of the awards.

 

SSHF Honours Inductees Who Served Our Country

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While it is difficult to put this type of gratitude into words, each year on this date, our country does what we can to show our sincere appreciation to those who have given their lives in service of our Nation’s freedom. Here at the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, we are well aware of what words like dedication, sacrifice and commitment stand for, as it is our mission to recognize those people in sport, who best exemplify what these phrases mean.

On November 11 however, that focus shifts and we pay our respects to those who have committed, dedicated and certainly sacrificed everything, in order to keep Canada among the greatest Nations in the world. In sport, similarities are often drawn to a battle, or fight which exists between two sides. Those conflicts though, pale in comparison to what a select few have experienced, beyond the field of play.

With this piece, we aim to thank these people for everything they have done to serve and better the places we live, work and play. Saskatchewan along with the rest Canada is forever grateful to the service men and women of this country. Everything they do on a daily basis ensures Canada remains, well and truly the north, strong and free.

Robert Adams – Athletics
Calvin Bricker – Athletics
Alex Decoteau – Athletics
William Forsyth – Athletics
Stanley Glover – Athletics
Joe Griffiths – Athletics
Harold Mitchelmore – Athletics
Peter Prediger – Baseball
Stanley ‘Hub’ Gutheridge – Basketball
Anton Glasser – Bowling
Gaston Eichel – Boxing
Ernest ‘Ossie’ Herlen – Boxing
Claude Petit – Boxing
Claude Warwick – Boxing
Eldon Elliot – Broadcasting
Alfred Hill – Curling
H.J. “Pete” Wilken – Curling
Captain Stanley Harrison – Equestrian
Sandy Archer – Football
Dr. Bob Arn – Football
Ken Charlton – Football
Paul Dojack – Football
R.C. ‘Scotty’ Livingston – Football
Neil ‘Piffles’ Taylor – Football
Fred Wilson – Football
Leonard Bath – General
Rollin Henry “Roly” Howes – General
Tom ‘Scotty’ Melville – General
Robert ‘Bobby’ Reid – General
John ‘Jack’ Stewart – General
Edgar ‘Wally’ Stinson – General
George Ward – General
Dr. Jack Leddy – Golf
Dr. Robert Reid – Golf
Tom Ross – Golf
Edward Abbott – Hockey
Garth Boesch – Hockey
Johnny Bower – Hockey
Austin Creswell – Hockey
Frank Foster – Hockey
Norman “Heck” Fowler – Hockey
Frank Germann – Hockey
William ‘Bill’ Griston – Hockey
William ‘Bill’ Hunter – Hockey
Dick Irvin Sr. – Hockey
Gordon Juckes – Hockey
Mike Kartusch – Hockey
Victor Lynn – Hockey
Jack Maddia – Hockey
Charles McCool – Hockey
Frederick McCulloch – Hockey
Ernie McNab – Hockey
Don Metz – Hockey
Nick Metz – Hockey
Stan Obodiac – Hockey
William Beatty Ramsay – Hockey
Chuck Rayner – Hockey
Ed Staniowski – Hockey
Harold ‘Harry’ Watson – Hockey
Al Ritchie – Hockey/Football
Tony Cote – Multi Sport
Joseph Austman – Rifle Shooting
James Harry Girgulis – Shooting
Julien Audette – Soaring
David Greyeyes – Soccer
Robert Van Impe – Softball
Dr. Sam Landa – Sport Medicine
William ‘Bill’ Orban – Sport Medicine
Harry Bailey – Swimming
Bill Ebbels – Tennis
J.B. ‘Kirk’ Kirkpatrick – Tennis
Dr. John Leicester – Tennis
David Ironside Pyle – Wrestling

Lest we forget.

Rider Pride Family Day

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The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to host our 2nd annual Rider Pride Family Day from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 16.

Admission is $10 per family (2 adults & 2 children) or $5 per person.  Members of the SSHF are free (please bring your membership card with you).

Admission gives you access to the following activities:

  • Door prize entry ballot
  • Games and crafts with a football theme, of course!
  • Autograph session with Rider alumni (1 – 2 p.m.).  Confirmed to date are Lou Clare, Terry Bulych (1973-75), Cleveland Vann (1976-80), Dan Rashovich (1987-99), and Wes Cates (2007-11)
  • Tailgate BBQ (hamburger, drink & dessert) (noon – 2, or while supplies last)
  • Dairy Queen coupon for the kids – Rochdale & Normanview locations only (while supplies last)

A newly included addition to this year’s Rider Pride Family Day is our friends at Cabela’s Regina! They will be on hand with free gear for our smaller fans, and great coupons for the adults! If you haven’t seen their amazing Regina location yet, you can visit them at 4901 Gordon Road. Be sure to come down on Saturday and join us for all of the fun!

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Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame: Annual Report 2013

2013 was quite the year for the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. During the course of the year, we were part of great growth. Not only for ourselves, but also sport in the province. Growth for the Hall saw new Directors to our board, new staff to our team, and a terrific inductee Class. Growth for provincial sport saw the substantial contribution of Saskatchewan members to the Canadian Olympic team. Rider Nation welcomed another championship team, who this time accomplished the feat during the last Grey Cup to be played at the old Taylor Field.

The history of sport in this province is stronger than it has ever been and continues to grow every day. In an effort to highlight some of the happenings for us over the past 12 months, we have put together the 2013 edition of our Annual Report. Included in the report is a look back at the major happenings in the Hall, as well as the events and people who made this year so special.

Take a look at the full report included below. A special thanks goes out to all of you, our members, without whom none of this would be possible. We thank you for your patronage and support in 2013 and look forward to making 2014 our best year yet!

2013 Annual Report

Meet the 2014 Sochi Saskatchewan Olympians & Paralympians

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame will be hosting many of the 2014 Sochi Saskatchewan Olympians & Paralympians this afternoon, Tuesday May 6 between 4-6 p.m. for a public autograph session. What better place to do this than against a backdrop of our exhibit, The Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games presented by McDougall Gauley, which will close with the conclusion of this public event.

Admission to the autograph session is free. Donations are gratefully accepted.

Autograph cards will be offered to all attendees while supplies last.

Attending this afternoon’s event are athletes, coaches and volunteers from the Games, including:

Colette Bourgonje (Paralympian)
Adam Burwell (Olympic, Coach)
Kali Christ (Olympian)
Ben Coakwell (Olympian)
Karen Howard (Olympic, Official)
Brittany Hudak (Olympian)
Marsha Hudey (Olympian)
Curtis Hunt (Paralympic, Coach)
Wayne Kiel (Paralympic, Coach)
Susan Lang (Official)
Paige Lawrence (Olympian)
Ken McArton (Olympic, Official)
Todd McClements (Coach)
Scott Perras (Olympian)
Graeme Rinholm (Olympian)
Lyndon Rush (Olympian)
Rudi Swiegers (Olympian)
Chelsea Valois (Olympian)
Kaspar Wirz (Paralympic, Coach)

The SSHF thanks the Canadian Sport Centre, Saskatchewan and Sask Sport Inc. for making this opportunity possible.

Never Give Up – Regina

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Last week I had the privilege of attending one of the most heartfelt, emotionally charged and inspiring events I have ever been a part of. It was the Regina portion of the “Never Give Up” tour, which is put on by The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame with help from our friends at SaskEnergy. It featured stories from two individuals whose lives and careers have been full of action, excitement and life lessons like few others, even in a sporting world where incredible stories seem to be commonplace.

The event started with a couple of great introductions, which gave our elementary school audience a premise for the almost unbelievable tales they were about to hear. First up was Regina-born Kia Byers, who has accomplished more in less than three decades than most would hope to in an entire lifetime.

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Her story is one of dedication and success which was driven by her motivation to achieve a number of goals and supported by a loving family, great coaches and teammates and an entire country behind her as she worked day in and day out for nearly fourteen years to get where she is today.

Along her path there were numerous setbacks, from injuries, to losses, to near misses that may have forced a lesser-driven athlete to abandon their dreams all together. Instead, Kia used them as fuel to pull herself off the proverbial mat and continue pushing forward, willing herself to never give up.

As she grew somewhat older and in the process wiser, Kia found a way to quantify her progression and accomplishments, which would not only help her stay the course, but also feel rewarded on her way to achieving her long-term goals.

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She spoke to our young audience about the importance of setting targets for yourself, not only on a grandiose scale like she had with the Olympic Games, but also taking smaller steps along the way like giving yourself personal bests for the sport or activity you are participating in.

Perhaps more importantly however, Kia talked about how her journey has shown her that being a top-level athlete is not the most paramount thing in life. When something like an injury happens, even the most accomplished in a sport are forced to look at life outside of competition and this lead Kia to reflect on herself and refocus on becoming “The best Kia” she could be.

Our second speaker, who throughout his life has been of the mindset that a solid background in sport and athletics should merely serve as a platform to create an outstanding individual, later reiterated this lesson.

This was especially touching in Kia’s case because, while she is no longer actively in the sport of Sprint Kayaking competitively, she is about to embark on her most rewarding journey to date as an expectant mother. With these unforgettable lessons and experiences under her belt, there was not a single doubt in the entire audience that both the young mom and her child will continue to set a great example of how sport can help to mold incredible individuals who not only inspire us, but serve the world well in their daily lives.

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The second speaker who I mentioned above, has been the focus of the Never Give Up tour as his book of the same name has served as the focal point of previous presentations and continues to not only inspire the young audiences he addresses, but countless readers and adults he has spoken to over the years.

His name is Ted Jaleta and his accomplishments as a distance runner, which are quite impressive, continue to be overshadowed by his story of survival and the way he inspires hundreds of people to continue on in the face of adversity, even when the odds seem insurmountable against them.

Ted was born and raised in Ethiopia; where the hurdles he faced make most in our daily lives seem like mere speed bumps. While his mother and father had never been exposed to any level of education themselves, there was nothing more important in their eyes than for their son to have a chance for a better life; they saw this opportunity through education.

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Young Ted first found he was a gifted runner not through love for the sport, as he was unaware that even existed. Rather he honed his skills with the miles of running he had to do each day in order to get to and from school. For Ted running was a means of daily transportation before it was ever a means to see the world through competition of any sort. If you were to ask him nearly fifty years ago a younger Jaleta had aspirations of a World Cup soccer title and none of international road racing success.

While his skill as a runner maybe have come by accident, it did lead Ted to national level success and even saw him groomed as a potential Olympian who might one day represent his country on the world’s biggest stage.

After years of struggling to attain an education while growing as a racer, Ted was faced with more adversity as he attempted to pursue post secondary knowledge. During this time, Ted was persecuted within his nation and forced to flee and hide just to survive.

After spending time literally on the run and seeking refuge at a camp in Kenya, Mr. Jaleta was fortunate enough to be sponsored by the Canadian government and find a new home here in Regina, where he has resided since 1982.

In the years since arriving here, he has once again overcome struggle. This time it was not survival that he was worried about but rather, fitting in and making a life for himself in a city, and country which he knew next to nothing about.

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Like Kia however, strong life lessons had been learned along his journey and he used the knowledge he had gained over the years to persevere and strive unwaveringly for as long as he needed to see his dreams become a reality.

Ted is now happily married with a beautiful family and spends his time working and speaking with the youth of the community, looking only to give them the same incredible opportunities he has been able to take advantage of. He still runs of course, only it is no longer with the same consequence it once was, nor as Ted will tell you, with the same speed.

At the end of the day, the curious young minds that filled the auditorium where filled with many new thoughts, questions and of course the important knowledge and inspiration they need so that when life deals them a set back, they too will find a way to never give up.

Thanks again to our presenting sponsor, SaskEnergy, as well as The Regina Performing Arts Center for the amazing opportunity to hear these two incredible stories told. I would like to invite all of you to take some time and find out a little more about Kia and Ted, as the few words I have written here simply do not do them justice.

Read more about Kia Byers at her website – www.kiabyers.com

Find more on Ted Jaleta via his online resource – www.tedjaleta.com
as well as right here at The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on:
Ted Jaleta’s Inductee Profile Page.

Never Give Up In Prince Albert

On Wednesday, February 7, Ted Jaleta and Fred Sasakamoose starred in Never Give Up in Prince Albert, SK, made possible through the financial support of SaskEnergy.  The theme of ‘never give up’ is very prominent with SSHF inductee, Ted Jaleta, who not only is a world class runner, but an inspiration to people of all ages.  As told in his book, Never Give Up, Ted has endured many hardships growing up in Ethiopia and arriving in Canada, but with a positive outlook, courage, determination and hard work, he overcame obstacles and made the impossible, possible.  400 students in grades 3, 4 & 5 listened to the life stories of Ted & Fred and embraced their message of never giving up on your dreams.

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Fred shared with the students positive memories from his childhood including wearing bob skates that his grandfather made for him, while using a hand carved wood stick to play hockey on the lake.  He also shared some of his childhood struggles including leaving home at 6 years of age to attend a residential school and the abuse that he endured there.  He sees all of these episodes in his life as building blocks which helped him to achieve his dream of playing in the National Hockey League (NHL).  The first treaty Indian to play in the NHL, Fred went on to play 11 games with the Chicago Blackhawks.  While there he learnt of the need to accept diversity and he shared the importance of this with the Prince Albert students.  Upon leaving the Blackhawks Fred has made it his goal to help give others the same opportunities that he received.  He has worked extensively to build and develop minor hockey and other sports in his community.  At 79 years of age Fred makes it a priority to talk to children and encourages them to never give up on their dreams.

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Ted told the students about the challenges of growing up in Ethiopia; the need to leave home – against his parents’ wishes – in order to complete his high school education; and the civil war that tore apart his homeland and life as he knew it.  Escaping from war torn Ethiopia, Ted and his family immigrated to Canada in 1982 to begin life anew.  A successful long distance runner in Ethiopia, Ted used sport as a means to integrate himself into Canadian life.  It became a means to meet new friends, learn the language, and establish himself within his new community.  By 1986 Ted was once again long distance running and proving himself on the provincial, national and international level.  In 1997 Ted was ranked 7th in the International Master’s Road Racers.  Ted shared with the children the need to treasure their education, never give up on their goals, and always be willing to give back.

The SSHF’s Never Give Up program will be continuing in the communities of North Battleford (March 7) and Regina (March 14) with Ted being joined by Canadian sprint kayaker, Kia Byers.

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Words & Photos by Sheila Kelly