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| Sports Officials Canada Announces 2007 Award Winners |
OTTAWA - Sports Officials Canada announced today the winners of its' annual officiating awards. The group presents four awards annually to the best officials in the country. Sports Officials Canada and Fox 40 International Inc. sponsor an annual National Officiating Awards Program recognizing a male and a female technical official/judge who have made a significant contribution to officiating at the national and international level. The award, the "FOX 40 Kitch MacPherson Award of Excellence" is in honour of the late Kitch MacPherson of Hamilton Ontario in recognition of his service as a referee in the sport of basketball.
Sports Officials Canada also presents the Ron Foxcroft Award, recognizing excellence from an official in a professional sport. The award is in honour of Ron Foxcroft (Fox 40 Founder & Chairman) of Hamilton, Ontario for his personal achievement as a basketball referee at the international level, the NCAA level and as an NBA league observer. The award also honours Ron's considerable ongoing support of officiating development in Canada and to Sports Officials Canada.
Sports Officials Canada is also pleased this year to present a new award recognizing an individual who has made a significant contribution to the development of sports officials and the advancement of the sports officiating profession. The Award the Allen G. Rae Builder Award, was created to honour the contribution to Canadian officiating by Allen Rae, founder and past president of Sports Officials Canada.
The 2007 Fox 40 female honouree is Judith Tutty of Mississauga, ON. Judy has been officiating with Canoe/Kayak and Dragon Boat Racing for 33 years. Since 1973 Judy has officiated at local, provincial and national events in all three sports. Her national record includes every Canadian Sprint Canoe/Kayak national championship since 1979. In 2007 she was the Chief Official at the Canadian Championships held in Regina. Judy was appointed to officiate at 3 Canada Summer Games and the 2005 Pan American Canoe Championships. She holds international officiating accreditation for Canoe/Kayak and for Dragon Boat Racing.
Since 1990 Judy has been dedicated to the development, training and certification of Canadian officials in Sprint Canoe/Kayak. She has conducted clinics throughout Canada and since 1991 has served as the Chair of the National Officials Committee of Canoe/Kayak. In addition to her involvement with Canoe/Kayak Judy is a founding member of Sports Officials Canada (SOC).
Judy was the recipient of the Gilbert Award from Canoe/Kayak in 1993 as a Builder. This award is the most prestigious award that can be received from her sport. She is an outstanding example of the dedication of technical officials to sport in Canada.
This years' Fox 40 male honouree comes from the basketball world. Don Steponchev of Saskatoon, SK has been officiating for 43 years, in able-bodied Basketball and Wheelchair Basketball. Don's nomination comes from the Wheelchair discipline of the sport. He has officiated extensively at the national and international levels of both. Don obtained his International Basketball Federation (FIBA) licence in 1978. His many assignments include the 1990 Asian Games in China, the 1990 Asian Women's Championship in Singapore and the 1983 World Student Games in Edmonton, Alberta. On the Wheelchair side of the sport, he obtained his IWBF licence in 1975. Don has officiated at two Paralympics - Sydney, Australia in 2000 and Athens, Greece in 2004. In addition to these two events he has officiated worldwide, in excess of 20 World class Wheelchair competitions.
Don has also been heavily involved in the technical development of both basketball disciplines, both nationally and internationally, conducting rules and officiating clinics, evaluating officials and serving on officiating technical committees. He has held executive positions with the Officials Committee of the CWBA and is a voting member of the Technical Commission of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. With able-bodied basketball Don was the provincial interpreter for Saskatchewan for twenty-five years while also serving as the Education Officer for the Canadian Association of Basketball Officials (CABO).
His many awards include induction into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and into the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 2007 honouree of the Ron Foxcroft Award, for excellence in a professional sport environment, comes from Professional Hockey. Terry Gregson originally from Erin, Ontario began playing hockey at the age of 4. He played through the minor hockey system up to Intermediate and Senior and in1974 was playing hockey in Europe.
He has had an illustrious career as an official starting in the Saturday morning house league at the age of 13. Terry received his OMHA referee card at the age of 16 and while playing in Europe in 1974, earned his IIHF licence. By 1976 he was working in the OHA. He started as a trainee in the NHL in 1978 where he worked the Western Junior League as well as the Central and International Leagues.
He started his career as a contracted referee for the NHL in 1978. After 1427 regular league games and 158 play-off games he retired from his on-ice career in the 2003-2004 season, Terry was hired by the NHL in the position of Senior Officiating Manager in 2006.
His on-ice career includes numerous Adams and Calder Cups, several NHL-Soviet series, All-Star Games and tours with the Winnipeg Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs. His Stanley Cup career spans 16 seasons with appearances in the finals from 1992 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2000.
Off the ice Terry has spoken and taught at Officiating Clinics throughout the world including Japan, Scotland, England, France, Germany, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Italy. Finland and the United States. He has served on the Executive of the National Hockey Leagues Officials Association (NHLOA) for 18 years during which he held the position of President for nine years.
Vaughan Baird of Winnipeg, MB is the recipient of the Allen G. Rae Builder Award for 2007. Baird is a true leader in sport. He was primarily responsible for the separation of amateur aquatic sports into individual organizations in Canada, becoming the founding President of the Canadian Amateur Diving Association, Inc. in 1968. He has served with many regional and national organizations and on international committees. Mr. Baird is also the Founder and continuing Chair of the Aquatic Hall of Fame and Museum of Canada, and honourary president for Diving Canada. His vision and leadership paved the way for many other diving officials to follow. Without Mr. Baird's willingness to go to battle and change things, it is debatable if the many diving leaders who followed would have had the opportunity to become leaders of officials in Canada and throughout the world. Mr. Baird has been a mentor to many of the leaders who followed him and has always been willing to devote a considerable amount of his valuable time to improve the environment for officials, whether it is providing direction and leadership as an official, stimulating others to do more, or merely inviting officials to his home or club for a relaxing luncheon.
Vaughan Baird was internationally renowned as a diving judge, having judged at every major Games, including the Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976, the Pan American Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the World Aquatic Championships in a career, which spanned from 1964 to 1990.
Mr. Baird was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, received the Order of Canada in 1992 and was honoured by Diving Canada with the creation of the Vaughan Baird Award which is presented to a person who has made a significant contribution to the "Art as well as the sport" of Diving.
The awards will be presented on Saturday, May 26, 2007 at the SOC Annual Awards Dinner, being held in conjunction with their annual conference at the Delta Meadowvale Conference Centre and Resort in Mississauga, Ontario.
Sports Officials Canada is a federally incorporated national organization dedicated to promoting excellence in sports officiating. The SOC represents Canadian technical officials as a national voice, when and where appropriate. For more information about the SOC please visit their website at www.sportsofficials.ca or contact them at info@sportsofficials.ca
For information about the Award Winners/Conference please contact
Denise Pittuck
Executive Director
Sports Officials Canada
Delta Meadowvale 905-821-1981 (as of Wednesday, May 23rd) or by Cell 613-878-7298 |
| Posted 2007-05-22 | Last Modified 2007-07-06 15:38:08 |
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