Like many sailing stories, John and Stacie’s racing partnership started on a dock. Both athletes had been involved in sport their whole lives and a chance meeting in Victoria’s Inner Harbour brought together one of Canada’s most successful sailing teams: John McRoberts and Stacie Louttit.

Stacie learned to sail on Lake Superior in her youth; however, her first love was downhill skiing. In 1994 she broke her back in a skiing accident at Whistler Blackcomb and was left a walking paraplegic. Looking for a new sport and challenge, she met John and was encouraged to take up sailboat racing through the BC Disabled Sailing Association in Victoria.

John grew up in a sporting family, so when he became quadriplegic at age 18 after diving into shallow water in Lake Erie, he was always searching for new possibilities. He’d learned to sail as a youth and competed as a road racer and in wheelchair rugby before finding sailing again in the 1990s. He was immediately entranced; this was a sport in which he could be fully competitive, once away from the dock, just like any other sailor. “There’s true freedom on the water,” says John.

John progressed quickly in the sport and was already an experienced sailor when he met Stacie, having won silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games when paralympic sailing made its debut as a demonstration sport.

In 2006, John asked Stacie if she would team up with him to compete for the opportunity to qualify for a place on Canada’s Paralympic Sailing team ahead of the 2008 Summer Games, racing the new Skud18, a two-person high performance keelboat. Stacie’s job was to trim the sails - main, jib and spinnaker - with John as skipper at the helm. With the support of her young family, Stacie took a leave of absence from her work to train and travel. This dedication paid off when the team was awarded national team carding in 2007 and qualified for Beijing in 2008.

With the Games in sight, Stacie and John’s Paralympic campaign – christened “TeamUCan 2” – began to ramp up. Working with coach Stephen McBride from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, they sailed to a 3rd place finish at the 2008 Miami Olympic Classes Regatta and placed 4th at the 2008 Qingdao International Regatta Test Event. They were fully dedicated to achieving success in Qingdao during the Games, and after five days of testing conditions and tight competition, their training and teamwork paid off as they brought home the Bronze medal! John and Stacie went on to qualify for London 2012, where they won Silver in the Skud18 test event and placed 4th at the Paralympics.

Standing on the podium at Beijing 2008, Stacie made history as the first Canadian female sailor to medal at an Olympic/Paralympic Games. John made a well-deserved addition to his medal collection and TeamUCan2 had achieved their goal of representing Canada with talent and pride.

SPONSORED BY PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR SPORT EXCELLENCE

A native Victorian and youngest of five, Mike tragically lost his father in 1976 and the many changes in his life that year resulted in Mike joining a group of friends playing fast pitch softball.

Beginning as an outfielder, he quickly became interested in pitching. His dedication to fitness and his strong work ethic, shaped by his father, quickly propelled him to become one of the topleft-handed pitchers in the game. Mike also credits Ron Hill, his coach for the first six years, as making his remarkable career possible.“Ron was especially valuable to me during the difficult months following my father’s death. He always encouraged me during those tough times. He was a good coach and became a father figure to me.”

Mike honed his skills in Victoria’s Stuffy McGinnis League (which produced many of Canada’s National Team players) before playing top-level fast pitch in New Zealand in 1983-84.In 1984, he returned to join the defending National Champion Victoria Royals, where he was mentored by superstar Rob Guenter who helped prepare him for much of his success to follow.

As a left-hander, he was a huge asset in a game of predominantly right-handers. In 1985, Mike was recruited to play for The Farm of Madison, Wisconsin. With Rocky Vitale catching, he pitched a record four perfect games at the International Softball Congress World Tournament and established himself as one of the game’s elite pitchers. Mike returned to Victoria in 1990 and over the next 18 years played for numerous Canadian and American club teams. He was most proud when playing for Canada’s National Team, which he considered an honour.

Mike says that he was blessed with the best catchers in the game. “Without my catchers - Doug Chase, Tim Wahl, Rocky Vitale, Gary Bachus - I wouldn’t have had such consistency in my game and I willingly and gratefully share my accolades with them.”

Mike has won four Canadian Championship Gold medals and numerous awards including Top Pitcher, Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player. Some of his major accomplishments included pitching six games in two days to win Gold (1991), winning Gold and pitching with an earned run average of 0.00 (1992) and pitching back-to-back perfect games (1993). He has also won two USA National Championships (1993, 1996) and won top pitcher honors in both. He is the current record holder for most strike-outs (140) in a US National Championship tournament (1988). Other career milestones include a 20-inning 46-strikeout game (1988 USA Nationals) and pitching four perfect games within three weeks (1993).

Mike was a valuable member of Canada’s National team from 1987 to 1999. Highlights include winning two Gold medals at the Pan American Games (1995, 1999) and Silver at the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championships (1996).

Mike resides in Victoria with his wife, Heather, and sons Lucas and Caleb. He has been inducted into the Softball BC (2006), U.S. Fastball (2009), Softball Canada (2012) and ISF (2014) Halls of Fame.

SPONSORED BY VICTORIA HARBOURCATS