Lynne Beecroft |
Lynne Beecroft |
Lynne Beecroft |
Lynne Beecroft |
Lynne Beecroft was born on May 9, 1957, in Comox, B.C. to logger Wayne Beecroft and his wife, Beth. Because of her father's occupation, Lynne's childhood playgrounds were the forests near logging camps around Cumberland, Sarita River just north of Bamfield, Port Alberni and Duncan on Vancouver Island and Juskatla near Masset Inlet on Haida Gwaii.
Lynne's love of sports started at an early age and she remembers playing road hockey with the boys in Port Alberni and because she was a girl, guess who had to be the goalie. When Lynne's family moved to Duncan, she began playing what was then known as grass hockey. But there, too, she was the goalie. By Grade 7, Lynne became interested in many sports, including softball, ice hockey, basketball, track and field, soccer and, of course, field hockey.
Her favourite sport in high school was basketball but in Grade 12, her field hockey coach, Peter Wilson, refused to sign her school annual unless she promised to try out for the provincial field hockey team. That year (1975), she was selected to two B.C. teams, both of which captured gold.
Lynne had been hoping to play basketball at the University of Victoria. She was quick, a good passer and defender, but lacked an outside shot and height (at five feet, three inches). So, after a successful summer of playing field hockey, she decided to try for a spot on the varsity field hockey team.
And so began a brilliant playing and coaching career in the sport of field hockey.
She made the UVic women's field hockey team as a mid-fielder in 1975 and remained on the team until 1979. Her speed and tenacity earned her the nickname "Buzz." In her first season at UVic, the team won the silver medal at the inaugural intercollegiate championship held in Vancouver. In her five years at UVic, the field hockey team captured two Canada West titles and were runners-up three times.
From 1977 to 1985, Lynne Beecroft was a member of Canada's national team, highlighted by participation in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In all, Lynne participated in 58 international "cap" matches, including four World Cup events, the best being a silver-medal performance in the 1983 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
In 2012, she was inducted into UVic's Sports Hall of Fame -- and deservedly so.
Lynne earned a silver and two bronze medals with the then-named UVic Vikettes, but her record as the UVic field hockey head coach is even more impressive: eleven gold medals, eight silver and seven bronze since her appointment in 1984. She has mentored 61 All-Canadians, six Canadian Intercollegiate Sports (CIS) players of the year, four CIS championship most valuable players, seven Canada West players of the year, six Canada West rookies of the year, a Canada West goalkeeper of the year and 107 Canada West all-stars in three decades of coaching at UVic.
Sponsored by UVic VIKES
Although there are many diverse components required to stage an international multi-sport games, the heart of any games is its sporting competitions. It was the all-volunteer Sport Committee that was responsible for the competitions of the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games. The Sport Committee was led by Chair Jim Carter, a member of the Board of Directors and Vice Chairs Gary Taylor and Sandra Stevenson. The remaining members were the 20 Sport Chairs who were endorsed by their national sport bodies and assisted by their provincial sport organizations and Dr. Norgrove Penny, Chair, Medical Services and Doping Control
Several members of the Sport Committee were involved from the earliest stages of the Victoria bid in 1987 when Victoria started on its road to becoming the host of the 1994 Games. They remained totally dedicated for a further seven years to guide their sports during the planning, pre-game test event and operational phases right through until the end of the Games. Others stepped up at a later date to take on responsibility for steering their sport during the latter stages.
The members of the Sport Committee planned for and executed all aspects of the "field of play" during the Games. They ensured that requirements for officials, equipment and technology were met, hosted international sport representatives, established medical and doping control protocols, recruited and trained volunteers from within their fields, and managed each pre-games event.
The knowledge and experience of the Sport Committee members were crucial to the success of the 1994 Commonwealth Games. As a team, they committed countless volunteer hours and not only succeeded, but excelled in delivering the biggest international sporting and television event in Victoria's history.
SPORT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
| Jim Carter Chair |
|
|
Gary Taylor |
Sandra Stevenson |
|
Ken Porter Sr. |
Robert Fergus |
|
Don Smyth |
Hassan Sunderani |
|
Dr. Peter Vizsolyi |
Austin Smith |
|
John Edwards |
Bruce Tonkin |
|
Ron Friesen |
Barb Wood |
|
Judy Davis |
Andrew Reid |
|
Darlene Irvine |
Fran McAdoo |
|
Hardy Fink |
Alexander (Sandy) Peden |
|
Bernice Beres |
Dr. Steve James |
|
Barbara Bishop |
Kjeld Brodsgaard |
Dr. Norgrove Penny,Chair, Medical Services and Doping Control
Sponsored by Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence
