Charmaine Hooper

Athlete, Soccer

  • Born January 15, 1968 in Georgetown, Guyana
  • Hooper played soccer professionally in Norway, Italy, Japan, U.S.A. and Canada. During her College years she earned numerous state and NCAA records
  • Hooper is a pioneer in her sport, participating in Canada’s first-ever women’s national soccer team camp in July 1986 in Winnipeg when she was 18 years old.
  • Hooper established a national record with 129 appearances at the international level from 1986 to 2006. She represented Canada at three FIFA Women’s World Cups (Sweden 1995, USA 1999 and USA 2003).
  • She will be inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in June 2012.
  
 

Pierre Lueders

Athlete, Bobsleigh

  • Born September 16, 1970 in Edmonton, Alberta
  • Lueders piloted both two-man and four-man bobsleigh from 1990 -2010, retiring after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
  • A five-time Olympian, Lueders is the most decorated slider in Canadian history. Winner of the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics (shared with Italy), which was only Canada’s second ever medal in bobsleigh.
  • Lueders won eight medals at the FIBT World Championships with two gold (Two-man: 2004, 2005), seven silver (Two-man: 1995, 1996, 2003; Four-man: 2007) and two bronze (Four-man: 1999, 2005) medals.
  • In Bobsleigh World Cup, Lueders has won the combined men’s event four times (1993-4, 1994-5, 1997-8, 2005-6), the two-man event six times (1993-4, 1994-5, 1996-7, 1997-8, 2002-3, 2005-6), and the four-man event once (1994-5). In total, he has won 85 career medals in Bobsleigh World Cup competition.
  • In June 2010, he was named coach of the Canadian development bobsleigh team and resides in Calgary, Alberta with his wife, Sandra, and two daughters, Zoe and Maya.

 

“When I received the call that I was being inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, I was naturally a little surprised. It took a second to register that some of Canada’s greatest champions in their respective sports are inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. After hanging up the phone, I quickly went online to see exactly whom I might recognize. Many of my sporting heroes were there – that is when I truly recognized what a great honour and privilege this is.”

 

…Pierre Lueders
 

Scott Niedermayer

Athlete, Hockey

  • Born August 31, 1973 in Edmonton, Alberta.
  • Niedermayer, a defenseman, played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for two teams – the New Jersey Devils and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks from 1991-2010.
  • Niedermayer is the only hockey player to win every major North American and international championship in his career; he has won the Memorial Cup, World Junior Championship gold, IIHF World Championship gold, two Olympic gold medals, four Stanley Cups and the World Cup.
  • Niedermayer was drafted in the first round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. He was considered one of the most promising and offensively talented defenseman ever drafted out of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
  • Niedermayer is also relatively active politically and socially. He is currently serving as a Freshwater Ambassador for the conservation organization and is a vocal supporter of PETA.
  • Niedermayer married his wife Lisa in 1998 and they have four sons Logan, Jackson, Joshua and Luke.

 

“I am thrilled and tremendously honoured to be joining so many great athletes in Canada’s Sports Hall Of Fame. Hockey is a team game, none of my accomplishments would have been possible without the many great teammates I had along the way. Most importantly, I have been extremely fortunate to have amazing support from my family. My parents, my brother, my wife, and children were always there for me.”

 

…Scott Niedermayer

  
 

Jamie Salé and David Pelletier

Athlete, Pair, Figure Skating

  • Jamie Salé was born on April 21, 1977 in Calgary, Alberta.
  • David Pelletier was born November 22, 1974 in Sayabec, Quebec.
  • In 1996 they tried out together, but did not become a pair until meeting again in 1998.
  • Once Salé and Pelletier were paired, they were invited to compete in their 1st international competition at Skate Canada. The invitation came only three months after they had started working together, which was not typical. They were an instant hit at the event and finished third.
  • At the 2002 Winter Olympic Games Salé and Pelletier became media darlings after a judging scandal. After the pairs long program, Salé and Pelletier were awarded the silver medal while Russian skaters Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were awarded gold. The next day, the French judge admitted she had been pressured into awarding a first place finish to the Russians in exchange for the Russian judge awarding a first-place vote to French athletes. With the French judge’s vote discounted, a tie between the Canadian and Russian pairs was declared and Salé and Pelletier were given gold medals to replace their silver.
  • They are the 2002 Olympic Champions and 2001 World Champions in pairs figure skating.
  • They were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2008 and inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame on March 26, 2009.
  • They won the Lou Marsh Trophy as outstanding Canadian athletes in 2001.

 

“I was personally very surprised. It was absolutely unexpected. It is one of the ultimate honours given to a Canadian athlete so there is a moment of awkwardness where you tell yourself that you don’t belong in there, but once that moment has passed and it sinks in, it is definitely a wonderful feeling that I am looking forward to share with my family and friends.”

…David Pelletier

“I have been so proud to compete for Canada and now feel honored and grateful to be recognized in this special way! I’m humbled to join a group of amazing Canadian athletes!”

 

…Jamie Salé

  
 

Derek Porter

Athlete, Rowing

  • Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 2, 1967. His father, Hugh, was a rower for UK at the 1958 Commonwealth Games.
  • Porter won the gold medal at 1992 Olympics rowing with the Canadian men’s eight (photo finish race vs. Romania). He also rowed with Men’s eight at 1990 and 91 World Championships and finished second both times.
  • After the ’92 Olympics he moved to sculling and in 1993 won the single scull event at the World Rowing Championships. He went on to win silver at the 1996 Olympic Games, and came third at the 1999 World Championships and placed fourth at the 2000 Olympics Games.
  • Porter has been awarded Order of British Columbia in 1996 and retired in 2000, but is still the current holder of the Canadian record for indoor rowing.
  • Porter is a chiropractor living in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife, Helen Rhee-Porter.

 

“It was a wonderful surprise to hear I was going to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Surprise, because I have been away from international competition for some time now and wonderful because it is truly a great honour to be recognized in this way. Canada has produced so many great, great athletes in so many sports and to be honoured amongst them is the icing on what was the most memorable period of my life.”

 

…Derek Porter

  
 

Jeremy Wotherspoon

Athlete, Speed Skating

  • Born October 26, 1976 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.
  • At 17 years old he moved from Red Deer, Alberta, where he grew up, to Calgary to train at the Olympic Oval and join Canada’s National Team. He excelled as a sprinter, speed skating in the two shortest distances, the 500 and 1000 metre.
  • In 2003 he became the most successful male skater in speed skating World Cup history – with 49 world cup victories. He retired in 2010 with 67 World Cup wins and is the most successful male skater in history.
  • He has won four world sprint championship titles and won the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
  • In 2008 he was awarded the international Oscar Mathisen Award for outstanding speed skating performance and Speed Skating Canada named their male speed skater of the year award, which Wotherspoon has won nine times, after him. It is now the Jeremy Wotherspoon Award.
  • His partner is Kim Weger, a fellow retired speed skater and they have a daughter Ella. They live in Germany, where Wotherspoon is a coach for the Kia Speed Skating Academy.

 

“It is a huge honour to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. I wasn’t expecting this, and the list of honoured members is very impressive so I feel very lucky to be a part of this group of people. Receiving recognition for what I was able to achieve in speed skating is something that I will always be thankful for, especially because I never imagined this would happen when I first committed myself whole heartedly to speed skating 20 years ago.”

 

…Jeremy Wotherspoon

  
 

Marion Lay-Builder

Sport Administration

  • Born November 26, 1948 in Vancouver, BC.
  • Lay was a swimmer and reigned as the Canadian 100 metre freestyle champion for five straight years from 1964-68. Internationally, she went on to compete at the 1964 Olympics, finishing fifth in the 100m freestyle. She earned a gold medal 1966 Commonwealth Games and set a world record in the 110 yard freestyle event in 1967 and at the 1968 Olympics she placed fourth in the 100m freestyle and won a bronze medal as a member of the 4 x 100m freestyle team.
  • After retiring as an athlete, Lay served as a swimming commentator with CBC until 1973.
  • In 1972, Lay established Canada’s first government-led women in sport program and developed its high performance funding plan for women training for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
  • In 1974 she organized Canada’s first women and sport conference with Abby Hoffman, Penny Werthner and Petra Burka. This event helped to establish the WomenSport International, promotion plus (an organization for girls and women in sport in BC) and Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS).
  • Lay is a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. She served as President of Think Sport Ltd., a Vancouver-based sport management and consulting firm, headed operations for Rick Hansen’s 1985-1987 Man in Motion World Tour, was the founder and first chair of the Canadian Sport Centre, Vancouver, now PacificSport, and served as chair of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation.
  • In 2002 Lay won the first Carol Anne Letheren International Sport Leadership Award . In 2001 She won the Leadership in Sports Award at the Canadian Sport Awards and the International Olympic Committee’s Women and Sport Trophy for the Americas.
  • Currently, Lay is President of the 2010 LegaciesNow Society, which enhances national and provincial sport systems and aids funding and development of athletes.

 

“When Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame contacted me to say I was being inducted in the builder category I was thrilled! In Canadian sport it doesn’t get any better than this. I feel so honoured to be recognized by my peers for the contribution that I have made to sport, girls and women and to the community. As we all know, no one succeeds without the encouragement, mentorship and dedication of so many others. I want to thank all my colleagues, teammates and friends that have given me so much encouragement and support over my lifetime involvement in sport. I feel so blessed and humbled by this recognition.”

 

…Marion Lay-Builder

  
 

Daryl ‘Doc’ Seaman

Builder, Hockey

  • Born April 28, 1922 in Rouleau, Saskatchewan.
  • Doc Seaman was a Canadian businessman who was an owner of the NHL’s Calgary Flames and was involved in the bid to have the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary.
  • Seaman served with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Flying Officer. He completed 82 combat missions in Africa and Italy.
  • In 1949 he co-founded Bow Valley Industries. He sold the company to Talisman Energy in 1994 but remained chairman of the board of Bow Valley Energy Ltd. He was chairman and president of Dox Investments, and was as a director on the board of several public companies. Seaman was appointed by the governor general to the Royal Commission on Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada from 1982 to 1985.
  • He was part owner of the Calgary Flames and one of the original group of six Calgary businessmen to work on bringing the Atlanta Flames to Calgary in 1980.
  • Seaman was instrumental in bringing the 1988 Winter Olympics to Calgary and in getting the Saddledome built in 1983 for both the Calgary Flames and the Olympic Games. Following the ’88 Olympics, the Calgary Flames won their first Stanley Cup in 1989.
  • In 1980 Seaman and friend Harley Hotchkiss, in conjunction with Alberta’s 75th birthday, created Project 75, now known as the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation. The Foundation has contributed over $5,000,000 to minor hockey development initiatives, such as offering scholarships and helping to build arenas in Canada as well as contributing to charities in Alberta.
  • In 1992 Seaman was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2004 he was inducted into the Calgary Business Hall of Fame and in 2007 was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996 the Western Hockey League (WHL) named their WHL Scholastic Player of the Year award in his name as he was a great supporter of players combining education with sport.
  • Seaman died January 11, 2009 after battling prostate cancer.

 

Doc Seaman’s family are much appreciative of the recognition given to Doc Seaman as an inductee to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame as a builder. Doc was a strong Canadian and followed Canada’s successes avidly in all areas but particularly in sports. When he recognized a need to help the Canadian sport community he would step forth to be of assistance.

 

…Don Seaman on behalf of his brother Doc Seaman