By Josh Wegman
The Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame will welcome five more members, as Kristina Groves, Wayne Giardino, Todd Nicholson, Tom Casey and Ed Laverty join the Hall’s already luxurious family at a May 7 induction ceremony at City Hall.
It’s the latest post-retirement accolade for Groves, Ottawa’s most decorated Olympian. The four-time Olympic speed skating medalist was also recognized locally last year when the Ottawa Sports Awards female athlete of the year trophy was named in her honour.
“Ottawa’s obviously produced a lot of wonderful and successful athletes over the years, and to be among them makes me feel very proud,” says the 37-year-old who owns nearly 40 World Cup medals.
Nicholson approaches Groves’ Games medal haul, having won three Paralympic sledge hockey medals during his 19-year career with the Canadian national team – bronze in 1994, silver in 1998 and gold in 2006, along with fourth-place finishes in 2002 and 2010.
“It means quite a lot,” Nicholson says of his induction. “It’s a huge honour for myself and all the people who helped me get here.”
Nicholson played a pioneering role in his sport, along with others such as Jean Labonté and Hervé Lord, paving the way for a new generation of local sledge hockey stars such as current Team Canada members Marc Dorion and Ben Delaney.
The 45-year-old isn’t far removed from the game, serving as chair of the athletes council for the International Paralympic Committee. He deeply misses the team atmosphere within the locker room, but some other aspects of the sport aren’t as precious to the Canadian Border Service Agency project manager.
“The sore shoulders and arms is definitely something that I can live without,” laughs Nicholson, who recently traveled to Pyeongchang to discuss plans for the 2018 Paralympics in South Korea.
Media great Casey joins Hall ranks
A former Ottawa Citizen sports editor and a long-time CFL beat reporter before that, Tom Casey felt “very honoured and very humbled” to receive news of his call to the Hall.
“I never thought this would happen to me,” says the member of the Football Writers of Canada Hall of Fame. “It’s mind boggling to be mentioned in the same sentence as (the other inductees).”
Casey covered the Ottawa Rough Riders during his entire tenure with the Citizen, until the team folded in 1996.
“In the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, everyone talked about the Rough Riders – they were the only team in town,” Casey recalls of the pre-Senators days. “And they were part of the community because a lot of the players taught high school when they weren’t playing football.”
Casey, who was the Rough Riders beat writer during their final championship season in 1976, is confident that the newly-minted Redblacks franchise will be able to stick around, unlike the Renegades who only lasted four seasons from 2002-2006.
“They’re really off on the right foot,” remarks the long-time volunteer member of the Ottawa Sports Awards board of directors. “They have a good ownership group – all Ottawa people and deeply respected in the community.
“They understand what football means to Ottawa.”
The patriarch of local touch football and recipient of a lifetime achievement honour from the Ottawa Sports Awards earlier this year, Laverty will join the Hall ranks as a builder, while three-time Grey Cup champion and former Rough Rider Giardino is the final 2014 inductee.