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Calgary Herald
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Curling legend Kevin Martin draws Order of Sport, joining loaded Class of 2025
Article content Kevin Martin was forever on the mark during his legendary curling career. Article content Both on and off the ice. Article content And for his curling success, he's been named to receive the Order of Sport, Canada's highest sporting honour. Article content 'When it comes to an honour like the Order of Sport, you're in a group with all the athletes of all the different sports — and that means a lot,' said Martin, of the announcement made Tuesday by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. 'But you don't really worry about this stuff when you're playing. All you do is get out there and try your best, and then wherever it all falls into place, it does. Article content Martin joins not only an elite club but an elite athletes class, as the 2025 inductees also include soccer legend Christine Sinclair, alpine skiing sensation Erik Guay, para-athletics performer Michelle Stilwell and softball superstar Darren Zack. Article content The two builders in the class of 2025 are philanthropist Martha Billes and hockey's Ted Nolan. Article content 'Definitely, you do not take it lightly,' said Martin of the call to order. 'I've actually heard from quite a few of people already, which has been pretty nice. Mostly, it's just a congratulations, which is fantastic to hear from a lot of people.' Article content Article content The 58-year-old native of Killam, Alta., touched many others during his career — and still does as a major advocate for the sport he has helped grow. Article content 'Between the junior curling and the events and the Grand Slam curling and the players association in the '90s and all those various things that I got myself into all those years ago, that means a lot, because that's off the ice,' Martin said. 'That's helping the game at a later date — growing the sport. Article content Article content 'Whereas winning is just yourself.' Article content And he won a lot. Article content At the provincial level, Martin skipped 12 rinks to Alberta titles, and he is a four-time Brier victor, advancing to win the world championship in 2008. Article content Twice, he represented Canada at the Olympics, winning the gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Article content Plus Martin has copped more grand-slam championships than any other curler. Article content 'The obvious answer is the Olympic gold in 2010,' said Martin, when asked to list his most memorable achievements. 'The 18th grand slam win meant a ton, too. Article content 'And helping to get the grand slams started meant a ton. Like developing it and getting it going was important, because that was necessary for a sport to grow internationally.' Article content Article content Sinclair, from Burnaby, B.C., is the all-time leader for international goals scored by men or women with 190 in 331 appearances with the Canadian women's team. She was an Olympic gold medallist in 2021 and twice a bronze medallist before retiring from the national team in 2023. Sinclair, 41, is now a co-owner of the Northern Super League's Vancouver Rise FC.
Toronto Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Christine Sinclair, Kevin Martin, Erik Guay among inductees to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2025
Published Jun 03, 2025 • 4 minute read Christine Sinclair is among five athletes and two builders who will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2025. Photo by DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS CALGARY — Kevin Martin and Erik Guay say it's not so much what they did in sport, but how they did it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Olympic champion curler Martin and world champion alpine skier Guay are among five athletes who will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2025. Soccer player Christine Sinclair, wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell and softball player Darren Zack join them in the athlete category, while NHL coach Ted Nolan and sport leader Martha Billes will enter as builders. 'I've had some highlight moments that are always going to be very cherished in my memory, but I think what I'm most proud of is probably the fact that I've been through my entire career without any sort of blemishes,' Guay said. 'I hope that I was an inspiration to a lot of the young athletes, not only in my hometown of Montreal, but also across Canada.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The class of 2025 will receive the Order of Sport at an induction gala Oct. 29 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. The Sports Hall of Fame has inducted over 750 Canadians, including three horses, since opening 70 years ago. Sinclair, from Burnaby, B.C., is the all-time leader for international goals scored by men or women with 190 in 331 appearances with the Canadian women's team. She was an Olympic gold medallist in 2021 and twice a bronze medallist before retiring from the national team in 2023. Sinclair is now a co-owner of the Northern Super League's Vancouver Rise FC. Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., is a two-time world champion and the oldest to claim at world title when he took the super-G crown at age 35. He reached the podium 25 times on the World Cup circuit, and won five gold before he retired in 2018. He's an Alpine Canada board member. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Edmonton's Martin skipped men's teams to Olympic gold in 2010 in Vancouver, and silver in Turin, Italy in 2006, as well as a world championship in 2008. He was a founder of curling's Grand Slam, which contributed to the sport's professionalization with large prize purchases and more television exposure for the sport. A few years removed from the day-to-day quest to win, Martin, 58, and Guay, 43, now look at their careers through the lens of their legacies. 'I hope I can continue to be an ambassador for skiing. I try to give back as much as I can as much as time permits me,' Guay said. 'I'm still very, very passionate about my sport and sport in general. It's to continue to give back and making sure that the sport's healthy for my kids and future generations.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Grand Slam curling property and building junior curling programs are what Martin says he's most proud of in his career. 'When you're playing, all you're doing is playing the best you can, practice hard, work hard, and try to win all you can,' Martin said. 'But building the sport, that's really important. You want it to be stronger and better for the next generation. 'No question, it would be certainly off the ice growing with the junior bonspiel around 17 (years) I think. And the Grand Slam is going terrific. … We put it together 27 years ago for goodness sakes.' Stilwell of Parksville, B.C., is a five-time Paralympic champion in wheelchair racing and also helped the women's basketball team claim Paralympic gold in 2000. She served as an MLA in the B.C. government from 2013 to 2020 and was elected vice-president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee this week. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Zack, of Garden River, Ont., is an Ojibwe softball pitcher who helped Canada win Pan American Games gold in 1991, 1995 and 1999 as well as a world championship in 1992. He struck out 150 batters in 10 straight wins for the Toronto Gators at the 1995 International Softball Congress. Nolan, also from Garden River, won the NHL's coaching award in 1997 in his second season behind the bench of the Buffalo Sabres. He coached the Sabres for four seasons and the New York Islanders for two. Nolan and his sons established a First Nations hockey school and the Ted Nolan Foundation provides scholarships to First Nations women. Billes, controlling owner of Canadian Tire Corporation, founded the company's Jumpstart program that assists financially disadvantaged families with the costs associated with sport. Jumpstart is in its 20th year. The Hall encourages Canadians to nominate people for the Hall of Fame. A selection committee reviews submissions and votes to recommend inductees to the Hall's board of governors. The Hall's 100,000 objects and 60,000 archival records were acquired by the Canadian Museum of History after the building in Calgary closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and didn't reopen. The main thrust of the Hall's work is digital storytelling through a national school program and Indigenous Sport Heroes Education experience. Other Sports Canada Ontario Toronto & GTA Canada
Hamilton Spectator
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Sinclair, Martin, Guay among inductees to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2025
CALGARY - Soccer star Christine Sinclair, curler Kevin Martin and alpine skier Erik Guay are among the athletes who will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame this year. Wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell and softball player Darren Zack will join them in the athlete category, while NHL coach Ted Nolan and sport leader Martha Billes will enter as builders. The class of 2025 will receive the Order of Sport at an induction gala Oct. 29 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. The Sports Hall of Fame has inducted over 750 Canadians, including three horses, since opening 70 years ago. Last year's inductees included hockey player Vicki Sunohara, tennis player Daniel Nestor and figure skater Patrick Chan. Canadians are encouraged to nominate people for the Hall of Fame. A selection committee reviews submissions and votes to recommend inductees to the Hall's board of governors. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sinclair, Martin, Guay among inductees to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2025
CALGARY – Soccer star Christine Sinclair, curler Kevin Martin and alpine skier Erik Guay are among the athletes who will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame this year. Wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell and softball player Darren Zack will join them in the athlete category, while NHL coach Ted Nolan and sport leader Martha Billes will enter as builders. The class of 2025 will receive the Order of Sport at an induction gala Oct. 29 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. The Sports Hall of Fame has inducted over 750 Canadians, including three horses, since opening 70 years ago. Last year's inductees included hockey player Vicki Sunohara, tennis player Daniel Nestor and figure skater Patrick Chan. Canadians are encouraged to nominate people for the Hall of Fame. A selection committee reviews submissions and votes to recommend inductees to the Hall's board of governors. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
CBC
11-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Olympic great Jennifer Heil named chef de mission for Milan-Cortina Winter Games
Social Sharing A selfless athlete and leader during her moguls skiing career, Jennifer Heil will bring those qualities and others to her role as Canada's chef de mission for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Tuesday. As team spokesperson, the native of Spruce Grove, Alta., will also serve as a mentor, supporter and cheerleader with the aim to motivate and inspire athletes while protecting their performance. "This is a massive honour," Heil told Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports. "I have a lot to draw on for the athletes. But I think more than that, I have perspective. And sometimes perspective is lacking as an athlete coming into your Games, which sometimes can be too much and too much pressure. "I have that experience to release the pressure valve a little bit for the team." The key position is filled by an athlete who represented Canada on the international scene, particularly multi-sport Games. Heil inspired her teammates at the 2006 Olympics, winning gold for Canada's first medal in Turin, Italy. She then earned the first medal by a Canadian (silver) four years later in Vancouver at her third and final Games before retiring in 2011 with 58 World Cup podium finishes, including 25 gold. "I could go for one more Olympic Games," Heil told reporters at the time. "I'm still at the top of my game, but for me I feel it's an important time to build my future. I want to be as successful off the slopes as I have been on the slopes and I feel that time is now." WATCH | Heil named chef de mission for Milan-Cortina Olympics: 3-time Olympian Jennifer Heil is the chef de mission for Milan-Cortina Games 37 minutes ago Duration 1:29 Heil's moguls teammate, Alex Bilodeau, won the country's first Olympic gold in Vancouver the day after she climbed the podium. "She's given me so much and I think a big portion of why I'm here today," Bilodeau said of Heil, an honoured member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame since 2015. "Definitely she's a legend in our sport." Somewhat lost from Heil's Olympic medal performance in Vancouver is the fact she opted out of her final pre-Games event to give other Canadians a chance to qualify. She was on a roll, having won four consecutive World Cup events. Leaves sport on a high Heil left the sport on a high, capturing gold in moguls and dual moguls at the freestyle world ski championships in 2011. Months later, she was the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award recipient as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year. At 41, the four-time world championship gold medallist will try to help Canada's athletes achieve their dream next February in Italy. Heil believes sport is part of her present endeavours and challenges when she relies on grit, emotional control and perseverance. "I've been retired for a while but don't feel like those lessons have left me," she said. "I think if anything, I've become a better leader. "I'm excited to rely on what I experienced as an athlete, from being a rookie to being a favourite to having crushing pressure." In the lead up to Milan Cortina, Heil will attend preparation seminars for athletes and coaches and serve on Games-related committees that finalize team selection and another deciding Canada's flag-bearers for the opening and closing ceremonies. She will emphasize "joy" being at the forefront of the athlete experience. "That doesn't mean that we're enjoying the grind of every moment and it doesn't hurt," she said. "But joy has to be a part of it. And there needs to be a lot of resilience. There needs to be a lot of adaptability. There needs to be the ability to turn off the noise." Heil began skiing at age two and over the course of her amazing career was a five-time overall World Cup champion. Heil fell in love with freestyle as a youngster watching Canadian Jean-Luc Brassard win gold at the 1994 Olympics. Away from the slopes, Heil supported Plan Canada's "Because I am a Girl" initiative, which ran from 2012 to 2018 and raised millions in its efforts to lift girls around the world out of poverty. In 2022, Heil graduated from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in California. She has also been an active contributor to charitable initiatives through her B2ten foundation that provides training and technical support to Canada's aspiring elite athletes. "She has been an incredible role model and leader," Hall of Fame cross-country skier Beckie Scott told retired CBC Sports host Scott Russell in 2015. "There are many young women out there who can say they were profoundly impacted by Jenn. And for that alone, she can be very proud."
