Welcome to the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.

To honour athletes, coaches, builders and teams from the City of Coquitlam for their outstanding contribution or achievement in sport.
The Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame is where yesterday and today are celebrated and where athletic accomplishments and efforts are recognized. Developed as part of the Coquitlam Sports Centre renewal project in 2010, the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame provides a glimpse into the terrific achievements and legacies of our athletes and our community. And it all began with an idea.

At a gathering of the Coquitlam sports and recreation citizens’ committee in 2007, members were presented with the plans for the revamped and renamed Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex. Committee member Les Wingrove suggested that the project could be an opportunity to create a Hall of Fame to honour local athletes and their achievements. The idea immediately caught the imagination of those on the committee. From there, the project began to grow. A new committee was struck, bringing together prominent members from various walks of life, to help guide Coquitlam’s Sports Hall of Fame from the idea stage to completion. As the members discussed, debated and wrestled with such elements as the induction criteria, fundraising and website design, the construction crew was tearing down the old curling rink and laying the foundation for the Sports Hall of Fame’s entrance point.

Now fully operational, the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame contains over 1,000 square feet of displays and tributes, where athletes, teams and volunteers are honoured. It serves as a grand entry to the multipurpose Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, which was completed in the spring of 2010.

The Sports Hall of Fame followed its grand opening with its first round of inductees in 2010. Members of the community were invited to submit names for both the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame—honouring a career and/or historic accomplishment—and the annual Wall of Fame—celebrating the best of the past 12 months in a variety of categories. The fantastic part of the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame is that even after the official opening and induction ceremonies were wrapped up, the process has continued and will never be completed—the honours and celebrations will continue annually. When the doors opened in 2010 and the first inductees were introduced, the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame began its role both as the gateway to a fantastic recreation facility and as a touchstone for yesterday and today.

Keep connected to this website for information on how to nominate candidates for the Hall of Fame and Wall of Fame, the annual Award Ceremony and all else new and exciting in the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.

History

In 2007, Les Wingrove, a member of the Sport and Recreation Advisory Committee for the City of Coquitlam, brought forward the concept of developing a Sports Hall of Fame for the City. A working group, made up of six interested volunteers (Lois McNary, Les Wingrove, Barry Ayers, Cydney Smythies, Keith Chong, and Barry Parish) who were members of the Recreation, Sport & Culture committee was formed. This group spent over a year developing criteria, working on the concepts and presented the initial ideas to City Council. With their approval, in 2008 the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame (CSHOF) society was formed and a Board of Directors elected. The staff at Coquitlam Leisure and Park Services was tasked with finding a location that would house the CSHOF.

The location recommend by the Coquitlam leisure and park service staff was the entrance to the new Sport Centre being built at Poirier. This 1000 square foot facility would house both the Hall of Fame inductees and the yearly “Wall of Fame” award winners. The original plan called for some interactive games, and other areas to showcase sport in Coquitlam. Since its opening in the fall of 2010, the CSHOF Board of Directors has continued to build on its early successes through the addition of new and exciting displays and display cases.

Founding Committee Members

Lois McNary, Les Wingrove, Barry Ayers, Cydney Smythies, Keith Chong, and Barry Parish were members of the Recreation, Sport & Culture committee who spent a year working on concepts for a Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.