Athletics Canada Names Annual Awards to Honour Dr. Doug Clement, Jane & Gerry Swan and Lyle Sanderson

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

OTTAWA – Athletics Canada’s 2014 Semi-Annual General Meeting wrapped up over the weekend in Montreal, Que., with a number of rule changes approved including the prestigious honour of naming recognition of Athletics Canada annual awards for Lyle Sanderson, Dr. Doug Clement and Jane and Gerry Swan.

Annual Awards Effectively Immediately
Rule 257 - The Outstanding Combined Events Athlete of the Year Award is now the Lyle Sanderson Award.

Rule 262 - The Outstanding Coach of the Year Award is now the Dr. Doug Clement Award.

Rule 266 - The Development Coach of the Year Award is now the Jane and Gerry Swan Award.

Dr. Doug Clement: Recognizing coaching excellence, which he displayed for decades and evidenced by the endless list of successful athletes at the Club, Provincial, National and International levels of Athletics, the naming of the naming of the Outstanding Coach of the Year Award the Dr. Doug Clement Award is truely fitting. Combined with Doug's pioneering of Sport Medicine in BC and Canada and his current leadership of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, Athletics has benefitted many times over from his leadership and expertise.  The sport of Athletics has benefited so much from the involvement of “The Clement Family”, the energy,  leadership, pushing the boundaries of the envelope and helping to move the sport foward to realizing that there are no limits to what is possible.

     

Jane and Gerry Swan: For decades Jane and Gerry Swan have been major contributors to the growth and development of Athletics/Track & Field and Cross Country Running in British Columbia. The naming of the Athletics Canada Development Coach of the Year Award in their honour recognizes the significant contribution they have made to Athletics in British Columbia and Canada. Jane passed away in 2004 at age 67. The City of Abbotsford was quick to honour Jane and Gerry’s contribution to the development of sport in this province, renaming the track at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium, The Jane and Gerry Swan Track. As the long-time home of the Valley Royals, it was a fitting tribute, for in more ways than one, this labour of love was truly the house that Jane and Gerry built.

 

Lyle Sanderson, ~~A faculty member in the College of Kinesiology at the U of Saskatchewan until his retirement in 2004, Lyle Sanderson was also Head Coach of the U of S Track and Field and Cross Country Teams that won 11 CIS/CIAU National University Championships and 37 Conference Championships. An inductee into the Huskie Athletic Wall of Fame and a 2003 Queens Golden Jubilee Medal for service to athletics in Canada, his influence extends far beyond the University. During his extraordinary career, he was named to the Canadian Coaching Staff for 54 Athletics Canada National Teams, including three Olympic Games, two World Championships, two Pan American Games, the Commonwealth Games, and two World University (FISU) Games. His expertise in Combined Events and Youth Development in Athletics is known throughout the world. Throughout his career Lyle has coached, mentored and advised an endless number of athletes, coaches, teachers and sport administrators. His influence at the community, club, school, university, provincial, national and international levels of Athletics is without comparison and truly a model for many others.