‘Tis the night before Christmas, when athletes all pause,Awaiting the road trip of player named Claus.Teams are enjoying some holiday fun,Recalling events from the year nearly done.
My annual present each year at this time,Is a holiday greeting composed as a rhyme.The aim is to give recognition of sortsTo folks in our city connected with sports.
So a Thorpe Report poem is now my campaign,Though readers at large may elect to complain.From during the year I’ve examined my notes,But my skill as a poet won’t earn many votes!
There are hundreds of athletes and coaches it seems,Involved with a sport, or maybe on teams.I’ve checked with great care while compiling my list;Apologies, though, for names that I’ve missed…
Skating takes skill, so it’s there we will start;Davis, Borelli, lead hockey with heart.Darbyshire, Cornforth, and Olson have say,With Becia, Boehm, Pow and McKay.
Whitford needs ice time for females to skate;Islanders ladies with Walton relate.Monk with McCarthy and Cake are on ice;Old-timers’ action has Edwards and Tyce!
Rec hockey Whalers were tops on the year;Pulak and Hall, and Rowe could all cheer.Youth Sticking Together had plenty of game;New street hockey recordresulted in fame.
Bachynski’s now coaching the Bucs junior B;Smith’s making deals for improvement to see.For Winter Games team, two Hardys did click;Lang was selected as NHL pick!
Our Clippers this season were quick from the gate;Best in division, which fans think is great.Vandekamp’s coaching with plenty of zeal;Hoping that injuries quickly will heal.
With Taylor as captain the forwards are set;Jackson and Rempal head straight to the net.Kaldis and Gushue help defence to jell;In net there is Severson, if not Decelles!
Now out to the pitch, where soccer is king;Of title for Highlanders, Roberts can sing.Men’s team United competes in Div. 1;On sideline is Jorgensen watching them run.
Academy players to Pomeroy turn;Castillo as well, helps youngsters to learn.U18 girls to a title did Storm;Whiting and Baird helped players perform.
Youth teams are aided by Taylor so true,Zuccaro and Myhrer, and Sommerfeld too.With Butler and Groot do coaches relate;Technical tactics now Evans will state.
Mariner women like Rodgers were bold;Coach Kang at provincials saw medal of gold.Merriman’s men were in nationals mix,But settled for silver on penalty kicks!
For Football Nanaimo, Rasmussen was boss;Redmen for Roden the pigskin did toss.Renton and Craven kept players in sight,With registrar Boese and treasurer Wright.
With Raiders this season things seemed to go wrong,Though Chapdelaine, Cook, O’Brien were strong.A five and five record saw Ridgeway get fired;Replacing him now, coach Conn has been hired.
For Bulldogs from Barsby the season was sweet;As champions of province the team did repeat.For Stevenson coaching, the win was a thrill,With players like Virtanen, Rainey and Hill.
For Eathorne and Wicks, rugby’s the thing;With Marshall and Murphy the Hornets can sting.Rugby for women is also in parks;Pauls is on pitch, with Ellsmere and Marks.
With Boas as boss, lacrosse teams do play,Say Terris and Couling, Lassam and May.For registrar Young, big numbers were grand,But floor time for practice was in great demand!
Hartmann, Gillespie, and Krassman so bold,Were Team B.C. ladies as Ross won a gold.Bishop and Fulton for field lacrosse cheer;Turley and Carter wear referees’ gear.
Colash and Olson their talent did prove;Whiting as player was quick to improve.Coaching top honours saw Angell the best;Lacrosse Boy O’Dwyer outshone all the rest!
Of Timbermen action will Nicholson sing;Shires with juniors had plenty of zing.Patterson, Diplock, led team senior BTo top of the league, as Maughan would agree.
At senior A level, there weren’t many grins;New sponsor was needed, and so were some wins.But Palmer and Toth have sights on next year,As trade for a scorer saw Hickey appear!
When seasons are changing and weather is warm,Ballfields are often where players will swarm.Larsen and Spencer with softball relate;Slo-pitch has Woods taking swings at the plate.
Of fastball for minors, Cawthorne will talk,With Kenney and Cornborough, Nichol and Knoch.Senior men’s fastball had Belton as boss;For Wheatsheaf in final, McCormick did toss.
Fastpitch had Robillard, Fletcher and Murray,Bassett and Dorman, Franklin and Currie.Silver in province the Breakers did earn,With Winters, MacNeil, Rodway and Byrne.
Baseball for minors saw Leaf get his bats;Humphreys with Holyk and Burgmann kept stats.Raddysh when umping could not be ignored;Yeung and Athletics won Shewchuk award!
Blundell had his Mariners getting on base;Ballance for Coal Miner men set the pace.Pirates had Rogers to teach them their craft;Texas took Chartrand in major league draft!
We turn now to courts, with hoops or with walls,For racquets and netting, birdies and balls.Tennis at Westwood has Fox at the net;Shahi’s at Bowen, where Jenkins is set.
Badminton surface is Walker’s locale,With Collery, Binns, McQuire, Duval.Mariner teammates were Thompson and Robb;They earned a gold medal with smashes and lob.
Squash features Birks, with Mehl as a champ;Kossey is firmly in walleyball’s camp.Pickleball players are Stewart and Stern;Eaton, Jerome, will help you to learn!
On volleyball court, coach Webb will take step,With Orton and Tang, Nelson and Epp.Rounis and Philip, good basics do stress,Giving out pointers to teams of Express.
Behie at the nationals, silver did reach;Franklin won title for play on the beach!Mariner players compete with great pride;Men’s coach is Avender, women’s is Hyde.
Hiemstra with Friday night basketball trains;When Tang referees, no one complains!Coaching in school, McRae could be seen,With Gillies, Salewski, Thom and Lundine.
VIU men’s team has hopes to go far;Coach is Kuzminski, assisted by Marr.And Mariner women had reason to cheer;McWhinnie earned honour as coach of the year!
Brittain likes bowling at Brechin, you bet;With Johnson, Boudot, strikes are a threat.Talent at five pins young Craven could claim;Bowlers named Eby earned medals and fame!
Splitsville has alleys where tenpins are rolled;Hagstrom with Park and Gruninger bowled.But lawn bowling happens outside on the green,Where Mitchell, McKay, and Gafka are seen.
Sherry and Thompson are always prepared,Coaching the bowlers with vision impaired.Ruckman and Fred display talent, no wonder,Heading for Worlds, to be hosted Down Under!
Also outside, with bats and a wicket,Niamath is wishing revival of cricket.Field hockey women can navigate well,With sticks that are curved, as Eby will tell.
Gourlay and Davies throw darts to the ring;Ultimate Frisbee sees Schein take a fling.MacLellan takes aim at the club Fish and Game;Baldassi a bullseye with arrow will claim.
Now can’t forget golf, that many complain,Can frustrate a player and drive you insane!As Mariner captain, Haddad did compete;Anjarwalla as junior has game that’s complete.
Harper and Edwards won championships here;Hill and MacDonald both had a good year.Morris and Symbaluk drive the ball far;I only wish I could manage a par!
Let’s plunge into water where swimmers cavort;Sanderson, Younk, give Ebbtides support.Synchronized Diamonds for Scott have a gleam,With Wilson and Warsh, and Webb on the team.
Flood coaches Riptides to go with the flow,Like Irwin and Crane, de Leeuw and Munro.Della-Rosa and Houghton awards did arrayWith Shoesmith and Gage, Scrivens and Day.
Also in pool, White Rapids do well,As Saunders and Trajan as coaches will tell.McGonigle, Johnson, and Der could apprise;Moore was awarded the Marge Dudley prize!
Barakso and Schrijver are rowers who zoom;Paddleboard business was founded by Vroom.Christie and Campbell at sailing do thrive;Richer and Singer with scuba will dive.
Mark does the pleasure of paddling crave;Canoeing is great, Nikitovic will rave.TSN visit saw kayakers thrilled,With money awarded for boathouse to build!
Now that it’s winter and snow hits the ground,Adams on Washington skiing is found.Callon and Erickson blaze through the snow;Riders with Bergvinson snowboarding go!
Skating club president Behn is on ice;Hawkes as the coach will agree that it’s nice.Figures on ice will make Sommerville swoon,With Etherton, Gibbons, Chisholm and Poon.
Ice at the curling club Horton does make,And members all read it without a mistake.On Perpeluk, Wood, Rice and the crew.On Whittam and Davies with draw weight so true.
On Waatainen’s men with a championship team;On Mitton and Smith, who realized a dream.Pulak and Shantz saw banners unfurled;Sisters Van Osch at the nationals curled!
On Gummer and Gallo who sweep with great might,When shots I’m attempting come up a bit light.On Adams in house, whose shots always score;On Ruth who is skip, and is wife I adore.
For Richardson, Brenner, coach Conway could cheer;Nanaimo Gymnastics was Club of the Year!Teghtmeyer, Mould, competed with pride;Poirier’s gymnasts were on the Flipside!
Now into the ring, where Creswell bears down;Walker as boxer won Golden Glove crown.Calvin, van Hest, were wrestlers with pluck;A national title was captured by Tuck!
Punt as a trainer gets martial arts rage;Swatez for Impact was seen in a cage.Jiu-jitsu has Johnson, Malone, and Wyse;Instructor Biernacki was up for a prize!
Teaching karate gives Semple a spark,Say students like Funk, Hamilton, Clark.Nordli at worlds could see history unfold;Alvarez fighting won medal of gold!
Supporter of judo, now Larsen will speak;Fiandor is coaching with expert technique.Davie, Theberge, and Kruger could see:Clark and Fiandor were tops in B.C.!
Bikram hot yoga will make Carroll’s day,While climbing up walls comes Jonas-McRae.Gilks as a trainer lifts plenty of weight;Boot camp with Wengel for fitness is great.
For workout in gyms, Palladini’s a star;Northridge has Jung, will say Hancox-Barr.For Jakobsen, Robertson, balance is fine;Pilates with Merrett your core will align!
Cycling comes Boon, with Argyle and Grey;Thibault and Simms, of cyclocross say.Mountain bike riders McGarrigle hails;McMillan and members were building new trails.
Leslie, McGill, made BMX mark;Cheering was Johnson at Davidson Park.Riders at Wastelands will motocross show;Sulyok to race in Las Vegas did go!
Hansen and Young like to go for a walk;Of Special Olympics, Taylor will talk.Crushers with Gould in a derby will roll;Stilwell in wheelchair still reaches her goal!
Running is fun, will Thibodeau say;Bastion Club members keep fit every day.Palfery, Trajan, and Davies set pace;Seaman was champ in 100K race!
In cross-country running, DeSchiffart did win,With Mousseau and Morris, Miller and Pynn.Burrett captured silver at national meet;Drope won a Challenge with super fast feet!
With track and field action at Rotary Bowl,Setting new records was Heisterman’s goal.Katzberg and Clare, with Doughty were back,Successful in project to Light Up the Track!
VIU programs for fitness and fun,See Hunter with Kellow and Hyde on the run.Gildersleeve, Robb, and Thompson could cheerHonoured with reason as Athletes of Year!
Harding rates credit for parks and rec team;Regional centre earns Cooper esteem.Fitness in general for health is a key,As doctors like Kurytnik and Cline will agree!
Lott was in charge of big project this year:Nanaimo played host to a Summer Games here.All volunteers deserve praise that is loud;Our city’s success should make us all proud!
Now greetings to people whose business is sport;They cover the games, and scores they report.McKenzie at Daily now gives us the news;Marshall on radio offers his views.
And here at the Bulletin, covering his beat,Sakaki does sports from his editor’s seat.Checking his stories and facts with great care,Meeting each deadline with moments to spare!
And now to conclude this holiday rhyme,Some favourite themes I’ll state at this time:Fitness has value for health and for heart,So keep yourself active and try to take part.
Games that are fun, more kids will enjoy,But ‘win at all costs’ can pleasure destroy.For players when young, learning’s the goal;Improvement and effort should coaches extol.
No matter what sport, one rule is the same:Always play fair, whatever the game!And try to remember that when you compete,Be humble in winning, show grace in defeat.
Give it your best, whatever your do,But always show class – good sportsmanship too.And now I’ll exclaim to all readers in sight:Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
