Former players, coaches, referees and friends wishing to partake in a Vernon couple’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony can do so for free.
Barb and Denis Murdoch are part of the Class of 2021 being inducted into the Volleyball BC Hall of Fame. Joining the Murdochs, who are being inducted in the Builder category, are athletes Betty Baxter and Tom Jones, coach Don Smyth and the 1977-78 BCO Men’s Team, the first club team to win a national championship.
“These inductees have raised the profile of the sport of volleyball, each in their own way, and are well deserved of recognition amongst the best of the best in the history of volleyball in BC,” wrote Volleyball BC.
The Murdochs will be inducted virtually, as will all the inductees, from Monday, March 1 to Wednesday, March 3. A social media feature will be posted March 1 on Volleyball BC’s Instagram and Facebook pages. A digital event feature and podcast interview with Denis Murdoch will run on Volleyball B.C.’s website on March 2.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for March 3, along with a video presentation. You can register for free here.
You have until 12 p.m. the day of the induction ceremony to register. Volleyball BC will email each registrant the virtual video link on the day of the induction ceremony.
Denis Murdoch began his volleyball career as a coach in 1972 in Vernon. Shortly after, Denis, alongside his wife Barb, started the Vernon Volleyball Club in 1975, and included players from Revelstoke to Princeton.
Murdoch would move on to teach at Vernon Senior Secondary in 1980, which included a pair of trips to the provincial finals, including a third-place finish.
The Murdochs – known as Mr. and Mrs. Volleyball in the Okanagan – grew the club program to three levels and 12 teams. Murdoch retired from coaching volleyball in 1997, but returned to the game in 2002 and spent five more years as an assistant coach at the school and club level.
After retirement, he and Barb would become officials and were recruited to assist with running the provincial high school championship in 2016. Denis was awarded a lifetime membership by Volleyball BC in 2018.
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