Meet the newest inductees to the BSHOF

Membership into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame will swell by seven Saturday afternoon during the 25th induction ceremonies (and first since 2019) at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.

Hall of Fame President Ian Press says his committee has put in a lot of work in preparation for tomorrow’s ceremony.

As you would expect, the accomplishments of the new inductees are considerable.

BARB SNEDDEN WOOD

A three-time Centennial Secondary School Athlete of the Year, Barb excelled in school basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Her high school coach, Bruce Faulds recalls her as “the ultimate team player” and one of the best athletes he saw in 30 years of coaching.

Barb led her various teams to several titles, including a top four finish at OFSAA for basketball.

Outside of school, Barb lit up the hockey rink and the ball diamond. She and fellow BSHF inductee Judi Gilbert were women’s hockey pioneers in Belleville.

When Barb joined the Junior Girls Belleville Oddfellows team in 1977, they began a streak of three league championships.

In 1980, Barb aged up to the Belleville Intermediate Legionettes who dominated the league for three years and were the first women’s team from Belleville to reach and win a Provincial OWHA title. While at Guelph University, Barb was part of the Gryphons Women’s ice hockey team from 1985-89.

In the 1986-1987 season, she was team MVP, and in her graduating year, she was team captain and an OWIAA All-Star.

At the University of Toronto she contributed her talents to the ice hockey team and helped the Blues become the 1990 OWIAA Champions.

During the off season, Barb honed her fastball skills. At the age of 19, she was the catcher for Team Ontario at the 1985 Canada Summer Games. Her team won seven games straight to bring home the gold and that same year, she was presented with a National Achievement Award for distinguished performance in the field of amateur sport.

Her Masters career in fastball is highlighted by several international competitions including a gold medal at the World Masters Games in Torino, Italy in 2013 and silver at the World Masters in Auckland, New Zealand in 2017.

Already a BSHF team inductee for her role as coach of the 1988 Enright Midget Girls Softball team, Barb Snedden-Wood now joins the Hall as an individual member as well.

PAULA LOCKYER

One of the finest basketball players ever to come out of the Belleville area, Paula is recognized for her skills, leadership, and the way she has contributed to growing the women’s game.

At Moira Secondary School from 1976-1981, Paula led the Trojans basketball team to three OFSAA tournaments and a number one seed ranking in 1980.

Her high school coach Ken Smith recalled that she was an innovator as the first female player in the Bay of Quinte COSSA area to have a jump shot, which at that point was rarely seen in the women’s game.

Paula continued to excel at the university level while a member of the York Yeowomen basketball team from 1981-1986.

In her rookie season at York, Paula helped her squad win a provincial title for the first time in the team’s history.

During her university career, she was the Ontario leader in free throw percentage (93.8), a record that still stands in the top ten of Canadian Women’s Basketball rankings and was named an OWIAA all-star four times.

In her graduating year, Lockyer was named York University’s Athlete of the Year for her abilities and leadership on the team.

In 2007, Lockyer’s contributions to women’s basketball were rewarded with an induction into the York University Sports Hall of Fame.

Paula has run 12 marathons and competed in the Boston Marathon three times.

As the Canadian Duathlon Champion in her age group, she has represented Canada four times at the ITU World Championships. Paula finished in the top 10 every time, and most notably took 5th in 2013.

Lockyer, now living in Meaford, Ontario, volunteers as a basketball coach in local schools, and is a former coach/President of the Amateur Soccer Association.

JUDI GILBERT

For Judi Gilbert, hockey is in the blood.

She grew up watching her uncles Bobby and Dennis Hull on television and spending countless hours on the backyard rink until long after dark. By the age of eight, Judi knew that hockey was her game.

Her biggest challenge was that organized opportunities for young girls to play were very limited.

In 1976, eleven-year-old Judi joined one of Belleville’s first organized girls’ PeeWee team, and in her first season, she was the league MVP.

The following year, Judi played with Junior Girls Belleville Oddfellows team. A natural goal scorer with a diligent work ethic and determination to improve, Judi scored 38 goals & 35 assists for 73 points in 22 games.

The Oddfellows took home top honours the following two seasons and Judi repeated as league top scorer and MVP.

From 1980-1983, Judi led the Belleville Intermediate Legionettes to three league championships as league top scorer each year. In 1982-83, this team was the first Belleville Women’s team to reach and win a Provincial OWHA title.

By the age of 13, multiple schools reached out to invite her to join their hockey programs. She chose York University and was a pivotal member of the women’s hockey team from 1984-1987.

In the 1985-86 season, Judi led her team in goals and ranked third in league scoring.

The following season, York won the OWIAA championship and Judi topped the league in scoring.

Despite limited development opportunities, Judi’s accomplishments defined her as an elite top player in Canada in an era that had not yet recognized women’s hockey as it does today.

A true pioneer, Judi can be credited in part for the stability and success of Belleville’s women’s hockey program.

(sports.yahoo.com)

MATT COOKE

Practically every Canadian kid who laces up the skates dreams of one day hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Stirling’s own Matt Cooke, a 16-season NHL veteran, is among an elite group of players to reach this pinnacle, winning the coveted trophy with the 2009 NHL Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Matt came up through the Quinte Red Devils system and broke into junior hockey with the Wellington Dukes in 1994, winning the team’s Rookie of the Year title, an award that now bears his name.

The next season, Matt made the jump to the OHL after being picked in the 10th round, 155th overall, by the Windsor Spitfires.

During his three-year stint in the OHL, the strong centreman would notch a 95-point season, earn two league all-star nods, and represent his country as part of the 1998 Canadian World Junior team.

Selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round of the 1997 NHL draft, Matt divided his first professional season between the parent club and their AHL affiliate in Syracuse before winning a full time spot in 1999-2000 after his December call up with the Canucks.

Matt also played for the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Minnesota Wild before retiring in 2015.

Matt’s four points in nine games helped Team Canada bring home the Gold Medal at the 2004 World Hockey Championship.

Cooke’s collective NHL scoresheet boasts 167 goals and 231 assists for 398 points and 1135 penalty minutes in 1046 games. He was tenacious.

In the playoffs Matt scored 13 goals and 25 assists in 110 games.

In the 2002-03 season Matt was named the recipient of the Fred J. Hume Award, the Canucks Unsung Hero as voted by the fans.

(Rob and Irene Cooke. Photo;Facebook)

ROB COOKE

Before Rob “Cookie” Cooke became the backbone of the Belleville Bulldogs Rugby Club, he was an exceptional athlete in his own right.

Growing up in Stirling, Rob played every sport in school and in 1966, he was part of his high school’s COSSA championship football squad.

Rob went on to a stellar university career, first as offensive lineman with the Guelph Gryphons from 1970-1974, making the University of Guelph 1970s Team of the Decade, and then as defensive lineman with the Queen’s Golden Gaels in 1974-1975.

During a 32-year career as educator and coach at Centre Hastings Secondary School, Rob fostered the self-esteem and athletic development of hundreds of students in football, rugby, basketball, track, and curling.

In 2005, Rob was honoured with the OFSAA Award as Outstanding Educator to Student Athletes, and in 2007, he received the OFSAA Pete Beach Award for a life dedicated to sport and to helping others achieve their full potential.

When Rob and his wife Irene retired from teaching, the athletic field at CHSS was aptly named “Cooke Field” in their honour.

Rob also was an assistant coach for rugby at the college level with the Loyalist Lancers from 2006-2013, capturing three consecutive provincial titles.

Since joining the Bulldogs in 1981, he has been an advocate and promoter of the game at every level, and has held every official position from player, captain, coach and mentor to organizer, fundraiser, regional representative, and long-standing club president.

Naturally, Rob was among the first group of inductees to the Belleville Bulldogs Hall of Fame and was also awarded a lifetime membership. According to Club founder Lew Frape, “without Rob Cooke, the Belleville Bulldogs would not be what it is today.”

PAT TRACEY JUNIOR

You could say that Pat Tracey lives and breathes football. In fact, it would be an understatement, and his four-decade career record is the proof.

This Belleville native was a standout athlete in both football and track while attending Centennial Secondary (Sports HOF-1989). Elevating his game at the university level, Tracey started at defensive back with the University of Guelph from 1982 through 1986, winning the Vanier Cup in 1984.

Notably, he set the Gryphons’ record for most games played in a career (51), captained the team in 1986, and was named to the 1980s team of the decade.

On the sidelines, Pat’s ability to prepare future CFL players has earned him accolades as one of Canada’s top defensive specialists. He began coaching with his alma mater from 1987-97 and 1999, as both the defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. He coached in three Yates Cup finals with the Gryphons, winning two. Tracey was also the special teams coordinator in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the 1998 Grey Cup finalist Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Next, Tracey lent his talents to the Queen’s football squad for over a decade, where he served as defensive coordinator, and special teams coach.

In 2008, he was instrumental in leading Queen’s to an undefeated regular season, culminating in the 2009 Vanier Cup championship. He coached with Team Canada, capturing a gold medal at the 2007 NFL Global Juniors in Miami, Florida, and won a silver medal at the 2011 IFAF World Senior’s in Vienna, Austria. Since 2016, Tracey has held the role of defensive coordinator with the UBC football program where he collected his third Vanier Cup title in 2015.

Tracey is an honoured team member of the University of Guelph Sports Hall of Fame and the Queen’s Football Hall of Fame, and an individual member of the Quinte West Sports Hall of Fame.

KIM WHALEY-HILTS

Kim was born in Belleville and began playing darts at the age of 19 in the Belleville Ladies Dart League with her mom Judy.

In 1990, she joined her dad, top local player Bob Jones in the Men’s Super Dart League, prompting the league to change its name to the Quinte Regional Dart League.

She has participated in the Canadian national championships 31 consecutive years and has been ranked among the top 10 in Canada for many of those years, having achieved the number one ranking seven times.

In addition, Kim has scored as high as fifth in the World Rankings.

As a member of Darts Ontario team, Kim has represented the province at the Canadian National championship 22 times. She has taken to the international stage as a member of the Canadian World Cup team in 2003, 2005 and 2007, World Masters team member six times, and America’s Cup Team Canada member in 2008 and 2016.

In 2008, Kim was crowned the America’s Cup Singles Champion over competitors from 25 countries. She has been the National Women’s Singles Champion three times, seven-time National Women’s Doubles champion, Canadian Open Women’s Singles Champion and Canadian Women’s Open Doubles Champion.

Kim has competed around the world including England, France, Holland, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Australia.

Kim’s has received the Quinte West Mayor’s Award of Achievement in 2009 and 2011, the National Darts Federation of Canada (NDFC) Athlete of the Year in 1999, induction into the NDFC Hall of Fame in 2002, and the NDFC Distinguished Service Award in 2014.

The 25th Belleville Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies begin at 1:30 Saturday in the All Purpose Room next to the Dr. R. L. Vaughan Atrium at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre. The public is welcome to attend.