Largest-ever Hall of Fame class features builders, coaches, officials and athletes that shaped the game
Field Hockey Canada is delighted to announce the 2023 induction class of the Field Hockey Canada Hall of Fame. There are 11 inductees this year, the Hall’s largest-ever induction class. Comprehensive stories and videos about each inductee will be produced and released in the summer of 2024.
Builder Category
Field Hockey Canada is inducting four Builders into the Hall of Fame this year. Headlining the class is a wife-husband duo that brought field hockey to so many people across the country and galvanized the community in many ways. Judy Broom was a builder in the hockey community, especially in BC. She was the first full-time Executive Director of the BC Women’s Field Hockey Federation and was instrumental in the running of the 1979 International Women’s Field Hockey Championships in Vancouver. Judy passed away in 2008. Eric Broom was especially influential in the development, promotion, and delivery of the coach education program across the country. He was a technical coach expert in several sports and is a NCCP Master Learning Facilitator. In 2011 he was awarded the Coaching Association of Canada Geoff Gowan Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to coaching in Canada.
The late Christine Grant passed away in 2021, and will be remembered as a major contributor to the game in both Canada and the USA. She was critical to the creation of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Association and worked to institute the first Canadian National Championship for women. She was a high-level coach, an umpire and a builder of the sport. Chris is well-known for her strong advocacy to create opportunities for women in sport at all levels.
Inducted in the builder category is Yan Huckendubler. Yan has played a special role off the field in Canadian field hockey over the past several decades. Most will know him for his extraordinary field hockey photography, having been an official photographer at many international tournaments including the Olympic Games, Hockey World Cup, Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games and many more around the world. His sports photography is iconic in the field hockey world and has put the images of the game’s finest players and officials on full display. He also worked as a volunteer to build communications protocols and websites for both Field Hockey Canada and the Pan American Hockey Federation.
Official Category
Joining the Officials Category in the Field Hockey Canada Hall of Fame this year are two international umpires. Janice McClintock’s comprehensive career as an umpire and umpire’s manager spanned over 30 years at the club, university, provincial, national and international levels. McClintock is one of the only Canadian officials to have received the FIH Golden Whistle from the FIH for over 100 international matches. She was also instrumental on the administrative side of officiating in Canada and contributed to umpire development, evaluation, and certification.
Chris Wilson goes into the Hall after an impressive 15-year international umpiring career. With 89 career international matches to his name, Wilson umpired at three Pan American Games, two Commonwealth Games and two Junior World Cups. As well as being a top-quality international umpire from 1996-2011, Wilson also contributes to the game in an administrative capacity at a local and provincial level in BC.
Athlete Category
Andrea Rushton, Rob Short and Ken Pereira are all being inducted in the Athlete Category — a true bounty of 1990s-2000s field hockey in Canada. Andrea Rushton played for the University of Victoria, where she was named the national CIS Athlete of the Year. She then went on to amass 127 international caps with the Women’s National Team including participating in two Commonwealth Games and two Pan American Games. She also served as the National Team captain. Following her retirement, she continued to give back to the hockey community as an assistant coach at UVic.
Ken Pereira and Rob Short are the two most capped players in Canadian hockey history. Pereira has 348 international outdoor matches and Short has 346.
Pereira played in five Pan American Games competitions, two Olympic Games, two World Cups, four Commonwealth Games. A Toronto native, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players to ever suit up for Canada, and was a part of the gold-medal winning 1999 and 2007 Pan Am teams, which qualified the team for the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games respectively.
Short went almost game-for-game with Pereira as they headlined the 1990s and 2000s for Canadian men’s field hockey. Short contributed to the teams winning Pan Am gold in 1999 and 2007, and earning Olympic bids for Sydney and Beijing. On top of his two Olympic appearances, Short also competed in five Pan American Games, two World Cups, four Commonwealth Games and numerous qualifying events and Pan American Cups. Short continued to give back to the hockey community by immediately pivoting into coaching, forming an academy in Vancouver. He’s also had coaching stints with both the men’s and women’s senior national teams.
Coach Category
In the Coach Category of this year’s Hall of Fame, Field Hockey Canada is recognizing Errol Hartley and Lynne Beecroft.
Hartley moved to Canada in 1968 and began coaching Canadian hockey in 1970. He played a pivotal role in Canada’s field hockey resurgence during the 1970s. Tasked with preparing the Canadian men’s hockey team for the 1976 Olympics, Hartley faced the challenge of a small player base, including two 16-year-olds and several players under 20. Despite finishing 10th in Montreal, Canada defeated Pan American rivals Argentina 3-1, showcasing their potential. Hartley’s coaching legacy endured, with players he trained leading Canada to historic victories, including a 1983 triumph over defending World Cup champions India. His impact extended globally as he coached in Zambia and Trinidad and Tobago.
To her credit, Lynne ‘Buzz’ Beecroft was a quality international player, representing Canada at the 1983 World Cup and the Olympic Games in 1984, but it was coaching where Beecroft really left her mark. She is the winningest coach in all Canadian university field hockey, and one of the most decorated coaches in Canadian university sport history. She coached the University of Victoria Vikes for a record 39 seasons, boasting a 340-98-89 record and leading UVic to 34 national medals, including 15 golds. Almost 40 athletes on her teams went on to have international careers. The University of Victoria renamed the hockey pitch after Lynne in 2023, celebrating her legacy and retirement from coaching.
Class of 2023 Inductees
- Lynne Beecroft – Coach
- Eric Broom – Builder
- Judy Broom – Builder
- Christine Grant – Builder
- Errol Hartley – Coach
- Yan Huckendubler – Builder
- Janice McClintock – Official
- Ken Pereira – Athlete
- Andrea Rushton – Athlete
- Rob Short – Athlete
- Chris Wilson – Official
There will be an in-person induction ceremony this summer in BC for all inductees from the past several classes. This builds upon the ceremony Field Hockey Canada hosted in Brampton last year. More information and celebratory stories and videos will be released during the summer.
