Trish Nicholson was as surprised as she was honoured to get the call that she was being inducted into the brand new Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, located in New Westminster’s shiny new Anvil Centre.
Nicholson, 50, who wrote the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation teaching aid Field Lacrosse in 1991, is being inducted along with her former teammates from the 1983 to 1993 B.C.
Women’s Selects field lacrosse team into the 2014 Hall of Fame for the team category.
“It is a huge honour,” she said. “It is a big deal.”
The British Columbia Women’s Field Lacrosse Selects team was the team to beat back in the day, but no Canadian team could. The Selects women were Canadian champion 11 consecutive years.
The team also successfully toured the United States extensively, playing the top teams in that country.
Back when she played with the Selects, Nicholson said it was not widely known girls could take up lacrosse.
“It was a sport you constantly had to explain to people because you had to explain the difference between men’s and women’s lacrosse,” she said. The sport has grown since then but now is concentrated back east more than in the western provinces.
Nicholson still plays lacrosse, but box, not field because there wasn’t a senior women’s field team she could play on.
She said she still stays in touch with two of the women from her original Selects squad and is looking forward to seeing many more of the players at the induction.
Nicholson said it is even more exciting that the induction ceremony will be held in the new Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame facility in downtown New Westminster.
This will be the first time the ceremony and the banquet are held under the same roof.
Anvil Centre, which opened Sept. 14, is home to a new 1,600-square-foot Hall of Fame that is still being completed but is certain to be much different than its predecessor.
“It is completely updated,” said Tony Glavin, chair of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. “It is going to be much more dynamic in nature.”
Glavin said the displays – which will include digital as well as static items – will have a higher rate of turnover and be much more interactive and engaging than the old Hall of Fame, which was located from 1967 to this year in the New Westminster’s Centennial Community Centre.
“The old facility was more of a place that housed artifacts,” Glavin said.
Glavin expects the new Hall of Fame will attract those who don’t know anything about lacrosse as well as those who are longtime fans of the sport.
The one thing Glavin said he is happy hasn’t changed is locating the facility in the Royal City.
“To have it in New West is very fitting,” he said. “ New Westminster is the hotbed of lacrosse in Canada.”
Other inductees this year include players and twin brothers Gary and Paul Gait, Andy Ogilvie and Gil Nieuwendyk. In the builders category are Harry Nightingale and David General.
Reo Jerome and Ron Roy made the veteran category.
The Hall of Fame annual induction ceremonies and banquet take place Nov. 8.
