Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame names 2026 inductees

The 2026 inductees for the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame are revealed.

The inductees to the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame have been named for this year.

“The Class of 2026 is great,” said Bruce Rainnie, president and CEO of Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame. “We have two teams, three athletes, two builders. They have all contributed mightily to sport here in Nova Scotia. It will be a pleasure to maintain and preserve and tell their stories.”

The ceremony will be held Nov. 7, and Rainnie shared a bit about the inductees.

“Dennis Bonvie of Antigonish is the all-time professional hockey leader in penalty minutes. Interesting stat. He was a wonderful teammate.”

“Julie Stanhope is a multi-time special Olympic gold medalist. She will become the first female special Olympic athlete inducted to our hall. We’re very excited about that. She is the most decorated female special Olympic athlete in the province’s history.”

“Rodney Hersey, a multi-sport star in what became the Paralympic movement. He competed before the movement really got official and set afoot. But he was a track and field world record holder in the 1,500 and also a multi-time world silver medalist in alpine skiing. Phenomenal athlete.”

“Saint Mary’s Huskies, 2001. This is, I’m a little biased, but this this is arguable,” he laughed. “This is the best football team that ever played university football in Canada. They went 11-0 that year, won the Vanier Cup by a score of 42 to 16 over, favoured Manitoba, and for the year averaged 55.4 and six against, so their average score was 55 to six in a perfect 2001 season.

“2003 Athens women’s soccer team, the first Nova Scotia senior women’s soccer team to win a national title. Mostly Nova Scotia-born and bred and trained a super team that paved the way for many future female soccer stars to come.”

Jacqueline Nicholl will be inducted posthumously. Rainnie explained she was involved in Nova Scotia gymnastics for 55 years, running clubs and coaching.

“And she judged at the highest level ever. She is an absolute star in the world of gymnastics in Nova Scotia,” said Rainnie.

He mentioned Ellie Black, who credits Nicholl’s judging acumen for her own success.

“She would watch Ellie and suggest, ‘You’ve got to point your toes more,’ or ‘Bend more here.’ And all of a sudden, Ellie went from national class to world class to Olympic class with the help of Jacqueline Nicholl,” he says.

Rainnie calls Scott Logan a fixture of CanoeKayak Canada. “He is one of the greatest coaches ever to work in the country, has worked at multiple Olympic Games as both a coach and broadcaster, and as CEO of Sport Nova Scotia, he brought in things for kids and things for funding that are still in place today,” he says.

For Logan, the induction is humbling.

“Well, it’s honouring,” Logan told CTV. “It’s a big deal... you’re kind of surprised and you’re doing a lot of reflection and you say, ‘Oh what was that all about,’ and you look back at all the things you did… and of course you did them because you’re passionate about sport and you loved the people you did it with.”

Rainnie says none of them ever did what they do to someday be a member of the Hall of Fame. “But this is their night to park that embarrassment because their accomplishments are such, they’re of national and in many cases international acclaim,” he says.

Logan’s love of sport started at a young age.

“When I was about six years old, I grew up in Dartmouth and my mother said, there’s 23 lakes in this city and you’re going to learn to swim so you don’t drown,” he laughed. “And of course, you go to Bannock, which was my first canoe club, and you take swimming lessons. You back then you get to your junior badge, and once you got your junior badge, you can get in the boats. And at that point, I never looked back. I wasn’t a great swimmer, but I did all I had to do to get in paddling and never look back.”

Because of this, he grew the sport here in Nova Scotia, and across the country.

“When I was young, people inspired me to get involved and who knows, I may have gone down a different path and never have been involved in sport at all, so it’s really important to give back,” he said. “That’s a part of the system to make sure that everybody can learn from each other. And as a result, we get stronger and things like the Canada Games, I mean, that’s a good memory for me, I look back, in the 90s and on a per capita basis, Nova Scotia was probably the top province.”

Continuing to recognize those who grow the games is important to the Hall, which is why they are renovating.

While it’s not open to the public yet, there will be something for everyone.

“We have the world’s greatest Sidney Crosby exhibit, and we all feel, even though he’s not in the Hall of Fame yet, that if he continues to work hard in practice, he likely someday will make the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame,” laughed Rainnie.

He hopes renovations will be fully finished for the induction ceremony.

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