New inductees coming to Barrie Sports Hall of Fame

A banner for the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame on Thurs. Sept. 21, 2023 (CTV News/Steve Mansbridge).

Barrie's Sports Hall of Fame will soon grow by three people.

On Thursday evening, the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame announced its three inductees for 2023, selecting athletes from various sports with differing backgrounds.

The organization also announced the winners of its three major annual awards, which will be handed out at a ceremony on Oct. 4.

"The inductees this year have contributed many over lifetimes and brought the name of Barrie not only locally but provincially and internationally," Tom Ewles, the chair of the Hall of Fame, told CTV News. "Many of these have represented us afar. Not only does our name go outside the city, but we attract other athletes to come here and train at our excellent facilities within our community."

The three new inductees will join approximately 100 other Barrie residents whose names have been added since its founding in the mid-1980s.

The new inductees are:

• Special Olympian Kristy Alford
• Basketball players Paul Hopper and Martin McCrone
• Hockey player Mike Laycock

Ewles says the Hall of Fame has evolved over the years with newer sports included.

"Our sporting heritage, although primarily in the early days may have been hockey and baseball, we now excel at all Olympic sports; we've got figure skaters, rifle shooters, skiers, bike excellence," said Ewles. "We have quite a history of all sports represented here in Barrie."

The October ceremony will also include the presentation of three annual awards as well, which are:

• Tim Clark – Jean McCann Unsung Hero Award
• Brianna Prentice – Athlete of the Year
• Don Coulson – John Crawley Lifetime Achievement

The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the Allandale Recreation Centre.