Surrey Sports Hall of Fame welcomes 1st class of inductees
Located at the Museum of Surrey, the Hall of Fame honours local sports legends
The hall of fame features archival items from different sports. (Submitted)
The Surrey Sports Hall of Fame has unveiled its first class of inductees to recognize contributions from the city’s athletic community.
“I believe it’s a long time coming, simply because the City of Surrey has an amazing sports community,” Museum of Surrey Manager Lynn Saffery says.
The idea came about in 2018, when Saffery was asked by members of the sports community if there could be a Hall of Fame at the museum.
After discussions with the city’s park department were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Surrey city council announced it would fund a physical and virtual Hall of Fame in 2024 — and the rest is history.
The museum’s nomination committee chose 10 inaugural inductees: Harold Morioka, a high-performance athlete in track and field, football athlete Terry Bailey, rugby coach Adam Roberts, and the BC Tigers Hurricanes 2018 soccer team. The inductees were sworn in during a ceremony on June 2 at Surrey city hall.
“This first class will start to inspire people in Surrey to nominate others — to look around and say, ‘My uncle’s best friend was an amazing coach, maybe we should look into them,’” Saffery says.
The site consists of two parts: the history section, which focuses on one decade of Surrey sports history, and the inductees’ section, which focuses on that year’s Hall-of-Famers.
On display are archival items from lacrosse, aquatics, basketball, and golf. Each section has its own signage pertaining to each respective sport’s history.
Saffery hopes the Hall of Fame will move to a larger space in the future entertainment complex, which will be at City Centre. Kiosks will also be installed as a third portion of the Hall of Fame, and there are plans to add them to sports facilities across the city.
“You can be at your local hockey rink, there’ll be a kiosk there, and you can tap, scroll, [and] learn about the history of sports and the inductees,” he says.
When asked what word best describes the Surrey Sports Hall of Fame, Saffery could not give one, but five words: community, inspiration, accessibility, excellence, and connection.
“I want people to go away feeling proud of the achievements in Surrey. I want people to feel inspired that they can be involved. The community sport programs in Surrey are so accessible for people,” he says.
To nominate someone to the Hall of Fame, visit www.bit.ly/surreyhalloffame.
