Edmonton Journal has reported:

Sport Wood Buffalo has honoured five inductees in its 2026 Hall of Fame class and received a $15,000 Canada Post grant to support accessible sports programs for children and youth. Community members gathered at the Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts in Fort McMurray for an evening recognizing people who have contributed to sport in the Wood Buffalo region.

The grant, received last Friday, will fund a Mobile Sports Equipment program. Christina Baker, a spokesperson for the Sport Wood Buffalo Association, said the funding will help “break down barriers to participation by bringing equipment, programming, and opportunities to try new sports to children and youth who may not otherwise have access.”

The program is intended to take sport and recreation opportunities directly to rural, remote, Indigenous and underserved communities in northern Alberta. Canada Post said the initiative will “reduce participation barriers” and “promote active, healthy lifestyles for children and youth” in the region.

The grant is part of a $1.3-million commitment by the Canada Post Community Foundation to charities, schools and community groups across Canada. Thirteen Alberta recipients were selected this year, including the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, Edmonton-based Thrive Charitable Foundation and We Together Strong community, along with groups in Okotoks, Lethbridge and other Alberta communities.

The Hall of Fame, recently endorsed as a sub-brand of the association, aims to preserve the stories of people who have shaped sport in Wood Buffalo. The local non-profit says it is committed to honouring “athletes, builders and teams whose achievements and contributions have made a lasting impact on the sporting community.”

The five 2026 inductees received plaques at the ceremony: collegiate sports builder Wayne Thomas; World Cup athlete and two-time Olympian Brooke Voigt; 1989 NHL Entry Draft pick Trevor Buchanan; 1930s equestrian champion Violet Bode May, who was honoured posthumously; and the local football team, the Fort McMurray Monarchs. The plaques will be displayed publicly on the Hall of Fame walls in the Syncrude Athletic Centre at Keyano College.

Thomas thanked the sports community in Fort McMurray and said the induction recognized collective work by student athletes and others who helped keep local programs going. “It’s not an honour just for myself. It’s an honour for what we’ve accomplished specifically in Keyano College, in terms of developing the student athlete and student program,” he said. “But at the base of it all, through it all, has been student success, and making sure that they’re student athletes, and they get their programs, and get everything else, and get their athletic experience, so they can move on with life. This type of evening is what makes Wood Buffalo, so special.”

Thomas joined Keyano College in 1981 and became a key figure in establishing collegiate sport in the region. As Keyano’s first athletic director, he helped develop sports programs for the Huskies, the college’s official collegiate sports team, and led its successful application to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference in 2009. He also made notable contributions to the development of Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre, which opened in 2007.

Thomas recalled that the college started with what he described as “basic sports, like badminton and curling” and has since grown to win national championships. He said the institution’s sporting programs have expanded substantially over the past decades.

Rashpal Khakh, executive director of the Sport Wood Buffalo Association, said recognition reflects years of work by people supporting athletes. “Celebrating sport in Wood Buffalo matters because every athlete we recognize is the result of years of development, built by coaches, officials, families, and volunteers who invested in them long before anyone was handing out awards. When we honour that work, we strengthen the pathway for the next young person in this region to pick up a stick, a ball, or a racquet and see how far sport can take them,” she said.

The organization also presented 11 awards in its multi-sports category to community members of different ages and abilities, including volunteers, athletes, coaches and leaders who have built programs behind the scenes. The recipients were Stacy Bellefleur, Female Athlete of the Year for jiu-jitsu; Reid Nicholson, Male Athlete of the Year for volleyball and multi-sport; the U13 Fort McMurray Ravens, Team of the Year for football; and Farid El-Hayouni, Coach of the Year for soccer.

Other recipients were Dylan Routhier, Official of the Year for hockey; Quinten Jaycox, Inclusive Athlete of the Year for para track and field and multi-sport; Amelia Savill, Indigenous Athlete of the Year for lacrosse, canoeing and hockey; and Wood Buffalo Pride, Safe Sport Champion for multi-sport. Bob Niven received Sport Builder recognition for lacrosse, Caroyn Kelly-Rose was named Unsung Hero for ringette, and Keyano Huskies Athletics received the Community Sportsmanship award for multi-sport.

Former NHL star Theo Fleury delivered the evening’s keynote speech, sharing a personal account of experiencing child abuse in the sports industry at a young age. Fleury has spoken publicly about his experience and published the top-selling non-fiction book Playing With Fire in 2009.

Fleury represented Canada at the Winter Olympics and secured a gold win in 2002. He also played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, and won the Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989.

“There’s a kid being abused every second of every minute, of every hour, of every day,” Fleury said in an interview with Postmedia. He said figures such as himself have a role in speaking for children, players and athletes who have experienced sexual abuse.