Some accomplished athletes from Edmonton were among the 2023 inductees named to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday.
Randy Ferbey’s curling team, which included David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer and Marcel Rocque and saw significant success in competitions in the early 2000s, will now join the more than 700 people already named to the Hall since it was established in 1955.
“I’m a little overwhelmed; it’s a little surreal,” Ferbey said, adding he hopes the honour will lead to more recognition for curlers in Canada in the future.
“We put as much time into our craft as any baseball, football or basketball player,” he said.
“There’s a lot of teams in Canada that should deservedly be in the hall alongside us, and unfortunately there’s not a lot of curlers in there and I’d like to see that change in the future.”
Danielle Peers, a wheelchair basketball player who was born and raised in Edmonton, was also among the inductees announced Thursday at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
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Peers helped Canada capture gold at the world para wheelchair championship in 2006, and was named that tournament’s most valuable player. They also helped capture a bronze for Canada at the 2004 Paralympic Games.
In 2006, Peers became the first female tournament MVP of the European men’s club championship. They also helped win five-straight Canadian national championships with the Edmonton Inferno.
After retiring from competitive sports, Peers earned a PhD in physical education and recreation and began working at the University of Alberta as an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology.
The university’s website notes Peers is currently a Canada Research Chair in Disability and Movement Cultures.
Among the other athletes to be honoured at Thursday’s ceremony were figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, and mixed martial arts star Georges St-Pierre.
All inductees announced on Thursday will received the Order of Sport Award at a ceremony on Oct. 19.
— with files from Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
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