The Toronto Sport Hall of Honour celebrates the exceptional contributions and accomplishments of those who have inspired and/or brought recognition to Toronto through sport.
The Toronto Sport Hall of Honour Selection Panel reserves the right to only select nominees who meet Toronto Sport Hall of Honour criteria, as outlined below in About the Program.
The Toronto Sport Hall of Honour is located at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, a legacy of the 2015 Toronto Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.
Athlete of the Year is awarded to an individual who has achieved outstanding and extraordinary success, demonstrated exemplary values and/or personal characteristics, and made a defining contribution to his/her sport and/or community.
The Builder award recognizes an individual or organization who has made a meaningful contribution to amateur sport as a leader, advocate or agent of change.
The ‘City of Sport’ – Lifetime Achievement award recognizes the outstanding contribution of a sport leader or organization who exemplifies sport values as demonstrated by groundbreaking organizational leadership, innovative practices, influential communications, cutting-edge sport marketing or positioning of the sport sector.
Coach of the Year is awarded to a coach in either a professional or amateur sport who has achieved outstanding and extraordinary success, demonstrates exemplary values and/or personal characteristics, and makes a defining contribution to his/her sport and/or community. This person possesses the qualities associated with performance excellence and sport achievement.
The Community Sport Volunteer Awards recognize adults and youth who have made a significant impact on community sport in Toronto through their ongoing volunteer efforts as a coach, official and/or sport administrator.
The Corporate Builder award recognizes an organization/corporation that has made a meaningful contribution to amateur sport as a leader, advocate, change agent or builder.
This award recognizes the accomplishments of an individual, group, organization or volunteer that has made a significant impact in sport by fostering an inclusive culture and/or creating opportunities for Toronto’s diverse communities. This award is granted for contributions in the areas of capacity building, policy development, partnerships and engagement with underserved communities that use sport to advance the principles of access and equity.
The Sport Legend award recognizes an individual who, by their achievement and example are considered to have had the capacity to inspire Torontonians. An individual, who through extraordinary sporting accomplishments, has left an indelible mark on the fabric of sport in Toronto.
Team of the Year is awarded to any two or more individuals competing as a single entry in either professional or amateur sport who have achieved outstanding and extraordinary success, demonstrated exemplary values and/or admirable characteristics, and made a defining contribution to their sport and/or community.
Henoc Muamba was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was raised in the Greater Toronto Area. He played varsity football at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia before starting his professional career. Henoc was selected first overall in the 2011 Canadian Football League (CFL) draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and played his first professional game in August of that year, finishing off the season with an appearance in the Grey Cup. He went on to play for six different teams both in the CFL and the National Football League (NFL), finally returning to his home town in 2021 to join the Toronto Argonauts.
In 2022, Henoc played an instrumental role in bringing home the Grey Cup to Toronto, including a crucial interception in the fourth quarter that allowed the team to maintain their one-point lead near the end of the game. His exceptional performance earned him both the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian awards; he is the second player ever to win both awards.
He dedicates much of his time off the field supporting the community, particularly children. He launched a back-to-school drive for children in need, the Muamba Foundation to support youth to develop academically and mentally, and Muambas Perfect 10 which creates opportunities for children to experience a game and meet with him afterwards. Henoc aspires to support his birth country in developing football in the Congo through his foundation. This July, he is launching a football camp focused on developing children’s confidence, well-being and leadership skills.
Since joining the Etobicoke Swim Club at eight years old, Summer McIntosh has made headlines with her accomplishments in competitive swimming. She made her international debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as the youngest athlete on Team Canada. She came in fourth overall in the 400 metre freestyle while setting a new Canadian record, completing the race in 4:02.02 minutes.
Following her success at the Olympics, Summer went on to the FINA World Championships with great success, including gold in the 400 metre individual medley and 200 metre butterfly. In both her gold medal performances, Summer broke junior world records and became the first Canadian to win two gold medals at the FINA Worlds.
At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Summer was the most decorated Canadian athlete, winning a total of six medals including two gold medals for the 200 metre and 400 metre medley. In the 100 metre medley, she broke a World Junior Record with a swim time of 2:08:70 minutes. She also won three silver medals in the 400 metre freestyle, the 4 x 100 metre medley and the 4 x 200 metre freestyle and a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metre freestyle. Since then, Summer has started breaking world senior records at the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials, beating the previous 400 metre freestyle record by three-tenths of a second.
Shayne Smith was born in Toronto and has excelled in wheelchair basketball and then wheelchair rugby. When Shayne was four months old he contracted meningococcal septicemia, requiring multiple amputations. At eight years old, he began playing wheelchair basketball. However, it was another four years before he scored his first basket. This perseverance served him well in his 17-year career in wheelchair basketball, including time on the Junior Men’s National Team.
In 2017, Shayne joined the National Team Program for wheelchair rugby and has gone on to represent Canada in multiple international tournaments. In 2021, he made his Paralympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games and led all first-time athletes in scoring on Team Canada. Shayne and the team earned silver medals at the 2017 World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) Americas Championship and the 2019 Lima Parapan Am Games. The team also brought home a silver medal from the 2022 WWR Americas Championship, qualifying them for the 2023 International Wheelchair Rugby Cup and the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. When not on the court, Shayne shares his love for Paralympic sport through public speaking engagements, encouraging everyone to persevere.
Claire Buchanan has represented Toronto and Canada on the international stage in both para ice hockey (sledge hockey) and wheelchair basketball. Born with spina bifida, Claire began participating at 12 years of age when she was introduced to para ice hockey. She joined the national team in 2014, playing defense, and competed in the first-ever International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey Women’s International Cup that same year. Claire has helped the team to several silver medals in international competition, including the 2016 and 2018 Women’s Para Ice Hockey World Cup and the inaugural Women’s Para Ice Hockey World Challenge in 2022. Claire was awarded the assistant captain position of the Canadian Women’s Para Hockey Team after several years of dedication. In 2018, she was recognized with the Most Valuable Player award for her performance in the Women’s Para Hockey World Cup. When not participating with the national team, Claire plays para ice hockey for the Whitby Steelhawks.
Claire first explored wheelchair basketball during her time at the University of Alabama. During her time with the Crimson Tide, Claire won two championships. She went on to compete with the Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team. Claire and the team placed fourth at the Osaka Cup in Japan in 2015 before retiring from the sport in 2018.
Jeffrey Campbell has been an active Special Olympian since 1997. For an impressive 18 years, he participated on the Special Olympics Canada softball team. Jeffrey is a true team player, serving as a source of motivation and support to his whole team. He believes in the abilities of his team mates and always encourages them to push themselves.
In 2021 Jeffrey started competing at the national level in a new sport, representing Canada in kayaking. As a member of the Balmy Beach Canoe Club in Toronto’s east end, Jeffrey has embraced participating in an individual sport, where focusing on his paddling has become a new athletic outlet for him. In kayaking, Jeffrey has realized great success and in 2022 he placed fourth in the 200 metre at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint and Para-Canoe World Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He continues to represent Canada on the Special Olympics team for kayaking. Jeffrey’s spirit and dedication make him a valued and integral teammate; through both his athletic performances and demonstrations of sportsmanship, he continues to bring respect to sport while showcasing the accomplishments of Special Olympians.
Tatem Morrison has been active in the Special Olympics, participating in two sports and on teams at both the provincial and national levels. While Tatem is an enthusiastic golfer, it is in swimming that she has truly shone as an athlete. Tatem brought home three medals for Team Ontario at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She won two gold medals in the 50 metre butterfly and the 100 metre freestyle, and earned a bronze in the 200 metre individual medley. Tatem also acted as a Special Olympics Athlete Leader Representative.
Tatem brings a positive attitude and energy to every practice and meet she attends. She continued to practice throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while exploring new interests such as modelling and video blogging. Through her Youtube channel, Tatem shares her journey, both personal and athletic. This vehicle has given her an opportunity to widely share her positivity and experiences while challenging preconceptions, including perceived limitations, about ability and success.
Boasting the most championship wins in the history of the CFL, the Toronto Argonauts brought home the Grey Cup for the 18th time in 2022. Finishing the regular season with 11 wins to 7 losses, the Argos won the East Division title with a 34 to 27 win against the Montreal Alouettes. The team went on to the 109th Grey Cup where they fought hard to defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the defending two-time champions, in an extremely close game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.
After an injury forced All-Star quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson out of the game in the fourth quarter, back-up quarterback Chad Kelly stepped in to lead the team. After Javon Leake made a miraculous punt return, Chad marched the Argos down the field to the 16-yard line, setting up the winning play. It was A.J. Ouellette who capped off the drive with a five-yard run to score his second touchdown of the game, and Boris Bede secured the final point, giving the Argos the lead over the Bombers with only three minutes left in the game.
As Winnipeg attempted to win their third straight Grey Cup, Henoc Muamba and Shaq Richardson made key defensive plays late in the game, giving the Double Blue a chance to win. With Toronto leading 24-23 with less than a minute to play, Winnipeg’s potential game winning field goal was blocked by Robbie Smith giving Toronto their first Grey Cup win since 2017 and preventing a three-peat for the Bombers.
As head coach for the Humber College women’s basketball team, Ajay Sharma has led the Hawks to remarkable success over the past decade. During his tenure, the Hawks have achieved an overall record of 193 wins to 30 losses. These successes include six Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships and two Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships. The two CCAA championship wins are the only instances of an OCAA team gaining a national title in a women’s team sport.
Following an undefeated season in 2016, Ajay was honoured with OCAA and CCAA Coach of the Year awards. Under his leadership, the team went on to break records in 2017 with 81 regular and postseason victories. After the 2021 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, Ajay lead the team back to competition and a successful 2022 season; the Hawks finished the year with 12 wins to two losses and won the OCAA Championships.
Players trained under Ajay have gone on to play internationally in Denmark, France and Great Britain. He has also contributed his expertise and passion to the Indian Basketball Federation as a guest coach on the men’s basketball team and was recently named as assistant coach to the U23 Women’s National Team. Ajay is dedicated to developing young athletes and regularly invites girls’ basketball teams to Humber Hawks games and practices, giving them exposure to the sport at the college level and inspiring perseverance in the sport.
Through both her professional and volunteer careers, Ann Doggett has demonstrated a passionate commitment to sport development. She has made major contributions to sport through multiple organizations, including the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, the Coaches Association of Ontario, Ontario Basketball, Field Hockey Ontario and Field Hockey Canada.
Ann was fundamental in the creation of the Toronto Sport Leadership Program in 2006, providing vulnerable Toronto youth with support, training and certifications to find meaningful employment in the sport and recreation sector. Under her leadership, the program went on to offer women’s only and indigenous streams. Leveraging her vast sport network, Ann was also instrumental in the development of several City of Toronto sport programs that promote physical literacy and coach education for children and youth. She is one of the founding members of the Toronto Sport Hall of Honour. One of Ann’s enduring legacies is the creation of a team of National Coaching Certification Program Learning Facilitators that provide training for Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff.
Ann herself is a Master Coach Developer for the Coaching Association of Canada and Field Hockey Canada, leading the development of a curriculum for coach education for field hockey. She has been a dedicated member of Field Hockey Canada since 1974 as an athlete, coach and leader. Ann served on the Board of Field Hockey Canada for 11 years, the last four as Chair. She continues to devote time to field hockey as Co-chair of the Field Hockey Canada’s Coach Education Committee, a Director on the Pan American Hockey Federation Board and Chair of the Pan American Hockey Federation Bid Panel.
Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities (Jumpstart) is a national charity committed to ensuring kids in need have equal access to sport and recreation. With an extensive, national network of more than 1,000 grantees and 289 local chapters, Jumpstart helps eligible families cover the costs of registration, transportation and equipment, and provides funding to selected organizations for recreation infrastructure and programming. Supported by Canadian Tire Corporation, Jumpstart has provided more than three million opportunities for Canadian kids to get in the game since 2005.
By removing barriers to sport and play, Jumpstart is fostering a more inclusive and equitable game for all kids. This work includes providing training to over 4,300 coaches and youth activity leaders on how to create inclusive and safe sporting environments. Jumpstart has also built 24 inclusive play spaces across Canada – including the Jumpstart Inclusive Playground in Earl Bales Park in Toronto – to enable kids of all abilities to participate in the joy of play. To address gender barriers in sport, Jumpstart launched Play to Lead – a leadership program that empowers female athletes, complete with an in-person Summit in Toronto.
Through their work, Jumpstart has contributed enormously to the local sport community and continues to remove barriers in pursuit of leveling the playing field for youth in Toronto and across Canada.
At the age of 21, Katie Heggtveit founded Bootcamps for Change, an organization focused on providing fitness programs for youth experiencing homelessness. This program is geared towards 16 to 29 year olds who live in shelters and aims to build their physical health, mental health and overall confidence by removing barriers to participation. When learning that funding for access to gyms was cut at Horizons for Youth, Katie became a qualified group fitness instructor in order to lead fitness programs on site. Although beginning at a single shelter in Toronto, the program has expanded to numerous shelters across Canada.
In 2018, Katie and her team launched Sweatier for the Better to create further opportunities for improving the lives of vulnerable youth through fitness and by providing opportunities to gain skills and knowledge for employment. Through scholarships, the program supports youth in shelters to become certified fitness instructors as well as connecting them with local job and mentorship opportunities. Scholarship recipients successfully completed their certifications, secured full-time employment in the fitness sector, allowing them to leave the shelter system. The team continues to work actively to promote and sustain these programs, including encouraging gyms and other businesses to host community events to fundraise in support of the program.
Nora Young moved from England to Toronto in the late 1920s when she was ten years old. Opportunities for women in sport in the 1930’s and 1940’s were limited, but Nora was undeterred, playing multiple sports including softball, basketball, hockey, track and field and cycling. She achieved numerous accomplishments across these sports throughout her career both as a team player and individual competitor, including the 1937 Softball World Championship title, won a gold medal in javelin at the 1948 Canadian Championships Track and Field Meet and won the 1948 National Basketball Championship. Young was also a part of the first organized women’s hockey tour of the United States of America in 1939.
However, Nora was perhaps most known for her cycling career in which she excelled in the limited range of cycling events open to women at this time. In the 1930s, she regularly won or placed at the weekly races held on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, including setting a national record in the quarter-mile trial and winning the Corcoran Trophy. She participated in many long-distance road races in Toronto, often as lone female competitor, and in the women’s demonstration held during the Six-Day Race at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1936.
Nora was a dedicated sport volunteer who coached generations of girls’ sport teams. Later in life, she returned to competition and participated in many Masters events, including basketball, softball, javelin and, of course, cycling. Between 1985 and 1999, Nora won over 20 medals in Masters competitions for cycling. Nora passed away in March of 2016.
Born in Scarborough, Dwayne De Rosario has long been Toronto’s favourite homegrown professional soccer player. Dwayne debuted on the national team in 1998 and continued to represent Canada for 17 years, making 99 game appearances and scoring 30 goals. He was recognized by Team Canada as the Canada Soccer Player of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011 and was the top scorer of the Canadian championship, both in 2009 and 2010.
His professional career began with the Toronto Lynx, FSV Zwickau and Richmond Kickers. Dwayne’s professional career fully took off in the 2000s during which he played for the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls and D.C. United in Major League Soccer (MLS). He played 341 regular season games MLS, scoring 103 goals. Dwayne won four MLS Championships as well as MLS Most Valuable Player in 2011.
Dwayne is among the top ten goal scorers of the league and was the leading goal scorer in Canadian soccer history until 2022. Since retiring from competitive play, Dwayne’s successful career has been recognized with numerous honours including appointment to the Order of Ontario in 2018 as well induction into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame in 2022. He still keeps busy with the DeRo Foundation that supports local initiatives that leverage soccer as a vehicle to engage youth in priority neighbourhoods.
In the 1970s, Byron MacDonald was a swimmer on Team Canada and ranked in the top ten swimmers internationally for five years. As an athlete, Byron won several medals, including two gold medals at the Edinburgh 1970 Commonwealth Games. He also appeared at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, placing sixth in the 100 metre butterfly.
Byron went on to an incredibly successful and inspiring career as a coach with the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues swim team and has held the position of head coach since 1978. He has coached his teams to 59 conference championships and 20 national championship titles. Byron’s coaching achievements have received wide recognition, including 16 Coach of the Year awards from U SPORTS and another 24 Coach of the Year awards from Ontario University Athletics.
Byron has also coached over 200 swimmers to all-Canadian status and over 70 swimmers to international teams. This includes Kylie Masse, whom Byron coached to bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, two gold medals at the 2017
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships and four medals at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. He has also served as head coach for Team Canada’s International University Sports Federation and Pan Pacific swim teams. He just reached a historical milestone of 500 dual meet wins, with his current goal being 509 with only 47 losses. Byron is also a two-time Gemini Award winner for his coverage of swimming competitions at the Athens 2004 Olympics and the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
As a Toronto District School Board physical education teacher, Mark Poyser has contributed to extracurricular opportunities for students for over two decades, coaching a range of sports including basketball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, cross country and football. Under his leadership, the grade eight boys’ basketball team at John English Junior Middle School has won the board’s west conference title for three consecutive years with only a single game loss. Unwilling to cut or discourage potential athletes, under Mark, the school’s basketball program has expanded to four teams across three grades.
Mark’s coaching efforts extend beyond the school; he has coached at the club level for almost 30 years and, since 2010, he has coached with CIA Bounce, Stoney Creek Basketball and Brampton Warriors. Some of Mark’s players have gone on to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he is also dedicated to changing the lives of athletes by coaching them to college or university on full scholarships. He is committed to supporting his players’ success both on and off the court. He established a boys club to support vulnerable youth and help them to successfully transition to high school.
Hodan Hussein first fell in love with basketball playing street ball in her neighbourhood park. She played on her high school basketball team and, after high school, she continued to play, coach and host basketball drop-in programs for Muslim girls and women. In 2002, as a certified personal trainer, Hodan opened a women’s only gym for Muslim women in Scarborough.
Since 2019, Hodan has volunteered with Hijabi Ballers, a Toronto-based volunteer run, non-profit organization that celebrates Muslim girls and women in sport and empowers them to get involved. The organization delivers free programming that offers a safe and inclusive space to engage in sport, including drop-in sport programs, sports festivals, tournaments and summer camps. After learning about Hijabi Ballers, Hodan approached the organization on her own initiative about establishing a drop-in basketball program in Toronto’s east end. As a volunteer program lead, she does everything to support continued program delivery, including securing program space, recruiting other volunteers and coaching participants.
Through her efforts and dedication, Hodan has introduced dozens of girls to basketball and helped Hijabi Ballers to thrive. The organization has gained traction over recent years, earning them an invitation to a Raptors playoff game and an appearance in the Raptors championship ring video. The Toronto Star has given recognition to the organization by featuring them on a front cover article in 2019. Hodan’s volunteer efforts have played a vital role in the organization’s growing reach and continuing success.
Muhammad Wasiq Zia is a cricket enthusiast who has dedicated himself to the game and the cricket community since he was in grade five. Wasiq represented his school in the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) School Cricket program in 2015 and was a supportive and motivational member of the team. The following year, Wasiq played in the U-17 Canada Cup and in 2017, he was selected to represent the Toronto Mayor’s School Cricket Team in Trinidad and Tobago. Quickly recognizing his exceptional passion for the sport and leadership skills, the other players elected him to lead the team on the tour.
Beyond Wasiq’s athletic contributions on the pitch, he is always willing to lend a hand in support of any cricket event. He has volunteered as an umpire and scorer for the CIMA Mayor’s Trophy, contributed to the organization of the School Cricket Awards Ceremony and been involved in delivering cricket coaching clinics.