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This builder developed his passion for bowling from the time he rolled his first tenpin ball down the lanes of “Big M Bowl” in the early 1960s. Since that time he has contributed to the sport as an athlete, volunteer, coach, mentor, innovator, and organizer.


Getting involved with the Canadian Lakehead 10 Pin Bowling Association in the late 1960s, he joined the Executive as Secretary/Treasurer, taking over the reins as President in 1969. Holding a variety of positions over the years, he has served continually as the group’s President for the past quarter century. An accomplished bowler, he had a desire to encourage youth participation in the sport, so in 1978, he helped form the Thunder Bay Youth Tenpin Program in association with the Youth Bowling Council (YBC) and the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA). By the early 1980s, the program had attracted a number of young bowlers who went on to earn medals at YBC and CTF events and represent Canada at international tournaments. Getting involved at the provincial and national level, he helped form the Northern Ontario Junior Tenpin Council and assisted with the creation of the first ever Canadian National Youth Championships, the forerunner to the present day Canadian Tenpin Federation's National Youth Championships.


Appointed the Director of the Northern Ontario Region by the YBC in 1987, he held the position until 1996, when he was elected as the first National Youth Director to the CTF national board, a position he held until 2003. While in that position he was responsible for overseeing over 10,000 sanctioned youth bowlers and helped develop the CTF's national championship computerized results book that is still in use today. Provincially, he has served as a Board member of the Ontario Tenpin Bowling Association for a number of years.


An NCCP Certified Coach and Level 4 CTF Official, he has coached Team Northern Ontario at four YBC championships and taken a number of bowlers to provincial and CTF events and in 1979 he was named Thunder Bay Coach of the Year. Through his many bowling connections, he brought a number of provincial and national bowling events to his community and volunteered his time and talents to such events as the Thunder Bay/Duluth Friendship Games. His contributions have earned him numerous civic, provincial and national honours and in 2007 he became the 9th Builder to be inducted into the Canadian Tenpin Federation Hall of Fame and the first Builder from northwestern Ontario.


Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, September 28, 2013


Brian McLean

Inducted: 
2013
Sport:
Bowling
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