Coulbourne; a true builder of the sport, has wide-reaching community impact
In the builder category for this year’s hall of fame, field hockey Canada honours a pioneer for women’s involvement in the sport. Moira Colbourne has led many teams and initiatives and helped expand the game of field hockey across the country
Colbourne grew up in British Colombia, as part of a sports family. Her biggest influence within the family was her eldest sister, Pat, who excelled at field hockey. Moira followed in her sisters’ footsteps as she would go on to play field hockey through many of her school years.
During her playing career, Colbourne most notably won a gold medal at the 1969 Canada Summer games as team captain of BC’s field hockey team. She also won field hockey’s highest individual honour in 1968 when she was awarded the Watson trophy. Moira credits her playing success to working very hard and respecting the game regardless of the outcome.
“I’ve always worked hard, and I’m not a poor loser,” said Colbourne. “You don’t win all the games and that’s all right with me, I just love playing.”
While playing, she also played a huge role in starting up Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) field hockey program back in 1966. This new role gave Colbourne a platform to grow the game at the grassroots level.
“When I got hired at SFU, I could then go into the elementary schools and show them my credentials to introduce younger girls to the sport,” said Colbourne. “I don’t know if I would’ve gotten into the schools if I hadn’t been a coach at SFU.”
Moira ended up coaching SFU for almost thirty years. She played a huge role in establishing a big field hockey presence in Burnaby with her continuous involvement in the community. She also helped lead the creation of artificial turf fields as Commissioner on the Burnaby Parks and Recreation board. She was also inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1985
Congratulations to Moira Colbourne on being inducted into the Field Hockey Canada Hall of Fame.
