The Canadian field hockey community mourns the passing of Moira Colbourne
Field Hockey Canada was saddened this week to learn of the passing of Moira Colbourne, an incredible person, pioneer and contributor to the Canadian hockey community. Moira was a 2020 Field Hockey Canada inductee and a lifelong leader of the sport of Field Hockey in Canada. Our thoughts are with Moira’s family, friends and community during this time.
Obituary – as published in Freshet News.
Moira Colbourne, who’s a member of the Burnaby, BC Sports and Field Hockey Canada halls of fame, has died. She was 90 years old.
Colbourne launched the first organized field hockey program in Burnaby in 1968 and helped form the Burnaby Women’s Field Hockey Association a year later. As its president for more than 30 years, she shepherded its growth from two teams to 44. Colbourne was accomplished on the pitch as well. She was captain of the BC team that won a gold medal at the 1969 Canada Summer Games in Halifax and she competed in two international tournaments in 1959 and 1971.
In 1968, Colbourne was awarded the Watson trophy, the highest individual recognition in British Columbia’s field hockey community.
Upon her induction into Field Hockey Canada’s Hall of Fame in 2020, Colbourne said, “I’ve always worked hard, and I’m not a poor loser.”
But it was her skills as an organizer and builder that earned Colbourne enshrinement. She helped start the field hockey program at Simon Fraser University in 1966 and went on to coach the team for 30 years. An annual field hockey scholarship is still awarded in her name at the school.
Deneen Asano, a longtime member of the Burnaby Lake Field Hockey Club and its current president, said her own love for the sport bloomed when she played for Colbourne at SFU.
She said Colbourne “fostered a love for the game and encouraged many to give back as coaches, umpires and organizers. She taught me the importance of not just being an athlete, but to embrace the community needed to make it happen.”
Colbourne used her SFU credentials to grow field hockey at its grassroots. She introduced the sport to students at local elementary schools and she coached at Burnaby South Senior and Royal Oak Junior secondary schools for several years.
“I got into the schools because I could say that I run the program at SFU,” Colbourne said in a promotional film on Field Hockey Canada’s website.
Cobourne also helped form associations in Coquitlam, Delta and West Vancouver and as commissioner on the Burnaby parks and recreation board, she advocated for the construction of artificial turf fields. Colbourne was elected to the executive of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Association and eventually became it’s vice president of coaching in 1983. Colbourne was active as a field hockey official as well. She served as a technical advisor for the sport’s tournament at the 1973 Canada Summer Games in Burnaby and she was a member of the BC Umpires Committee. In 1981, Colbourne earned the top “A” rating for field hockey umpires. She joined the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2002, Colbourne was award the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.
A celebration of life for Colbourne will be held on Jan. 15, 2027, 1 p.m., at the Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby.
