Field Hockey Canada honours a pioneer who laid the groundwork for the game today
Barbara Schrodt was responsible for founding the BC Women’s Field Hockey Federation, served as president of the Vancouver Women’s Field Hockey Association, and was one of the founding Directors of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Association.
Schrodt grew up in Vancouver BC and graduated high school at Magee High School in 1947.
She was introduced to field hockey at UBC while completing her bachelor’s degree in physical education. She played at the school until she graduated in 1951.
After graduating, Scrdodt joined the university’s physical education faculty where her journey as a builder began.
In 1957, Schrodt was appointed as the women’s field hockey coach at UBC, taking over a position held by her mentor May Brown. That same year, Schrodt took on a role as UBC’s women’s athletics Executive Director.
As head coach, Schrodt would end up leading the team for 18 years. Her accomplishments as head coach include winning multiple championships at the Northwest Collegiate Grass Hockey Tournament during the 1960s.
During her tenure, she also coached the team to six Canada West championships throughout the 1970s, and helped lead the BC provincial team to a gold medal at the 1973 Canada Games.
She was also a crucial figure in establishing the BC Women’s Field Hockey Federation in 1966. Schrodt drafted the federation’s constitution and developed its handbook for regulations, which was ultimately used as the model for similar handbooks at the national level.
Schrodt then became a founding director of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Association. In that role, she helped establish a national umpiring certificate, which is still used to this day.
Schrodt walked away from coaching in 1977 to pursue higher education at the University of Alberta.. She graduated with a PhD in Physical Education in 1979, and used her academic prowis to launch the first publication on women’s field hockey titled “Field Hockey for Women.”
She further contributed to the game as someone who umpired a number of high stakes field hockey matchups.This includes having umpired four consecutive world championships.
Her final contribution to the sport was when she was appointed chair of Vancouver Centennial Celebrations of Women’s Field Hockey in 1996.
Her dedication and commitment to the sport was acknowledged in 1999 as she was inducted into the BC sports Hall of Fame in 1999. UBC also paid homage to Schrodt’s contributions when they inducted her into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Schrodt remains the only Canadian to hold honorary memberships at the local, provincial, and national levels.
She holds the Canadian Association’s Honorary Umpire Award, the BC Federation’s Gold Honour Pin, and is the namesake for both the BC and Vancouver’s perpetual Award.
Schrodt passed away in June 2020, but her contributions to the game will always be remembered.
