On May 21, the newest members of the Tillsonburg Sports Hall of Fame were celebrated at a dinner and ceremony. From left to right are: (front row) Remy Donaldson, Judy Liwanpo, Steve Garnham, (back row) Adrian Shorter, Paul Roberts, Claus Rinne, Rick Cornelissen, Dave Mills, Steve Conor, Tim Wood and Ron Becht. Missing from the photo are: Karen Culp (Liwanpo), Christine Liwanpo, and Colin Campbell. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)
Among the latest inductees into the Tillsonburg Sports Hall of Fame are a track and field team from the 1980s that competed nationally, a basketball player, three tennis players, a refereeing chief, and an individual closely tied to the NHL.
The new members were honored during an induction ceremony on May 21 at Lion’s Auditorium in front of family members, friends and former teammates. The Sports Hall of Fame celebrates both past and present residents who have contributed to sports as athletes, coaches or builders.
Tennis players Judy Liwanpo, Karen Culp (Liwanpo), Christine Liwanpo and Remy Donaldson received recognition as individual athletes. The Senior Men’s Tillsonburg Legion Track and Field Club Cross Country Running team was honored under the team category. Former Tillsonburg Minor Hockey refereeing chief Steve Garnham was recognized for his significant contributions to officiating in town and efforts to recruit more referees. Colin Campbell from Tillsonburg received Lifetime Achievement Recognition for his role as NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
The Liwanpo triplets stood out in athletics while they attended Glendale High School from 1994 to 1998 and played key roles in winning five Oxford-Elgin tennis team championships for their school. Their journey began in Grade 9 when Judy secured the Junior Girls’ Singles Oxford-Elgin title while Karen and Christine won the Junior Girls’ Doubles championship titles. They excelled so much that they were moved up to senior level by Grade 10 even though they were still juniors by age. Judy claimed three gold medals in singles at WOSSA while Karen and Christine dominated doubles events with three Oxford-Elgin titles along with four consecutive WOSSA gold medals without losing any matches throughout their high school careers.
During provincial OFSAA competitions, Judy reached quarter-finals in Grade 12 and semi-finals in Grade 13; meanwhile Karen and Christine made it to OFSAA finals during both their senior years. Their success on the court led all three sisters to earn tennis scholarships at American universities. Additionally, they participated in the Indian Ocean Island Games back in 2003 where they helped secure a bronze medal.
Judy was taken aback by her nomination since she was the only one among her sisters able to attend the ceremony.
“I never thought it could happen,” she said.
Their coach Jim Donaldson put forward their nomination before he passed away just weeks prior. Judy mentioned that this award should have belonged to him because “He made such an impact on so many of us.”
Remy Donaldson also earned recognition under junior athlete category after being nominated by former coaches Ches Sulkowski and Dan Rajnovich who had coached him most during high school.
“I was grateful to them because they both mean a lot to me; I stay connected with them even today.”
Donaldson achieved success across various sports starting with swimming for the Tillsonburg Torpedoes when he was eight years old where he qualified for several national competitions earning over 100 ribbons along with 40 medals primarily excelling at 100m and 200m backstroke events setting records at local pools while competing provincially as well as Eastern Cup contests.
