The following is being released at the request of Sport Newfoundland and Labrador:

John McGrath, Q.C., Chair of the Board of Governors, Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame, today announced the names of the six new members to be inducted into the provincial sports hall of fame. The six new members were chosen over the past weekend, when the Board of Governors held their annual selection meeting in St. John�s.

This year�s complement of inductees includes three �Athletes�, one �Athlete/Builder�, one �Builder� and one �Athlete� under the veteran category.

The three �Athletes� include golf sensation William �Bill� Hryniw, a native of Windsor, Ontario, who has been residing in Newfoundland and Labrador since 1973; international multi-sports athlete Alfred Parsons of Labrador City; and the late Norbert �Dick� Power, a national multi-sports athlete from St. John�s, who took up residence in Ottawa, Ontario.

The �Athlete/Builder� is Francis �Frank� Deacy, a rugby player and founding member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Rugby Union. Deacy, a native of Galway, Ireland, took up residence in Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 1970s.

The �Builder� is Fred Jackson, a national softball coach and multi-sports administrator from St. John�s, who now resides in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The �Athlete� being inducted under the veteran category is George Parsons of St. John�s. Parsons was an athlete who participated in track and field, bowling, shooting, football and hockey in the 1950s and 1960s. Parsons� highest level of competition was at the international level, when he competed in the 20-kilometre Olympic Walking Trials in Toronto in 1960.

McGrath said, �This year's meeting evolved into the most competitive I have seen in ten years
of experience with the process. It comprised an absolutely superb group of candidates and the slimmest margin of selection.�

The Thirty-Third Annual Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 22 at the Royal Canadian Legion in Pleasantville (St. John�s), beginning at 7:00 p.m. Individuals interested in purchasing tickets for this year�s event are asked to contact the Sport Newfoundland and Labrador office either by telephone at (709) 576-4932 or e-mail at sportnl@sportnf.com.

Media contact: Troy Croft, (709) 576-4932

Biographies

Alf Parsons was born in Point May and now resides in Labrador City. Alf has competed in cross-country skiing, trap and skeet, biathlon, cycling, curling, broomball, running and golf throughout his sports career, but he is best known for his accomplishments in cross country skiing. On the international level, Parsons won a silver medal at the 2002 World Masters Cross Country Skiing Competition and placed 1011 out of 26,000 at the 1991 New York Marathon. On the national level, Parsons won four gold medals at the 2005 Cross-Country Skiing National Masters Competition, four gold medals at the 2004 and 2003 competitions, three gold and one silver at the 1993 competition, and medals in the 1991, 2000 and 2001 competitions. He placed first in his age class at the 1993 National Biathlon Competition. At the national 1981 Broomball Championships, he had a record of 2-2-1 and in the late 1970s, he placed second in 12-gauge shooting (skeet) at the National Skeet Shoot Championships. On the provincial level, Parsons has won gold in his cross-country age class each year from 1980 to 2005; in trap and skeet, he was the provincial champion 10 years in a row from 1974 to 1984; in curling, he skipped at the provincials with the Labrador zone champions for four years; in broomball, he competed in the provincial championships 10 times and won gold in 1981. On the local level, Parsons has been named many times the top athlete at the Labrador Winter Games and has also been named more than five times as the Labrador City Athlete of the Year. Parsons is currently training for the 2006 World Masters Competition taking place in Torino, Italy.

William �Bill� Hryniw currently resides in St. John�s and has had a successful career as a golfer. He joined the Bally Haly Golf Club in 1977 and has had much success at the local, provincial and national levels of competition, with over 50 tournament wins to his credit. Bill qualified for 13 amateur teams, including 12 in a row from 1976 to 1997. He qualified for eight mid-amateur teams, including seven in a row from 1995-2001. In his career, Hryniw has won four provincial amateur championships, four provincial mid-amateur championships, one provincial senior championship and five provincial amateur team qualifying tournaments. He has been the team leader in 17 of 21 Canadian Competitions and has made the cut in nine national tournaments. Bill Hyrniw was elected into the Newfoundland and Labrador Golf Hall of Fame in 1998.

The late Norbert "Dick" Power of St. John's was quite possibly one of the best multi-sport athletes in this province. Power competed in a number of sports, including ball hockey, basketball, ice hockey, running, softball and baseball, throughout his career; however, he is best known for his accomplishments in soccer. Power was a member the Holy Cross soccer team that won a 1988 gold medal, a 1989 silver medal and a 1981 bronze medal at the national Challenge Cup; nine provincial Challenge Cup championships; two Atlantic Challenge Cup championships and a berth in the Atlantic five times; the provincial team of the year award in 1988 and 1989; and a record 15 consecutive St. John's first division championships. Power was also a member of the Memorial University varsity soccer and basketball teams for four years. Power was selected by the Canadian Ball Hockey Association as one of five Canadian All-Stars for the period between 1978 and 1982, and he was a member of two national championship teams - the India Bears in 1982 and the Best Western Travelers in 1987.

Francis �Frank� Deacy began his rugby career in Galway, Ireland, and went to play as scrum-half for his school, club, university and province. Deacy came to Newfoundland 34 years ago and was one of the founding members of the first Newfoundland and Labrador rugby teams in the province, which competed in the Montreal 7s and finished third in 1971 and second in 1972. From that competition Deacy and his Newfoundland squad for the first time went on to compete in the national 15 A-Side Championships. In 1974 they went on to win the Eastern Canadian title and won silver at the national event. In the mid-1970s Deacy was one of the founding members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Rugby Union, as well as the Swilers Club. He has dedicated a great deal of time and effort to the sport of rugby as a referee and coach and has also held positions on Provincial and National Rugby Unions. In 1987 he co-coached a junior provincial team and won silver at the national championships. Frank Deacy has also been involved with the establishment of an intercity high school rugby league for both boys and girls.

Fred Jackson has made a significant contribution to the sport of softball as an athlete, coach, administrator and volunteer. In 1991 Fred was the first Newfoundlander to win Canada�s Coach of the Year Award. At the national level, he has coached nine national championships and has won five medals, along with a fourth place finish at the 1989 Canada Summer Games. In the nine national championships, Jackson posted an outstanding 60 wins and 23 losses. Provincially, he has coached teams to 21 provincial championships and has won a championship in every minor and junior softball category. Jackson was also responsible for the development of the Higher Levels Softball Association, which included the construction of three softball fields.

George Parsons of St. John�s participated in many sports throughout his career, but his main focus was on track and field. He started his road walking career as a 17-year-old in the early 1950s, and his involvement in the sport spanned for three decades into the 1970s. His first competition was in 1952, when he entered the annual five-mile road race as a member of the Church Lads Brigade. The ten-mile race was his favorite distance; however, Parsons did enter and win numerous other distances and events. George Parsons won his first ten-mile race in 1958 and continued to finish in the top three throughout his career. In 1960 Parsons competed in the Olympic Trials to secure a berth on the Canadian Olympic Team. He finished second in the 20-kilometre race, with a time of 1:46:51.2, but was two minutes shy of the mark to make the Olympic Team. George Parsons has set many records throughout his career and continued to beat his own records year after year.

2005 09 20                     4:30 p.m.