NB Sports Hall of Fame has New Game Plan for COVID
In Downtown Fredericton the NB Sports Hall of Fame resides, and they recently inducted six sports personalities from all over NB for the 2021 Class. However, because of COVID-19, they’ve had to change the way they operate, including the induction ceremony.
“So, last summer was essentially by bubbles only, so you could rent the hall of fame essentially for an hour and come in and experience the Hall of Fame with your family,” Director Jamie Wolverton explains the process the Hall developed last summer.
They inducted the class of 2021 on Rogers TV, which was the first time this had been done in the history of the Hall of Fame. They did it this way to prevent any potential COVID cases due to the close encounters that induction ceremonies’ usually bring.
Operations Officer Carla Saul provided the names of the inductees, “Louis Fortin who was inducted for Paralympic Nordic skiing, Joyce King who was an arm wrestler, Pauline Lordon who was a basketball athlete, Gardiner MacDougall who is the UNB Reds hockey coach, Kathy Meagher who is the first executive director at the NB Sports Hall of Fame, Team Tallon who is a curling team.”
If you wanted to go to the Hall, there’s two new ways to see the hall, within your bubble, or by taking an interactive tour online.
“During our fall, winter, and spring months, we ask people to book a tour in advance, so the doors aren’t open for the general public,” Carla explained for the people who want an in-person tour, and for the people that want an online tour, Jamie explains.
“As well as added a 3D component so essentially an individual who is at home can ultimately go in through their computer and zoom around in the building and click through and really get to experience the Hall of Fame and see what it’s all about. And hopefully that’ll inspire them to actually come on in the building someday,” says Jamie.
When you visit, you can see all the prominent athletes that NB has produced like Willie O’Ree, Matt Stairs, and St. Thomas University’s very own Mike Eagles. A whole rolodex of athletes is at your fingertips when visiting the interactive screen on the first floor.
There’s a kid zone to practice your figure skating skills, as well as look read all about the facts of figure skating and other Olympic sports. When you walk upstairs, there’s a zone that focuses on NB First’s, an exhibit to showcase the first time something was done in NB.
One of the visitor’s favorites is the sports interaction zone, where you can play all kinds of sports from baseball to even zombie dodgeball. Bragging rights are up for grabs because right next to the interactive screen is a scoreboard with the high scores of all the sports. Better bring your A game!
The Sports Hall of Fame is a great spot to go to see all New Brunswick has to offer for sports and its athletes. You can go with a group or by yourself to see it! It’s a slam dunk.
