Ron Toigo will be heading into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
The hall of fame announced today that Toigo has been recognized with the W.A.C. Bennett Award for the 2019 induction class.
A longtime Tsawwassen resident, Toigo is the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants which has its training facility at the Ladner Leisure Centre. He’s also a member of the Delta Sports Hall of Fame and B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Toigo’s tenure in junior hockey started in 1991 when he became the owner of the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City Americans. After selling the club in 2000 he became the majority owner and president of the Giants. He also continues to serve on the executive committee for the WHL’s Board of Governors.
“I wasn’t expecting this and I’m honoured to be going into that category. It’s really humbling,” he told the Optimist.
“I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by good people and the city (of Delta) has supported a lot of the things we brought here over the years. It’s nice to be recognized for what a lot of people of helped to do and I’m the fortunate one to get credit for it.”
Photo by Vancouver Giants
He played a major role in bringing 2006 World Junior Championships to Vancouver. He served as both the head of the bid committee and later the tournament chair for what is widely regarded as one of the most successful World Junior Hockey tournaments in the history of the event. The Giants say that, fittingly, the news of his W.A.C. Bennett Award takes place one month short of the start of the 2019 World Juniors taking place in Vancouver and Victoria, an event that Toigo is co-chairing. Under Ron Toigo’s leadership, the Giants also hosted and captured the 2007 Memorial Cup Championship, and took the 2006 WHL Championship.
Previous winners of the W.A.C. Bennet Award include such notables as Arthur Griffiths and Frank Griffiths Sr., Jack Diamond, Erwin Swangard, John Furlong, Rick Hansen, Terry Fox and others.
The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame preserves and honours B.C.’s sport heritage by recognizing extraordinary achievements in sport. The hall of fame notes all nominees must have attained a high level of excellence and have brought honour to B.C. sport through their passion, commitment and dedication to sport.
Each year, through an extensive review and selection process, a few select individuals are inducted.
Categories for consideration are Athlete, Coach/Builder, Pioneer, Media, Team, and the W.A.C. Bennett Award.
A couple of names many will recognize whom are being inducted into the athlete category are Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
Toigo and the other new inductees will be officially inducted next May at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame’s Induction Gala.
