Brian was a versatile athlete and sport was present throughout his life.  In that, he took after his mom.  While he did watch some sports, he was rarely just a spectator and almost never a “fan”.  He might like certain players, or even certain teams, it was because of how they played, not the city or team name associated with them.  Brian was much more about doing sports – and the list of current activities grew and changed throughout his life.  Increasingly, he became not just a participant but a coach, ambassador, and organizer – helping many more people enjoy the activities he loved.

In high school, Brian applied himself to baseball, hockey, football, and track – showing a lot of promise as an athlete.  He kept playing hockey in an “oldtimers” league until he broke his leg at 29.  He’d once again get involved with baseball and soccer by coaching teams when Grayden took up those sports.

Brian started curling when he was young.  After all, it was something of a family sport, with Brian’s mom having won the ladies provincial tournament!  He continued to curl most of his life.  While attending University, Brian met Ron Okumura, with whom he’d curl throughout university and the rest of his life.  In Regina, Brian played out of various clubs, including the Tartan and the Callie.  In later years, he played in the University of Regina curling league, again with Ron and other friends.  He also watched Grayden curl all over the province and compete in the provincial juniors.

Brian started cross-country skiing with Judy while they were in their twenties and continued to ski for the rest of his life.  Winter sports were Brian’s favorite (until Pickleball, at least) – he could stay covered to avoid sunburn, his allergies didn’t bother him, and the insects didn’t bite him.  Cross-country skiing was athletic and meditative.  Brian explored nature on his skis – the Tonquin valley in Jasper, Peter Lougheed Park near Canmore, Duck Mountain Park in Manitoba, and countless days at the White Butte ski trails near Regina, among many more.  Again, Brian took up coaching – teaching kids to ski through the Jackrabbits ski program.

Until his mid-forties, Brian poked fun at the “heavy equipment operators” that were downhill skiers.  But when the family won a trip to Panorama Ski Resort at a Sask Ski event, he wasn’t going to refuse.  Brian quickly discovered that downhill skiing paired the speed (and control) he loved in auto racing with the snow and outdoors he loved about cross country skiing.  He’d downhill ski all over the West – even spending a brilliant afternoon at Big White skiing with Grayden and Nancy Green.  He and Grayden took their last downhill ski trip together in 2015 at Lake Louise, AB when Brian was 67.

Golf was a strange sport for Brian.  Though he and Judy had golfed off and on before retirement, they started to take it more seriously after retirement.  But, unlike so many sports, golf did not come easily to Brian – and the more frustrated he got with that fact, the worse he golfed.  Meanwhile, Judy patiently and steadily improved her game.  Judy better at a sport than Brian?  The natural order of the world was upset.  A sure way for Brian to have a bad game was to golf with Grayden.  The kid played a game every couple of years, used the old man’s clubs and still often out shot him.  Despite his constant frustration with golf, Brian remained a good sport about it and played – so he could spend time with Judy and their friends.

In his twenties, Brian had taken up squash – becoming a member of both the Winnipeg and then the Saskatoon squash clubs.  However, he played few racquet sports from his mid-thirties until he discovered Pickleball at 67.  And he was hooked.  He volunteered and worked diligently to grow the game in both Regina and Mesa (See the info on Volunteering for more!)  Brian’s big concern after his heart attack was how soon he could go back to Pickleball.  When his second cancer made him too ill to play, he went to the courts with his walker to help coach and encourage new players.

Community was common thread in much of Brian’s involvement with Sport.  In some cases, he found community in volunteering for organizations to make a sport better or more accessible (see the page on Volunteering for more!)  In other cases, it was simply finding a way to share his favorite activities with others – such as the many Regina Ski Club downhill bus trips that he and the family enjoyed.  Later on, Grayden would fly back from the east to join these trips – sometimes meeting the group at their destination, sometimes meeting Brian in Regina where the two of them would drive to meet up with the bus trip.  For Golf, Brian often enjoyed the people more than the sport.  He was always delighted to explain that he golfed with the SWINE (Seniors Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything).  He’d share far more about the Swinerama (their annual get together), than the golf games he played with them.