Sheila Forshaw (left), executive officer for York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, is a great sport. Already winner of several sporting honours, she is this year’s recipient of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Honour Award. Forshaw received the award at the 2003 OUA annual meeting in Gravenhurst on May 8.
The OUA Honour Award is presented annually to the person who has contributed greatly to university sport in an administrative role. The recipient also reflects the best in university sport in terms of ethics, integrity and honesty.
It’s no wonder Forshaw was given the honour. She has been affiliated with university sport as both athlete and administrator, and was inducted into the York University Sport Hall of Fame in May 2001. In fact, she has been immersed in sport throughout athletic and employment careers.
Forshaw served as the manager of Interuniversity Sport at York for seven years before accepting her current position in August 2002. During those years as manager, Forshaw was involved in the daily supervision of a 29-team program. She represented the University on several OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Committees and also convened OUA volleyball and field/indoor hockey for several seasons.
Before coming to York, Forshaw gained more than 10 years of management experience as executive director of the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association (OWIAA) and Field Hockey Ontario.
In her own athletic career, Forshaw was York’s first truly outstanding, national-level field hockey player. She led York to two OWIAA gold medals and two CIAU (now CIS) silver medals. Highlights of her playing career include All-Canadian selection four times, Most Valuable Player at the CIAU National Championship, York’s female Athlete of the Year twice, national team member from 1976 to 1988 and selection to three Canadian Olympic teams.