Seven plaques added to Kincardine Sports Wall of Fame

Plaques honouring six athletes and one builder, were added to the Kincardine Sports Wall of Fame, Friday, Aug. 17, at the Davidson Centre.

The inductees included:
 

• Adam Dunlop – athlete (swimming)
• Sarah Bruce – athlete (swimming)
• Taylor Candler – athlete (golf)
• Dave Wall – athlete (horse racing/jockey)
• Pat Riggin – athlete (hockey)
• Jay Bell – athlete (baseball)
• Dave Alexander – builder

Riggin and Bell were unable to attend the ceremony and received their certificates at the Celebrity Slo-pitch game, during the Kincardine Reunion.

ADAM DUNLOP

Dunlop has represented this area in swimming at the regional, provincial and national levels over his career. He began swimming competitively in his teens with Kincardine Special Olympics. His father, Dave, got him involved with the Kincardine Kippers to work on his starts and to improve his stroke technique. This helped guide him to a Canadian Special Olympics final.

Prior to the nationals, Dunlop medaled in four provincial championships, earning six golds, five silvers and three bronzes. He has also won many times at the regional and qualifying levels. His parents are Dave and Donna Dunlop.

SARAH BRUCE

Bruce is a three-time Olympics trials swimmer (1988, 1992 and 2004) and in 1994, McMaster University chose her as the female athlete of the year, specializing in the 50-metre, 100-metre and 200-metre freestyle.

Over her swimming career, Bruce won and medaled at both provincial and national levels. In 1990, as an exchange student, she won two gold medals for Belgium at the Under-18 European trials. She captained the McMaster University women to four provincial titles.

At the Canadian University Championships, she won both individual and relay team medals. In 1995, swimming for the Hamilton Aquatic Club, she won national gold as a member of the 4x200 relay team. That same year, the Canadian University Association of Coaches presented her with the Byron MacDonald Hall of Fame award.

TAYLOR (SCHMIDT) CANDLER

Candler has always been a top golfer in the area, from a young age. While attending Kincardine District Secondary School, she placed first at the 2008 Central Western Ontario Secondary School Association (CWOSSA) golf championship and the same year, she won the 2008 Bluewater Athletic championship.

The following year, she went on to win the 2009 Champion of Champions tournament (competition of all Ontario public club champions), and finished 15^th that year in the 2009 Canadian junior girls championships.

The University of Oklahoma recruited Candler, where she played golf for the Sooners from 2009-13. The women's team had seven Top-10 finishes while she was there. After college, she played professionally on the LPGA Symetra Tour and NWGA Tour, and made it to the second stage of qualifying for the LPGA Tour. After that, she was the head women's golf coach for Friends University, located in Wichita, Kansas.

Candler continues her passion for coaching by mentoring young golfers and welcoming all levels to the game of golf.

DAVE WALL

Wall began his career at the age of 25 as a horse race driver. He went into high gear when the Ontario Sire Stakes were created in 1972. He was so successful, he earned the nickname Mr. OSS and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Kincardine resident had many successful horses, including trotter “Goodtimes” in 1993, and pacer “Oldies Fame” in 1998 and 1999. He was Ontario's top driver, winning the Hampman Cup in 1994 and 1998. He also won the North American Cup with “Staff Director,” the 1999 Maple Leaf Trot with “Goodtimes,” and the same year, he won the Fan Hanover Stakes and Breeder's Crown final with “Oldies Fame.” He also finished third in Sweden with “Goodtimes” in 1999.

Wall was inducted into the London Sports Wall of Fame in 2011. He has more than 7,100 driving wins. He currently trains 20 horses with his son, Dean, in Komoka.

DAVE ALEXANDER

Alexander's resume of coaching at Kincardine District Secondary School for 35 years is quite impressive. Unfortunately, he died in 2017.

He coached volleyball, basketball, badminton and track and field. Badminton was always one of his passions as he headed up the KDSS badminton club for 30 years. He spent thousands of hours with young people, building programs for the benefit of students.

Besides coaching, he was instrumental in introducing many new activities into the high school program, including cross-country skiing, canoeing, weight-training, tennis and badminton. He could always be seen down by the river, carving out cross-country ski or running trails, or down in the bush by the Davidson Centre, doing the same thing.

Alexander also began using community facilities for his classes, such as the curling club, the pool, and the tennis courts. His philosophy that people could accomplish whatever they wanted, has taken his students and athletes far in life. He was the face of sports at KDSS for 35 years.