The Class of 2024 was formally inducted and recognized at the 2024 Bow Valley Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration on September 17th 2024 at the Banff Park Lodge.
The Class of 2024 includes:
Brian McKeever – Athlete / Nordic Skiing
Brian began cross-country skiing at the age of two. His parents were active members of the cross-country community and encouraged him to begin competing when he was 10.
As an able-bodied skier, Brian had considerable success and celebrated many national and international podiums. That was just the beginning of 25 years of continual competition, itself a feat very few athletes attain.
At 18, Brian began to lose his vision to Stargardt Disease, which eventually resulted in a loss of central vision. Undaunted by his condition, Brian became a Para-nordic athlete and a six-time Olympian winning 16 Gold, two Silver, and two Bronze medals. He was selected as Canada’s flag bearer at two Paralympic ceremonies. In the Para-nordic World Championships, he won more than 20 titles.
Brian never let his visual impairment impede an unrelenting desire for maximum performance. He established his ability to compete with, and often dominate, the best in the world.
Brian is recognized as a true pioneer of Para-nordic skiing in Canada. Celebrated for his dedication to the sport, to training, and to achieving the most at each competition, Brian is, simply put, one of Canada’s best athletes.
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Norbert Meier – Builder / Nordic Skiing
Norbert came to the Bow Valley in 1976 as an executive at the Banff Centre – a position he considered not only his vocation but also his avocation. He loved cross-country skiing in the mountain backcountry. As the years went by, he became increasingly dedicated to the sport of cross-country skiing and he developed a bigger vision of where the sport could go in the Bow Valley.
He began as a Jackrabbit coach with his kids and by the 1990s was deeply involved in Master’s racing around the world, earning a gold medal in 2012 as a Master’s Loppet racer.
Norbert’s greatest contribution was in bringing World Cup Nordic events to Canmore. He dedicated himself to securing these events, knowing that both able-bodied and disabled athletes benefitted directly from international events and that their development would come from being a part of them. Since 2012, Canmore has been the beneficiary of a long list of Nordic World Cup events that would not have been possible without the tireless dedication of Norbert as the president of the Alberta World Cup Society.
Norbert continues to be an inspiration and exemplary role model for the volunteers, race officials, athletes, and participants of Nordic sports. Throughout the Bow Valley and, indeed, the entire Nordic skiing world, Norbert is admired for his steadfast dedication to cross-country skiing, his active lifestyle, and vision for the sport.
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Ken Davies – Builder / Biathlon
As a builder of sports in the Bow Valley, it may be difficult to find someone who has touched more sports than Ken Davies. Since the 1990s, Ken has been deeply involved in the Canmore Cohos Swim Club, the Canmore Minor Soccer Club, the Canmore Illusions Gymnastics Club, the Alberta Winter Games and the Town of Canmore’s Recreation Opportunities Working Group Leader, the Canmore Mountain Biking Trail Alliance, as well as President of the Canmore Nordic Ski Club. He was also Chair of Biathlon Alberta, and President of Biathlon Canada.
For the nearly two decades between 2005 and 2024, Ken was instrumental in bringing Junior National, National, and World Cup Biathlon events to Canmore. He was also instrumental in moving the headquarters of Biathlon Canada from Ottawa to Canmore.
Ken’s tireless dedication to Biathlon has been recognized with numerous awards from Biathlon Canada. Ken is a true sports builder in the Bow Valley, and the beneficiaries of his efforts are athletes not only here but across Canada.
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Pete Bosinger – Builder / Alpine Skiing
Pete began skiing at Mt Saint Sauveur in the Laurentians at the age of two. A few years later, the family moved to Rossland, BC and a decade after that to Banff. Pete’s 50-plus years of experience on skis would not have been the same were it not for his mother’s support and the opportunity to work together with his father at a variety of ski areas across the country.
Pete’s ski racing career spanned all technical and speed disciplines until he was named to the Canadian National Ski Team as a Slalom and Giant Slalom specialist.
Pete’s impressive achievements include overall Alberta Cup Champion, four-year member of the Canadian National Ski Team, a 1988 Olympian, and a further four years spent racing professionally in Japan and the US.
Pete brought all of his passion and dedication to coaching as head coach of the Alberta Ski Team, the Canadian Men’s National Ski Team, and the US Alpine Ski Team. He returned to the Olympics as a coach in 2002 and was a four-time World Championships coach.
Pete is known throughout the ski world as a natural leader who strives for excellence. His passion for ski racing is contagious and he is committed to priming a new generation of ski racers for the pinnacles of success.
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Jim Davies – Pioneer / Mountain Pursuits
Jim is one of Canada’s greatest aviators. His pioneering vision, courage, and contributions to the development of sport in the mountains of Western Canada are as unheralded as they are enormous.
Born in Banff in 1938, Jim quickly developed into a passionate, successful ski racer. At the age of 17, Jim won three gold medals at the Western Canadian Ski Championships – and would have won a fourth had spectators not wandered onto the downhill course. In 1955, he raced the infamous Lauberhorn Downhill at Wengen, Switzerland and finished 18th.
By 1959, Jim interests shifted to flying and he earned his fixed-wing private pilot’s license. He flew throughout the mountains of Western Canada and in Canada’s North. His formidable skills were best displayed when landing his Super Cub on remote glaciers, including on BC’s Canoe Glacier with Hans Gmoser and Jim McConkey for a pioneering ski film.
His relationship with Hans Gmoser led Jim to become the first heli-ski pilot in Canada and the regular pilot at Bugaboo Lodge from 1965 to 1973. Jim played a key role in the evolution of heli-skiing and his techniques for mountain flying are still in use today.
Among Jim’s many aeronautical accomplishments, perhaps his most meaningful contribution was to mountain rescue. Jim and Peter Fuhrmann were the first people in Canada to successfully use a helicopter and a long-line sling to rescue an injured climber. This manoeuvre on Mt. Edith was a turning point in alpine rescue in Canada and many climbers owe their lives to the skills developed by Jim Davies and the rest of the alpine-rescue teams.
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Ryan, Kevin and Jared Smyth – Athlete / Hockey
“Alberta has long been the heartland of hockey excellence, nurturing legends who have left indelible marks on the sport. Among these legends, few families have had an impact as profound as the Smyth family—where the passion for hockey runs deep, from parents to sons. With the unwavering support of their father and mother, Jim and Dixie, three boys Ryan, Kevin and Jerrod reached the heights of hockey excellence.
Ryan Smyth, affectionately known as ‘Captain Canada.’ was born in Banff, Alberta, and began in Banff Minor Hockey before moving on to the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League. Drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Ryan quickly became a cornerstone of the Oilers franchise.
Over a storied 19-season career in the NHL, Ryan played 1,270 games and scored 842 points, with 296 of his 386 goals coming in an Oilers uniform. Ryan’s contributions extended far beyond the NHL. He represented Canada in two Olympic Winter Games, winning gold in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Ryan was the captain of Team Canada for six World Championships, earning the moniker ‘Captain Canada.’ He also brought home gold medals from the World Junior Championship in 1995, the World Championships in 2003 and 2004, and the World Cup of Hockey in 2004. In 2020, Ryan was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy as one of hockey’s greatest ambassadors.
But the Smyth legacy doesn’t end there. Kevin Smyth, Ryan’s elder sibling, carved out his own path in the hockey world. Born in Banff in 1973, Kevin’s hockey journey began in Banff Minor Hockey and continued with the Caronport Cougars in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League before moving on to the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL.
Kevin’s skill and determination led him to the NHL, where he played for the Hartford Whalers, having been drafted in the fourth round, 79th overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Kevin’s career was marked by resilience, most notably when he returned to play after a severe eye injury in 1996, which resulted in the loss of vision in his right eye. Despite this setback, Kevin returned to the ice and was awarded the International Hockey League’s Comeback Player of the Year in 1997. His professional career continued in the International Hockey League and later in the West Coast Hockey League. Kevin also made a significant impact at the senior level, winning the Allan Cup with the Bentley Generals in 2009, a crowning achievement in Canadian senior hockey. In 2016, he was inducted into the Moose Jaw Warriors Sports Hall of Fame, a testament to his enduring influence on the sport.
“Completing the Smyth trifecta is Jared Smyth, the youngest of the brothers, who brought his own flair and tenacity to the sport. Born in Banff in 1979, Jared’s hockey journey mirrored that of his brothers, beginning in Banff Minor Hockey and progressing through the Red Deer Rebels in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League. He then moved on to the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL, where he established himself as a reliable and determined left-winger.
Jared’s professional career saw him play in the East Coast Hockey League and the American Hockey League, with stints on teams like the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and the Hamilton Bulldogs. Jared later returned to Alberta, where he played for the Bentley Generals in the Chinook Hockey League, contributing to the team’s 2009 Allan Cup victory alongside his brother Kevin. Off the ice, Jared has followed in his father’s footsteps, dedicating himself to coaching and youth hockey development in Alberta. His impact on young players in Red Deer and beyond ensures that the Smyth legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
Ryan, Kevin, and Jared Smyth—three brothers, three remarkable journeys, one incredible legacy. Their contributions to hockey, both on and off the ice, have shaped the sport in Alberta, across the nation and throughout the world of hockey.