Late SFU Clan Coach John Buchanan Named Recipient Of The Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VANCOUVER, BC (February 27, 2019) — Sport BC is pleased to announce the recipient of the prestigious Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award is the late John Buchanan, former coach at Simon Fraser University.
The Daryl Thompson Award is proudly sponsored by the BC Games Society and named in honour of the late Daryl Thompson, former chair of Sport BC. Daryl’s contribution to sport as an athlete, coach and executive officer were exemplary.
This prestigious award recognizes an individual who has contributed their time in an extraordinary way to sport over a long period of time or has made a major contribution to amateur sport in British Columbia.
The BC Games Society is the organization responsible for setting the ongoing policy and direction of the BC Winter and BC Summer Games. The BC Games is the leadership organization that guides the BC Winter and BC Summer Games and prepares Team BC for national multi-sport Games. They build on the expertise and support of partners to create development opportunities for athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and communities. Credit: BC Games Society Website
We are proud to be the longest standing sport recognition event in Canada and this year signifies a historic achievement for sport with our 53rd anniversary. The 53rd Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala dinner is set for Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
The ceremonies will recognize BC’s best in amateur sport including athletes, coaches, and officials for outstanding performances in their sport over the 2018 season. Each finalist was nominated by their Provincial or Multi-Sport Organization, High School, College or University. The Selection Committee, chaired by Bernie Pascall, included 16 highly regarded sportswriters, broadcasters, and amateur sport leaders in British Columbia.
John Buchanan was not only a coach and a colleague but he was a leader. For 50 years, he energized the Simon Fraser University community – Coach Buchanan was part of the fabric of SFU Athletics & Recreation and his accomplishments are nothing short of legendary.
Arriving at the University in 1966, John Buchanan was hired as the pool custodian and gym facility equipment manager. By 2016, he had been responsible for helping lead SFU to no fewer than 18 NAIA and NCAA Championships in both soccer and golf. Over his half century atop Burnaby Mountain, Coach Buchanan created hundreds of exceptional student-athlete experiences and helped to shape future generations of business and sports leaders.
When the men's soccer team was elevated to varsity status in 1975, he was asked to take the full time coaching position. Buchanan declined the offer and countered by saying that he was willing to coach the men's team for free as a volunteer. The SFU's men's soccer team immediately heralded a run of six-straight NAIA Regional Championships from 1975-81. This included an NAIA National Championship in 1976, which was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The SFU soccer championship run also happened at the same time when Coach Buchanan was serving as an assistant coach for the ‘Caps and Canada's men’s national team, where he helped lead the squad to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. John Buchanan resigned as the SFU men's soccer coach in 1981 to focus on the ever-expanding Recreation program. That may have been the setting of the sun on his coaching career but the men's varsity golf coach Jack Westover had other ideas.
Westover asked Buchanan to assist him with the squad in 1985 and when Westover withdrew from the program in 1990, it became Buchanan's to run on his own. From 1990 to 2003, Buchanan served as head golf coach, distinguishing SFU as the top golf program in Canada. During this time, the Clan won 11 of 13 NAIA Regional Championships, including a runner-up finish at the 1999 NAIA National Championship and a fourth-place finish at the 2001 NAIA tournament.
In 2003, Buchanan stepped away from coaching and despite the hiring of a new coach, the golf program was inexplicably cut from the athletic program by SFU in 2005. In 2009, men’s and women’s golf returned to action, this time as part of the prestigious NCAA. Starting from scratch once more, Coach built the golf programs back to prominence and helped lead the teams to three Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, with the men winning the 2015 title and the women capturing the 2016 and 2017 (posthumously) titles.
In 1986, Buchanan was inducted as a charter member of the SFU Athletic Hall of Fame and he was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006. Buchanan received the distinguished SFU Chancellors Award in 2014 for his years of volunteer work with the golf team at SFU. In addition, he entered the SFU Athletics Hall of Fame again in 2016 as a member of the 1976 men’s soccer team.
He also became a member of the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame posthumously in 2017 for his contributions to soccer and golf. “The recipient of the Daryl Thompson Award is determined by the Sport BC Board of Directors”, notes President & CEO of Sport BC, Rob Newman.
“Over the last several years, we have received numerous nominations for individuals that are all representative of the characteristics that are reflective of the late Daryl Thompson and it positively exemplifies the spirit of sport in British Columbia. On behalf of Sport BC and the Board of Directors, congratulations to the late John Buchanan and his family.”
Tickets are now available through www.sportbc.com
PREVIOUS AWARD RECIPIENTS: For a list of previous award winners and additional information, including recognition of our corporate and community sponsors and partners, please visit: www.sportbc.com