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Lester B. Pearson

- Bill Mitchell Award -

About Bill

Barry has dedicated over 17 years to promoting and coaching wrestling with the CSHSAA. He attended Royal Rhoades College and Queens University before coming to Calgary as a physical education teacher at Van Horne and A.E. Cross Junior High Schools. In 1992 he moved to Sir Winston Churchill High School and made a name for himself as an outstanding teacher and coach in wrestling circles. His girls teams have won eight City Championships and his boys teams have won four. Barry has also had five Provincial Championships with his girls and three boys Provincial Champions.

An excellent example of his passion for developing high school wrestlers was his willingness to help students at William Aberhart when they didn’t have a program. These students came to Sir Winton Churchill to learn and develop wrestling skills, and thanks to Barry, William Aberhart now has a successful program.

In his free time he likes to golf and work in his garden. He has been recognized in two garden magazines for his very talented greet thumb! Barry’s philosophy for wrestling is: “Winning is not as important as leaving students with a positive experience and a healthy appreciation for the sport”. As the high school chairman of wrestling for four years he saw the sport increase in interest and participation, particularly at the girls level. In summary, this award has been named after a most deserving individual who is a credit to his teaching profession and to the sport of wrestling.

Honoured Recipients

Starting in the 2016/17 school year, the scholarship awards program was revised, and each award was assigned to a specific school; to be awarded at the school, based on criteria set by the school. Additional scholarship awards were created at this time, so that all CSHSAA member schools had an award assigned to them to award to their students.

Previous Honoured Recipients

  • 2015-16 – Mary Olapade, Bishop O’Byrne
  • 2014-15 – Jennifer Dang, Western Canada
  • 2013-14 – Vivan Mark, Sir Winston Churchill
  • 2012-13 – Nawal Vajeed, Bowness
  • 2010-11 – Mikhaila Fitzsimmons, St. Mary’s
  • 2009-10 – Carly Smith, Crescent Heights
  • 2008-09 – Holly Ellsworth-Clark, Bowness
  • 2007-08 – Jessica Tang, Sir Winston Churchill