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Robert Thirsk

- Tom Inkster Memorial Award -

About Tom

Tom Inkster was involved in the sport of wrestling for over 40 years in his capacity as an athlete, coach, official and administrator. He began his career as a high school student at Martin Collegiate in Regina, Saskatchewan and then moved to the University of Calgary, where he was an outstanding wrestler for 4 years; winning many championships in Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling. A knee injury forced Tom into retirement as an athlete, but he soon made his mark as a junior high school coach at Woodman, and as a high school coach at Ernest Manning. He won 3 City Team Championships and helped over 100 athletes become individual Provincial Champions, along with 7 Canadian Champions. As an official, he was involved in all levels of the sport, including National Championships and Commonwealth Games Championships. Tom was also a founding member of the Calgary Wrestling Association and a Director for the Canadian Wrestling Foundation. He was honoured by the Calgary Booster Club as an Honoured Athletic Leader in 1991 and was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. In summary, this Wrestling Award has been named after a most deserving individual.

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 – Alex Pipchuk, William Aberhart
  • 2014-15 – Callum McNeice, St. Timothy
  • 2013-14 – Nathan Galan, Sir Winston Churchill
  • 2012-13 – Bradley Aldridge, Lord Beaverbrook
  • 2011-12 – Matthew Loeppky, St. Timothy
  • 2011-12 – Natalie Galan, Sir Winston Churchill
  • 2010-11 – Dominic Mayhew, Bowness
  • 2009-10 – Sudeepta Aurka, Lester B. Pearson