Athletics coach Faye Blackwood was inducted into the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association Hall of Fame at a banquet in London, Ontario on Saturday.
Blackwood’s coaching career in Paralympic sport spans two decades, during which time she has developed countless athletes across the country.
Blackwood began her coaching career in 1989, shortly after retiring as a nationally ranked hurdler. She was soon coaching at the local, provincial, national and international level, while working at several organizations supporting sport for people with disabilities, including Variety Village and ParaSport Ontario (formerly Sport for Disabled Ontario). Between 1992 and 2000, Faye worked with every runner with cerebral palsy in Canada in one way or another. She coached at the Paralympic Games in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
Over the years, Blackwood has earned the respect of fellow coaches and athletes alike through her strong technical knowledge and passion for sport.
Dr. Earl Church, Paralympic coach, noted that “Faye was selected as a staff coach for numerous World and Paralympic teams and in this capacity was responsible for not only CP athletes but also sprinters and jumpers who were amputees and athletes with intellectual disabilities. She had the respect and confidence of all of them.”
According to former athlete Kirston Harwood, “Faye was a strong role model who encouraged you to work hard and strive for your best at all times. Just as importantly, Faye instilled in me a love of sport. Working with Faye I learned at a young age, that training and competing as an elite athlete requires dedication and determination from the athlete as well as the coach. Faye gave of herself in ways I am not even sure she realized and many years later, I find myself reflecting on how fortunate I was to be coached by one of the best.”
