The Moose Jaw and District Sports Hall of Fame formally introduced the 2025 induction class at the Temple Gardens Centre on Thursday.
This year’s inductees are:
- Lorraine Arguin – builder, curling
- Norm Balderston – builder, curling
- Ron Friesen – athlete, diving
- Verna Kergan – builder, speed skating
- Jim Large – builder, hockey and cycling
- Len Nielsen – athlete, hockey
- Jim Runzer – athlete, wrestling
- Cliff Wiens – builder, judo
The class of 2025 will be officially enshrined during a gala ceremony on Friday, Sept. 26, at the Temple Gardens Centre.
Tickets are available now until 6 p.m. on Sept. 19. They can be purchased at the Temple Gardens Centre box office, online at www.sasktix.ca, or by calling 306-624-2050.
Lorraine Arguin
An accomplished curler, Arguin has spent more than 40 years coaching at various levels, including the past 16 years with wheelchair curling.
As a coach, she has won SHSAA provincial titles with Vanier Collegiate and guided teams to five Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championships. She retired from coaching following the 2024 national championship.
Her awards include the Moose Jaw PRISM Mentor Recipient Award (2017) and the Saskatchewan Curling Association Legends of Curling Builder Award (2024).
Norm Balderston
Balderston dedicated his life to curling, serving on the Hillcrest Sports Centre board for more than 20 years, including seven as president. He played a key role in building a new clubhouse and curling facility in 1967 and helped bring the 1979 World Junior and 1985 World Women’s Championships to Moose Jaw.
He was a district umpire for the Saskatchewan Curling Association from 1958 to 1966 and remained active in the sport throughout his life.
His honours include Hillcrest Sports Centre Honorary Life Member (1967), “Scotty” Richardson Memorial Award (1978), SCA Honorary Life Member (1979), Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1988), and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (1995).
Ron Friesen
A graduate of Central Collegiate, Friesen excelled as a wrestler, gymnast and swimmer before turning to diving at 18. He trained at the University of Saskatchewan and quickly rose to the international stage.
Friesen represented Canada at the 1970 World University Games, the 1970 Commonwealth Games, the 1971 Pan American Games, and the 1972 Olympics. He was the first Canadian to perform a reverse two-and-a-half somersault from the 10-metre tower in competition.
He was a seven-time Canadian diving champion.
Verna Kergan
Kergan has spent 36 years coaching speed skating, including more than 20 as a head coach. A certified Level 3 coach, she has worked at the local, provincial, regional and national levels.
She has organized coaching clinics across Saskatchewan, helped stage annual meets in Moose Jaw, and guided athletes who went on to compete nationally and internationally, including at the Olympics.
Jim Large
Large has contributed significantly to hockey and cycling in Moose Jaw.
He coached the AA peewee team in 1992-93, the Moose Jaw AAA midget team for seven years, and served as an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors in 1992-93.
In 1995, he launched the city’s female hockey program, which grew from a single team to multiple teams and a full league within Moose Jaw Minor Hockey.
Large also revived the Moose Jaw Pavers Cycling Club in 2004, serving as president until 2014 and organizing local and provincial races.
Len Nielsen
Nielsen played minor hockey in Moose Jaw before joining the Regina Pat Canadians, winning the 1983 Air Canada Cup national championship by scoring both the tying and winning goals in the final.
He spent four seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats and was ranked as a top-50 NHL prospect, eventually signing with the Winnipeg Jets. He played professionally in the AHL and in Finland before representing Canada internationally from 1985-86 and competing in the 1991 Spengler Cup.
Nielsen later returned to Moose Jaw, serving as an assistant coach with the Warriors from 1993-98 and head coach from 1999-2001.
Jim Runzer
Runzer was introduced to wrestling at Pyle’s Gym in Moose Jaw. He won several provincial lightweight titles, four Manitoba Open titles and the Canadian middleweight championship.
He represented Canada at the British Empire Games in Cardiff, Wales. Legendary coach Dave Pyle once called him “likely the best wrestler I’ve ever coached.”
Cliff Wiens
A national-level competitor and black belt in judo, Weins later turned to coaching and has been involved in the sport locally since the 1970s.
He founded the Moose Jaw Koseikan Judo Club, growing the program from a small YMCA group in the 1970s to a long-standing club that has been in its current location for 26 years.
You can learn more about the inductees and the induction ceremony by visiting the Moose Jaw and District Sports Hall of Fame website.