HOF inductees - Class of 2009
Sylvia was known as a dominant player in Ottawa women's ultimate during the late 80s to early 90s. She was one of a small set of ladies who comprised a very talented core of the early women's competitive scene in Ottawa. Their team Horizont'elle went on to win the National Championships in 1993. A tall player, Sylvia was a threat on offence and defence. She was dominant as a deep striker and was one of the few ladies who could flick the length of the field. Her jumping game and speed took away many deep hucks by her opponents.
Sylvia also was one of the first, if not the first, to push interval training in competitive Ottawa ultimate leading to teams that were much better prepared to play the sport. She last played with Stella at the National Championships in 1996, when she had her second ACL injury. She was invited to play with Canada at World's in 1992, '94 and '96 but injuries limited her to only 1994 where the Canadian ladies won bronze. Though forced to retire early after playing with two knee braces at the end, Sylvia was still playing at a high level.
Justine played on and captained the women's teams Horizont'elle and Stella for many years. She was an amazing player with steady throws, good hands and great layout catches. She was a calm and steady influence and in 1993 Horizont'elle won the National Championships and Justine was named MVP.
Justine represented Canada at World Championships in 1994 in Colchester, England where she brought home the bronze. She worked to build the game in Ottawa, co-hosting the city's first ultimate clinic (for women) in 1995, coaching OJ in 2005 and was a player/coach for Scarlett in 2007. She has been considered a driving force in the Ottawa women's scene for more than two decades and is known as one of the brightest and most balanced players in the Ottawa ultimate scene.
Builders
Mike Harley occupied the role of OCUA President from 1998 to 2000. He was a steward for our organization during a very difficult time when the league was going through massive growth and the headaches with the creation of UPI. While he served two years as President and two additional years as a Director he provided countless hours of work to OCUA in that time.
Mike even had to step back from playing during his time as the rigours of managing a burgeoning league while negotiating and monitoring the development of the first Ultimate specific sports facility were great. Mike was the founder and creator of Ultimate Happenings and served as its editor for 5 years.