Kjeld Brodsgaard enters the Hall of Fame in the Builder category for both wrestling and soccer. Kjeld was born in Denmark and when he was sixteen, the Brodsgaards moved to Canada. He competed in wrestling until graduating from high school in 1970 but he continues playing soccer to this day.

Kjeld's accomplishments over the past four decades are nothing short of astonishing. He has served from the local to the international levels as a coach, official, and organizer. On the wrestling side, Kjeld officiated on the provincial scene at high school championships, and both the BC Summer and Winter Games. At the national level he officiated for 27 years at more than 75 National Championships. From 1983 to 1989 Kjeld served first as Vice President of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Official's Association and then as President. He was the Head Official for two Olympic Trials in 1996 and 2000.

On the international scene, his record includes officiating at Internal Level for 22 years until 2002. He was awarded the Federation of Associated Wrestling StylesExceptionnel Officialfor 13 years, the highest rank possible for an international official. Kjeld officiated at more than 60 International Championships including 20 World Championships and World Cups held in Tokyo,Tehran, Atlanta, Stockholm and elsewhere. He participated in Olympic Games in Atlanta and Sydney, Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and Manchester, two Pan Am Games, two European Championships and the 1990 Goodwill Games.

Now, on the soccer side. He started the Team Sales Goalkeeping Clinic, which is free for aspiring keepers, and for more than ten years he coached keepers at both the juvenile and senior levels. He was a Director on the Board of the Vancouver Island Soccer League for 15 years serving as Vice President, President and Past President. Kjeld was VP of Operations for the U19 Women's World Cup and the U20 Men's World Cup and he was Chair of Wrestling for the 94 Commonwealth Games.

Kjeld is still at it today. He is currently the Senior VP of the BC Soccer Association and a Director of the BC Games Society where he is the Chair of the Sports Committee.

These are only some of the many contributions that Kjeld continues to make in the development of wrestling and soccer, both here and abroad. During this long and stellar career he has accumulated many awards for his dedication and commitment including recipient of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Gold Star; BC Wrestling Official of the Year on four occasions; Canadian Male Official of the Year; and Induction into the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.

Additional honours include the BC Wrestling Officials Association scholarship established in his name and the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Officials Association award in his name.

SPONSORED BY HOWE & GRAMLICH WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC.

Mark Hume, the National Correspondent to the Globe and Mail wrote the following about our next inductee who is entering the Hall as a Builder in the sport of rugby: "To thrive, a sport needs dedicated players; it needs skilled coaches; it needs supportive parents. But it also needs to have someone like George Jones, someone to remind everyone that while winning is important, playing for the sheer love of the game is more important. Individuals like that are all too rare in any sport - and when found, they should be treasured."

George has been involved in rugby all his life and his accomplishments are amazing. As a young man he played both Club and Representative Rugby, and over the years he served as a Captain for 11 different clubs in 4 different provinces. With his playing days behind him, George dove into coaching, administration, fundraising and building, and in the past 40 years he has left a formidable legacy.

George gave thousands of hours both in volunteer positions and through pro bono legal assistance to various clubs and teams in Eastern Canada and locally, including the Vancouver Island Rugby Union, the Crimson Tide, the UVIC Tour of Ireland, Shamrocks Lacrosse, the Junior "A" Cougars, Victoria Athletic Boxing Commission, James Bay Athletic Association and the Velox Valhallians.

George always understood how to enable his visions and bring people together to make a dream a reality . He was a Founding member of the University Heights Athletic Association, Rugby Canada Men's and Women's Players Associations, the Commonwealth Games Society, the National Sports Committee and the Braefoot Athletic Association among others.

Ray Parks, Director of the Braefoot Community Association, recently stated "Mr. Jones demonstrated great vision and courage by personally committing funds to build the Braefoot facility, followed by approximately two decades of service at the board level, delivering a variety of opportunities to young people in the region. His contribution is enormous as thousands of our youth have benefited from the facility and the many scholarships and programs he helped create. George Jones is a true leader and visionary with passion and commitment."

One of George's stellar achievements was as a founder of the Rugby Canada Foundation as he found a donor who launched the Foundation through a million dollar donation. The Foundation continues to grow and is now funding rugby grants throughout the country. Within the Foundation there is a George F. Jones Scholarship that is designed to help those who may not have a chance for rugby success without some financial assistance. The award is offered country wide, reflecting both George's travels across the country, and his belief that the Foundation is about serving Canadian Rugby, coast to coast. George's award is given to a person with tremendous potential to positively influence the direction of rugby in the future. He believes that rugby is a great sport for all Canadians no matter where they are from or what their background.

Over all these years of unflagging dedication, George has had a profound impact on Victoria's sports scene. In fact you would be hard pressed to find a kid in the last twenty years, in any sport in the Greater Victoria region, that has not benefited from George's vision, money, time, talent and knowledge.

SPONSORED BY THE VELOX VALHALLIANS RUGBY CLUB