Builders

Roger Skillings (2021)

Roger Skillings

Roger has had a long and storied career in sport, both as an athlete and as an administrator. In 1974, while teaching physical education, Roger became the mid-Island High School Athletic Association volunteer Vice President. A few years later in 1977, he was hired as the Racquet Sports Coordinator at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, a post he held until 1980 when he got his start in the provincial government’s Recreation and Sport Branch. In 1986, Roger became the Assistant Director of Recreation and Sport, and the following year he became President and CEO of the BC Games Society.

Roger travelled extensively during the following decade, hosting BC Summer and Winter Games as well as the BC Senior Games, Northern BC Winter Games, and Athletes with Disabilities Games in communities across the province. It was during this period that Roger developed a vast network of colleagues and friends in all areas of sport and government, and these associations and friendships have lasted through the years. Roger was awarded the Caring Canadian Award by former Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon for his significant contributions in his volunteer and professional leadership positions.

Through these years, Roger was also working behind the scenes to realize his vision for a national sport centre in Greater Victoria. In 1997, he became President of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development (CCSD) – the first iteration of the 1994 Commonwealth Games legacy organization. Under Roger’s direction, the organization evolved and grew over the following few years, becoming the PacificSport National Sport Centre in 2000 with Roger as its President and CEO.

In 2004, after combining the National Sport Centres in Vancouver and Victoria, Roger’s role changed again when he was named CEO of the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific. During this time, Roger worked closely with Liz Ashton, former president of Camosun College, to develop the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence at the Interurban Campus of the College. By 2008-9, the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific had offices and athlete training centres in Whistler, Vancouver, and Victoria. Roger was instrumental in leading a team of exceptional individuals at these sites to help prepare the winter games athletes for the 2010 Winter Olympics - a hugely successful Games for Canada.

Roger retired in late 2009, but he continued to be involved heavily in volunteer provincial sport administration. He joined the Board of Directors of Tennis BC in 2011 and became its president in 2014. Roger completely turned around the struggling organization over the next two years, and eventually left the board in 2018. As an athlete, Roger always maintained a very high level of competitive play, and he holds two junior national tennis titles. He has also coached tennis extensively throughout his lifetime, and he is widely regarded as one of Victoria’s true “Champions of Sport.”

(VISL) Vancouver Island Soccer League (2020)

The Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) has a long and venerable history playing men’s amateur soccer. It was organized in 1895 with eight teams and, in 2020, celebrates its 125th Anniversary with 85 senior men’s teams from Powell River/Campbell River south. That’s 125 years of witnessing communities grow and the sport becoming a staple within them!

When the VISL started operations in 1895, there was a large mid-Island presence, highlighted by teams from Cumberland, Ladysmith and the Nanaimo Wanderers who, in 1923, became the first BC team to win a National Championship. Nanaimo and Ladysmith still have teams in the league and are valued members of the VISL. In 1968, the Victoria O’Keefes won the Kennedy Cup – a Mexico, USA, Canada tournament – and VISL teams won five further National Championships in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

The storied Vic West Football Club has been in operation almost as long as the league itself. The VISL Sir John Jackson Cup Championship has been played almost continuously since 1915 and Vic West has won it over 17 times, along with multiple Division I Garrison Cups, BC Soccer Provincial Cups and four Canadian Challenge Cup Championships in one eight-year stretch.

As the league grew with more clubs and youth organizations being created, so did Island soccer overall. The Island was very fortunate to host many touring British teams throughout the years, including Chelsea, Fulham and Glasgow. Giving the visiting clubs a good match was always a priority. Sir Stanley Matthews played at Royal Athletic Park in 1950 and, in 1951, the Victoria All Stars became the first Canadian team ever to beat a touring English team, winning 1-0 over Fulham.

Canada qualified for the World Cup for the first time ever in 1986. A large VISL contingent led the Canadian team onto the worldwide stage with Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame (GVSHOF) inductee George Pakos scoring twice in the qualifying rounds – goals described as the two most important goals in Canadian soccer history.

Now in the new millennium, the VISL continues to produce quality soccer players and formidable teams, such as Gorge Football Club which has set local records for consecutive Garrison Cup and Sir John Jackson Cup victories.

At least 20 VISL alumni, including players, teams, organizations and builders have been inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame and both soccer and the league continue to grow ever more popular on the Island. A detailed history of the VISL is displayed in the GVSHOF on the concourse at Save-On Foods Memorial Centre.

Builders

Roger Skillings (2021)

(VISL) Vancouver Island Soccer League (2020)

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