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.”

 

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