Two feet forward – Our communities

SOUTH WINNIPEG

Bridgewater Lakes

It's fair to say that Christine O'Connor is Canadian soccer royalty.

The longtime Winnipeg resident will be inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame on May 4 at Canada Soccer's annual awards night in Montreal.

O'Connor will be inducted along with B.C.'s Lita Sokalski and will be the first two female administrators to be honored in the hall's builder category, making the achievement even more significant.

“I didn't believe it at first,” O'Connor said when she first heard about her latest award.

“It was very surprising, especially as a female award. I enjoyed what I did and didn't expect recognition.”

The acceptance of the 72-year-old is more modest than anything she has done to grow women's soccer — provincially and nationally — as a pioneer of the sport locally and beyond for decades.

Her accomplishments include serving as president of Manitoba Soccer in 2010 and 2012, and she was instrumental in securing Winnipeg's role as one of the host cities for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.

She became the first female board member of Manitoba Soccer in 1983, she also served as the first president of the Manitoba Women's Soccer League. The former St. Vital resident was an integral part of Canada's first national women's soccer team and served as the program's first tour manager from 1986 to 1990.

A native of Manchester, England, O'Connor arrived in Winnipeg in November 1974 with her husband, Cavan, and their infant son, Bradley. Cavan, a tailor by trade, came to work in the town's garment industry.

“We arrived with a two-year-old, 13 pieces of luggage and no place to stay, so we stayed at the Marlborough Hotel for two weeks,” O'Connor said, noting the birth of their two youngest sons, Adam and Dylan. in Winnipeg.

In the early 1980s, the couple opened the Sweat Shack, a popular landmark in the local soccer community. Located on the corner of St Anne's and St Mary's Roads, the business sold football and sportswear and equipment.

The Sweat Shack Spirit women's team, managed by O'Connor and coached by her husband, has won numerous provincial championships and national competitions.

“Mostly, our players were 12th graders or girls who had just graduated from local schools like JH Bruns Collegiate or Nelson McIntyre Collegiate, and many of them shopped at the Sweat Shack,” O'Connor said.

He recalled a key moment during the team formation when Cavan attended an early training session and asked the girls to take off their shoes.

“You have to get a feel for the land,” he said.

There's something symbolic about this commemorative photo, as O'Connor herself has had a historic journey through the women's game in Canada and has seen a lot of development along the way, including a team that won an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (they did). held in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions).

The Sweat Shack Spirit team was inducted into the Manitoba Football Hall of Fame, and O'Connor was also inducted separately. He is also in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

“I liked organizing things,” O'Connor said with a laugh, remembering that she used to plan everything by hand. “This is my business. But I never imagined that it would lead to everything that happened.”

Part of the mantra behind his success has always been to put both feet forward.

“I have no regrets and I've enjoyed every second of what I've done.”