Softball Canada Announces
2019 Hall of Fame Inductees

Ottawa, Ont. – Softball Canada is pleased to announce the list of inductees to the 2019 Hall of Fame Class who will be inducted at the Softball Canada Annual General Meeting taking place November 14-16 in Richmond, B.C. The inductees are Christman Lee (Official – British Columbia), Melanie Matthews (Athlete – British Columbia), Mike Renney (Coach – British Columbia), Greg Timm (Builder – British Columbia) and Brian Van Os (Athlete – British Columbia).

Christman Lee (Surrey, B.C.) retired from umpiring in 2009 after an outstanding thirty-one year career both on and off the field. He started umpiring as a way to make a little extra money but rose through the ranks to represent Canada at three major international events, in addition to sharing his expertise as a long-time member of Softball Canada’s Officiating Development Committee (ODC). Lee worked a total of five Canadian Championships, supervised eight others as an Umpire in Chief or Deputy Umpire-in-Chief and worked a total of 14 Canada Cup International Softball Championships. His international assignments included the 1996 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship and the 1999 and 2003 Pan American Games, where he represented Canada with pride and professionalism. Lee was a member of the ODC from 1994 to 2001, with one of his major tasks being to revise and update the umpire certification manuals. He was inducted to the Softball BC Hall of Fame in 2011.

Melanie Matthews (Surrey, B.C.) was one of the Canadian Women’s National Team’s best hitters of all-time with a career that spanned almost a decade at the international level. She began her involvement as a member of the 2003 Junior Women’s National Team, competed with the Women’s Elite Team in 2005 and earned a spot on the Women’s National Team in 2006. Her impact at the plate was immediate as she led Canada with 20 hits and a .667 batting average at the 2006 WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship. Matthews competed in a total of three WBSC World Championships (2006, 2010 and 2012), two Pan American Games (2007 and 2011), the 2004 and 2007 Universiades and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In her three WBSC World Championships, she had an eye-popping .460 batting average in 112 plate appearances and maintained a .376 average in 660 plate appearances throughout her nine-year career in the Women’s National Team program. She was added to the Softball BC Hall of Fame in 2016.

Mike Renney (Burnaby, B.C.) had a very distinguished coaching career that spanned over 34 years. He began his involvement at the minor level from 1984 to 1990 before moving up to coach at the Junior and Senior level until 1994. That year, he started his involvement as the Head Coach of the Simon Fraser University Clan, a program that played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) until becoming the only Canadian softball team to be added to the NCAA Division II in 2016. Renney ran the Clan for 24 years before retiring in 2018. During his time at SFU, Renney also spent 11 years as a coach with the Women’s National Team program, first as an assistant coach from 1994 to 2000 and then as head coach from 2001 to 2004. He coached in a total of three Olympic Games (1996, 2000 and 2004), three WBSC Women’s Softball World Championships (1994, 1998 and 2002) and two Pan American Games (1995 and 2003). Renney was inducted to the Softball BC Hall of Fame in 2012.

Greg Timm (Surrey, B.C.) began his softball involvement as a coach in the White Rock Renegades organization and also coached Team BC at the 1989 and 1993 Canada Summer Games. He has been involved as an organizer of the Canada Cup International Softball Championship since its inception in 1992, first serving as Vice Chair from 1992 to 2008 before becoming the Chair, a position he currently holds. The Canada Cup is an event that attracts nearly 100 teams every year and includes a Women’s International division that allows the Canadian Women’s National Team to face high-level international competition on home soil. In addition to organizing the Canada Cup, Timm also chaired a total of four Canadian Championships between 2013 and 2018, the 2016 WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship and the 2019 WBSC Americas Olympic Qualifier, which is scheduled to take place next month. He played an important role with the City of Surrey in renovating and upgrading Softball City and has successfully attracted a number of high-profile tournaments at the premier facility.

Brian Van Os (Coquitlam, B.C.) was an active member of Softball Canada’s umpiring program for over 30 years, starting at the local level before becoming Softball BC’s provincial Umpire-in-Chief and a member of their Board of Directors from 1989 to 1997. He went on to serve on Softball Canada’s Officiating Development Committee (ODC) from 2002 to 2008, and then as National Director of Umpires from 2008 to 2013. He officiated in four Canadian Championships as a working umpire and supervised 16 others as n Umpire-in-Chief or Deputy Umpire-in-Chief between 1987 and 2013, and earned three international assignments – the 1988 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship in St. John’s, the 1998 WBSC Americas Men’s Softball Qualifier in Venezuela and the 2001 WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship in Australia. Van Os also supervised a pair of WBSC tournaments including the 2009 Men’s and 2013 Junior Women’s World Championships as Deputy Umpire-in-Chief. He was inducted to the Softball BC Hall of Fame in 2004.

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For more information, please contact:

Gilles LeBlanc
Manager - Marketing & Communications
Softball Canada
p: (613) 523-3386 ext. 3105 | m: (613) 795-1996
w: www.softball.ca | e: gleblanc@softball.ca