AN ALUMNI REUNION IN VERNON, BRITISH COLUMBIA PLUS NUMEROUS FORMER CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS

When the University of Calgary Dinos and the University British Columbia Thunderbirds met in the Kalamalka Bowl sponsored by Kal Tire in Vernon, BC on August 24 numerous former players and connections to the Dino program where amongst over 1800 present plus several former Canadian Football League alums.

Canadian Football Hall of Fame members Peter Connellan and Greg Vavra, both members of the 1983 National Championship were present. Connellan coached the Dinos to four National titles in his 13 years as Head Coach while Vavra is the only player to have their number retired in the history of the program. Connellan was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and Vavra was in the class of 2020. Both are members of the U of C Athletic Hall of Fame.

Rick “Curly” Coleman, who will be inducted into the U of C Hall of Fame in October and was an assistant coach of the 1983 team made the boat ride and drive from his summer cabin in the Shuswap. Coleman was involved with the program in some capacity for over fifty years as a player, coach, and 5th Quarter member.

Other members from the 1983 team attending the event included defensive Coordinator Cam Innes, fullback Tony Spoletini and offensive lineman Darren Olson. Due to work commitments current defensive line coach Kent Warnock, who also was on the 1983 team could not attend. Also present at the game was former Calgary Dinos and Calgary Stampeders running back Matt Walter who was a dominant running back for the Dinos during his tenure.

Another individual with ties to the Dinos football program present was former broadcaster Dave Rowe who resides in the lower Mainland.

Former Canadian Football League star and Canadian Football Hall of Famer Jim Young was also present at the contest. Young has the distinction of being the first player from a Canadian University to play in the National Football League.

Other CFL Alumni present included Angus Reid (whose nephews Liam and Roan) play for the Dinos, Lefty Hendrickson, Dwayne Derban, Leo Groenwegan, Jay Christiansen, Mark Norman, Terry Cochrane, Jamie Taras. Both Head Coaches of the participating teams, Blake Nill (UBC) and Wayne Harris (Calgary), as well as Calgary assistant coaches Jabari Arthur and Sam Hurl, all played in the CFL at one point. If I have missed anyone, I apologize.

“It (Kalamalka Bowl) was an awesome event for our team to be a part of. It was a great experience for everyone,” stated U of C special teams coach Nathan Mollard whose club lost the contest 28-7.

The Dinos football team would sincerely like to thank everyone involved with the Kalmalka Bowl for their time and effort in the making the event a success and an experience for everyone with the program. Also thanks to various sponsors who helped make the event the success it was.