The Western Australian Hall of Champions was created in 1983 by the then-recently created Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). The Sportswriters' Association of Western Australia had suggested the development of a Hall of Champions to the Government of Western Australia, to honour past athletes from the state who had made a significant impact in their sport. It was inaugurated by Keith Wilson, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, on 19 August 1985. [1] [2]
Fourteen foundation inductees were made in 1985 and since then several new inductees are made each year at a dinner hosted by WAIS. The award is the highest honour that can be accorded a West Australian sportsperson. [3]
The induction criteria are:
The award is separate from the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year which is given to currently competing sportspeople.
Hall of Champions foundational member | Hall of Champions Legend | Hall of Champions foundational member and Legend | Hall of Champions membership revoked |
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Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert, was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. Cuthbert also contributed to Australian relay teams completing a win in the 4 × 100 metres, 4 × 110 yards, 4 × 200 metres and 4 × 220 yards. Cuthbert had a distinctive running style, with a high knee lift and mouth wide open. She was named in 1998 an Australian National Treasure and was inducted as a Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.
South Fremantle Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Fremantle, Western Australia. The club plays in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) and the WAFL Women's (WAFLW), commonly going by the nickname the Bulldogs. Since its founding, the club has won 14 WAFL premierships, the most recent of them in 2020.
George Ronald Doig was an Australian rules footballer who played for and later coached the East Fremantle Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). A member of the Doig sporting family, Doig kicked 1095 goals from his 202 games playing almost exclusively as a forward, becoming East Fremantle's leading goalkicker of all-time, and leading the WANFL's goalkicking on six occasions. He kicked more than 100 goals in a season nine times, which included a haul of 152 goals in 1934 that set an elite record which was not broken until Bernie Naylor kicked 167 goals in 1953. Doig captained the club for two seasons, from 1940 to 1941, also filling the role of coach during the first season.
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established with 136 inductees. As of 2024, this figure has grown to more than 300, including 32 "Legends". Jason Dunstall became the most recent inductee to achieve Legend status in 2024. There had previously been 32 official Legends prior to Dunstall's elevation, but disgraced player Barry Cable had his football honours rescinded after being found guilty of historical child sex abuse.
Trinity College is an independent day school for boys, located on the Swan River foreshore in East Perth, Western Australia. The school was established in 1962 when students from the city schools CBC Perth and St Patrick's Boys School moved to the new Trinity College campus.
Graham Frank Moss is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the Claremont Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
John Arthur "Jack" Winter was an Australian high jumper who won that event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London with a jump of 1.98 metres.
The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise and enshrine those who have made a significant contribution to Australian rules football in Western Australia. People eligible for inclusion are players, coaches, umpires, administrators and media representatives.
Stephen William Marsh was an Australian rules footballer who represented South Fremantle and East Fremantle in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL) during the 1940s and 1950s.
Mervyn Frederick McIntosh was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) West Australian National Football League (WANFL). A brilliant ruckman, he was awarded the Sandover Medal as the fairest and best player in the league three times while playing with the Perth Football Club.
Rolland Leslie "Rolly" Tasker AM was an Australian sailor who won Australia's first Olympic sailing medal, at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. He and Malcolm (Huck) Scott won a silver medal in their 12m2 Sharpie after the New Zealander Peter Mander failed to disqualify himself and Rolly had not officially protested. In 1958 Tasker won the Flying Dutchman World Championship.
Trevor Sydney Bickle is a former Western Australian athlete and Commonwealth pole vault champion.
Jodie Cooper is a former champion surfer. She won 13 international surfing events, including titles in Australia, Japan, Hawaii and mainland United States and was runner-up on a further 13 occasions between 1983 and 2002. Despite her event successes, she never won the world women's title however.
Priya Naree Cooper, is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics with an S8 classification. She was twice the co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team, including at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and carried the Australian flag at the closing ceremonies for the 1992 and 1996 Summer Paralympics. Cooper has cerebral palsy and spends much of her time in a wheelchair. She attended university, working on a course in health management. After she ended her competitive Paralympic career, she became a commentator, and covered the swimming events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Christine Frances "Chris" Stanton is a retired high jumper from Australia. She set her personal best on 26 January 1985, jumping 1.96 metres at a meet in Adelaide, South Australia. An eight-time national champion in the women's high jump, she competed for her native country at three consecutive Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988.
Sydney Campbell "Sammy" Clarke was an Australian rules footballer who played for Claremont in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) between 1933 and 1941. He won the Sandover Medal in his first two seasons in the competition, making him the first player to win the award in consecutive years. Clarke won a premiership with Claremont in 1939, and also represented Western Australia in eight interstate games. He served as a pilot with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II, but was killed in action in New Guinea towards the end of the war.
Kingsley Haldane Bugarin, OAM is an Australian Paralympic and vision impaired swimmer. He competed in five consecutive Summer Paralympics from 1984 to 2000, winning a total of five gold, eight silver, and six bronze medals. He held the Australian record for the highest Paralympic medal count until it was surpassed in 2012 by Matthew Cowdrey.
John "Jerry" Dolan was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) before becoming a politician. He played for as well as coached East Fremantle and was also a coach at East Perth. After leaving football, Dolan served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council.
David Noel Robins, OAM was an Australian sailor. He began sailing as a child, and became partially quadriplegic after receiving a spinal fracture from a car crash at the age of 21. He was the skipper of Australia in the 1977 America's Cup, won the 1981 Admiral's Cup, and won a gold medal in sailing at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. He died on 22 May 2003, four weeks after being struck by a car.
Gaye Teede, also known as Gaye Switch or Gaye Walsh, is a former Australia netball international and a former Australia head coach. As a player, she represented Australia at the 1967, 1971 and 1979 World Netball Championships, winning one silver and two gold medals. She captained Australia as they won the gold medal in 1971 and was subsequently named the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year. She was head coach when the Australia U21 team won the 1988 World Youth Netball Championships. In 1990, Teede coached the senior Australia team for five tests. Between 1990 and 1998 Teede served as head coach at the Australian Institute of Sport. In 1989 she was inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions and in 2009 she was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame.