TERRY LEIBEL LEADS CLASS OF 2019 FOR 24TH ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Terry Leibel, the first woman to host a national sports program and to co-host CBC-TV’s Olympics coverage, leads the list of honourees for the 24th Sports Media Canada Achievement Awards. The 2019 Achievement Awards luncheon will be held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto on Thursday, Nov. 14.

Leibel is one of eight women and men who will be recognized for their outstanding work in Canadian sports media. Joining her are Toronto Raptors TV play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin, photographer Mark Blinch, Sportsnet basketball expert Michael Grange, the late Montreal sportscaster Randy Tieman, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, long-time public relations executive Fay Olson and photographer Don Vickery.

Tickets for the luncheon, which begins at 11 a.m. with a reception and followed by lunch and the awards presentations at noon, are available by contacting elaine.sherwood@outlook.com.

A trailblazer in Canadian sports broadcasting, Leibel started her career in 1980 as an anaylst for CBC-TV at Spruce Meadows. A member of the Canadian national equestrian team, she left CBC and joined The Sports Network in 1984 to become the host of Sportsdesk, a first for women in Canadian sports broadcasting. She returned to CBC in 1986 and teamed with Brian Williams as the co-hosts of Sports Weekend. She became the first woman to ever co-host the network’s Olympic coverage at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games and went on to co-host CBC’s coverage of the 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 Games. In 2003, she became the first female sports broadcaster to win a Gemini Award.

Devlin is the voice of the Raptors on TSN, Sportsnet and NBA-TV Canada. He was behind the microphone this past spring for the Raptors’ run to Canada’s first-ever NBA championship.

Grange was also along for the Raptors’ ride to the title, filing game stories, features and columns for sportsnet.ca, while also covering all of the happenings in Canadian basketball.

Blinch, an NBA and NHL photographer via Getty Images, did some of his finest work during the NBA playoffs including his photo of Kawhi Leonard’s winning basket against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the second round.

Tieman was a much-loved fixture on the Montreal sports scene as a reporter and anchor for CTV over 34 years.

Olson and Vickery will receive the President’s Award for their contributions to the Achievement Awards over more than two decades as well as their long-time dedication to sports media. Olson, a former executive vice-president of The Houston Group, handled public relations for many major sporting events during her career, and is a long-time member of the Sports Media Canada Achievement Awards committee. Vickery, whose career as a photographer included shooting sports, has been a Day 1 fixture at the luncheon as the Sports Media Canada Jazz Orchestra’s band leader and drummer.

Ujiri joins John Furlong as a two-time recipient of the Sports Executive award for being the architect of the Raptors’ championship season.