February 7, 2020
Calgary Female Prep Hockey Shawnigan versus Edge Academy followed by a Pub Gathering at Winsport.

After some last-minute travel schedule changes, our young girls team literally jumped off the bus and on to the ice only to face the top-ranked team in the tournament. After a slow start, our girls settled in and played some great hockey. They pulled back slowly as the game progressed and, in the end, narrowly lost by a couple of goals.

Following the game, parents joined staff, the Headmaster and alumni for a nibble and a few drinks at the pub at Winsport. Phil Graham, Shawnigan’s former CFO, who now runs the finance department at Winsport, also joined us.

We wish to thank Brigitte Hopkins ’91 and her husband Francis for hosting the Banff/Canmore Shawnigan Lunch Gathering for alumni, prospective, past and current parents at their establishment, the Grizzly House Restaurant. Present at the gathering were Past Governor Stu Hamilton ’68, who has retired from medical practice in Canmore, and Current Governor Lisa Grover ’90 (Kaye’s), who, alongside her husband, runs a law practice in Banff and Canmore.

Headmaster Larry Lamont and Gaynor Samuel addressed the packed restaurant, where a delicious fondue was enjoyed by those assembled. We are delighted that our Shawnigan community in Banff and Canmore is so supportive, and a good time was had by all. We are most grateful to the Hopkins for hosting this year’s gathering, and we are pleased to report that the Hopkins have enrolled their daughter, Ingrid, at Shawnigan for fall 2020.

We are most grateful to Jason Kujath ’01 (Ripley’s) for hosting this year’s Calgary Gathering at the Petroleum Club. It was a pleasant evening with about 40 people in attendance, including alumni from a wide span of graduation years and Shawnigan parents, both past and present. Headmaster Lamont was able to bring guests up to date on developments at the School and plans for the future.

Following a delicious mid-afternoon ice cream at Made by Marcus, Gaynor and I met up with a group of alumni, as well as current and past parents, at the CRAFT Beer Market in Edmonton. There is always a good feel here; people are genuinely pleased to welcome you to their town even though the temperature was about -15 Celsius outside! The food and choice of ales was excellent, and there was a good mixture of young and older alumni which made for some great discussions.

This was an enjoyable event held in a beautiful room tucked away on the 4th floor of the Vancouver Club. There was a pleasant mixture of alumni, current parents and staff. A delightful cross-section of alumni of all different ages were present, ranging from John A. Pearkes ’49 (Lake’s) to Aidan Williamson ’15 (Copeman’s). Towards the end of the evening, the Headmaster did a presentation about today’s Shawnigan and about his vision moving forward.

A very evenly played hockey game took place between two old opponents, St. George’s and Shawnigan, which ended in a tie by the end of regular time. Down to a shootout, Shawnigan ultimately lost to St. George’s. Post-game commiserating took place at the Biercraft Pub on UBC’s campus, where many tall tales were shared.

Once again, many members of our Shawnigan Community gathered in the Goal Post Lounge at BC Place Stadium to enjoy world-class rugby from an incredible vantage point. Over the course of the two-day event, many alumni, parents and friends of the School dropped by to take in the spectacle. Headmaster Lamont decided on a passport theme for dress this year, which made for a fun family atmosphere throughout the event.

The Canada Men's team played excellent rugby and won all their games the first day. Their performance added a bit of buzz and excitement to the occasion. The following morning, they were up against Australia, but luck was not on their side as they came within a whisker of scoring a try in the dying seconds, which would have won them the game. They ended up with bronze!

As part of the weekend, the School was also pleased to welcome to the Goal Post Lounge Thunder Rugby Director John Lyall, his wife Melissa and a number of coaching staff. Thunder Rugby is a Vancouver Island-based organization that supports Indigenous rugby 7’s programs. They were on hand with some of their players to take in some of the world-class rugby following an exciting weekend tournament—the Vancouver 7s Festival—at UBC. Shawnigan is proud to partner with Thunder Rugby in the summer, when the school plays host to a camp for these promising players.



In addition, during the 7s weekend, the School launched the Derek Hyde-Lay Rugby Pavilion Pathway initiative. The initial response to this project has been very encouraging. If you would like to join in supporting the DHL Pathway, please click here.

Finally, this wonderful event at BC Place Stadium’s Goal Post Lounge would not have been possible without the support of our very generous sponsors:

Creel Concepts - Kelly and Louis Gave
Langara Lodge - Rick Bourne
Purdey Group - Andrew Purdey
Seymour Investment Management - Kyle Harrison and Karen Laprade
Red Lion Bar & Grill - Gareth Thomas
Redcliffe and Company - Chris Redcliffe
Roy and Maureen McIntosh
Brown Bros. - Blane Fowler
Lee & Associates - John & Chris McIntyre
John Coffeng and Jeanette Wong-Coffeng

An enjoyable evening gathering was held in Los Angeles on March 9, when alumni and staff, along with current students and past parents, met at The Garland, a hotel within the heart of Universal Studios, which offered a retro chic setting in which our group could visit and catch-up.

Students and staff were in Hollywood as part of the C.A.S.E Applied Arts Tour where the group was introduced to the mastery and magic that goes on in front and behind the cameras of today’s film industry. As part of the tour, their travels took them to various film and recording studios and included a day at Disneyland.

Accompanying Gaynor and Rhodri Samuel were current staff Kathryn Als, Steve Beaudry, Steven Smith and Neil Trafford, as well as alumni and C.A.S.E Program benefactor Carl Bradley ’78 (Groves’), David Buckley ’12 (Lonsdale’s), Chandler Guzman ’17 (Groves’) and Byron Chang ’19 (Ripley’s).