NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA SPORTS COUNCIL
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The Orillia Sports Hall of Fame is preparing to honour some of the city’s finest athletes, teams and builders.
On May 10, the ranks of the local shrine will grow once again as one of Orillia’s most dominant lacrosse teams, a standout basketball player, a lacrosse goalie who made it to the top of this game, along with a woman who helped ensure tennis in Orillia, are inducted in a gala ceremony at Casino Rama.
The Orillia Sports Council has announced this year’s inductees.
In the team category, the 1994 Orillia Kings Jr. B lacrosse squad will be just the second team inducted. The Kings followed up on a perfect regular season by winning an Ontario crown and then capping the year off by winning a Founders' Cup title, a Canadian championship.
They will be joined by a local lacrosse legend: Rob Blasdell, a stellar goaltender who turned his talents into a lengthy pro career in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Blasdell, in addition to a plethora of individual accolades, won an NLL crown with Toronto and also won the Mann Cup.
Ted Dongelmans will also be inducted as an athlete. The Orillia native began playing basketball in elementary school, starred at ODCVI and then played five seasons of varsity hoops where he helped Laurentian win the only two hoops crowns in the school’s history. He ended his career with two seasons playing in the Swiss Basketball League.
In the builder’s category, Wendy Slattery will be recognized for her decades of work helping to grow tennis and ensure new courts were built in Orillia.
“These inductees truly represent the best of Orillia,” said Roy Micks, president of the Orillia Sports Council. “We are proud of their accomplishments and look forward to celebrating them.”
This will be the 10th class of inductees since the Orillia Sports Council started the Hall of Fame in 2015. Past inductees are honoured in the Hall of Fame Lounge at the Orillia Recreation Centre.
The new honourees will be officially inducted at the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame Gala, which will be held May 10 in the Nightingale Ballroom at Casino Rama.
For more information, visit sportorillia.ca.
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