Speedskater Livingstone to enter Hall of Fame
When Terry Livingstone heard he was among the inductees into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, two things came to mind — get to practice and don’t tell anyone.
“When the call came in the middle of February, I was on my way out the door to go to practice, so at that time I wasn’t really thinking about that,” the 56-year-old Regina speedskater recalled.
“I was thinking about practising and getting ready for the (2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games).”
However, once the good news started to sink in, he had to fight the urge to tell anyone until the Hall made the official announcement. “Once you hear news like that, you think you have to go post it on your Facebook page, but they said, ‘You can’t and you have to wait,’ ” he said.
Livingstone’s journey to the Hall of Fame started in 1986.
He recalled going to the rink to help out at a local speedskating meet and wanted to try it himself.
The following year, while on hockey skates, he took to the ice. He was immediately hooked on the sport and the people.
“What kept me in it was the friendships with the other skaters in the (Regina Speed Skating Club) and I don’t like sitting around the house just being a couch potato,” he said. “I like to go out and mingle and try different sports.”
When he was starting out, he didn’t think that skating would take him all over Canada and beyond. He has competed successfully in several national and international championships.
In March, for example, he travelled to Austria to compete in his third Special Olympics World Winter Games, at which he won a gold medal in the 777-metre race. It was an accomplishment he is proud of and he credits his coaches for helping him, noting that the medal came after a lot of preparation.
“I had no summer,” he said. “It was train, train, train. I was always on the go. I never was home for a long period of time. My whole life at that time was all upside down. It takes a toll on the body.”
Getting a chance to wear the red and white wasn’t something that Livingstone said he even thought was possible when he was starting out in the sport.
“When you represent your country and are wearing the Canada jacket, you know you have accomplished something,” he said.
Livingstone will be inducted into the Hall on Saturday, alongside fellow speedskater Lucas Makowsky. Also being inducted are hockey players Guyle Fielder and Dave (Tiger) Williams as well as jockey Joan Phipps. Stu Cram and Lori Ebbesen are being inducted as builders.
Livingstone recalled skating with Makowsky and his brother Mykola at the Regina Speed Skating Club and has also had the opportunity to speak with Williams.
“With the inductees’ ceremony coming up, it’s an honour to be noticed in the sport of speedskating and it’s quite an honour to be part of the class of 2017 going in,” he said.
Now that he has been able to share the secret, Livingstone can focus on enjoying the honour.
“I will be excited closer to the date because my family is coming home for it and I’ll have all my former coaches that I had over the years in speedskating with me to celebrate it with me,” he said.
“After it’s done, I can go back to normal life.”
• A fully interactive adaptive curling rink is on display at the Hall of Fame, which is located at 2205 Victoria Ave. The “street curling ” rink, as it has been dubbed, is accessible to curling enthusiasts and casual participants alike.