Shirley Cameron
Hockey Builder - Inducted 2016
Shirley Cameron made a significant impact on women's hockey since the early 1970s as a player, coach and builder of the sport. She was one of the founders of the Edmonton Chimos and captained the team her entire playing career from 1974 until 1992, when she became the team's coach. From 2001 to 2004, she was the Coach/Manager of the Edmonton Chimos of the Western Women's Hockey League, and from 2005 to 2006, was the Director of Operations for the Chimos Hockey Club. Shirley's leadership throughout the years helped make the Edmonton Chimos one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in Canadian history. She played with Team Canada at the first unofficial world championships in 1987 and won a gold medal with the team at the inaugural Women's IIHF World Championships in 1990.
Shirley garnered the attention of Hockey Alberta's High Performance Program administrators. She turned her efforts toward the provincial minor girls' program, where she was an instructor and assistant coach. In 1999, she was named Head Coach of Team Alberta for the Canada Winter Games. She was a consistent leader in Hockey Alberta's player development and coach development programs from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
Lorretta Norandeau, a former Hockey Alberta High Performance Coordinator and co-coach of the Edmonton Chimos, wrote about Shirley:
"Not especially known as a woman of many words, it was the quality of the words spoken and the respect with which they were delivered that endeared Shirley to teammates, opponents, co-coaches and her players. Had it not been for her vision and her commitment to a future for female hockey, we will never know what might have been. In my opinion, there are few individuals in the sport of female hockey who have given so much and left such an imprint."
For Shirley, hockey was a life-long passion. As a young girl growing up near Bonnyville, she played pond hockey with her brothers and friends. In 1973, she was one of the first people to answer a radio ad looking for women to play hockey in Edmonton - and the Chimos team was created. With her dedication and mentorship of the players, the team won 14 provincial championships in 15 years and three National championships - bringing home the Abby Hoffman Cup in 1984, 1985 and 1997. She won a medal at every one of these Championships, from 1982 to 1996. Shirley also coached the Edmonton Midget Blazers Girls Hockey team from 1991 to 1993 and led the team to the gold medal at the Western Canadian Shield Championship in 1993.
Shirley always remembered what it was like to leave home and move to the big city to play with the Chimos. As a coach, she often returned to rural Alberta with her teams to play against the Old Timers teams or boys teams. Her goal was to introduce, promote, and grow women's hockey to the girls within the community so they could have role models to look up to and follow.
Shirley Cameron received the 1995 Alberta Amateur Hockey Association Meritorious Award, the 1997 Hockey Alberta Coach Recognition Award, 1997 YWCA of Edmonton Women of Distinction Award, and Hockey Canada's 2006 Female Hockey Breakthrough Award. Shirley was inducted with the 1983-84 Edmonton Chimos Hockey team into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2007, was a recipient of the Hockey Alberta Centennial Award. For six years, Shirley played ball hockey and was a leader there as well. She was inducted into the Canadian Ball Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.
After Induction
Shirley Cameron was inducted into Hockey Alberta Hall of Fame on July 21, 2019.
