On Friday, the annual Sport Wall of Fame Ceremony in Niagara-on-the-Lake will add two more people  to its roster of honoured individuals who made contributions to the town through athletics. 

This year’s inductees are coach Wyland Groen and lawn bowling medallist Katherine Smith.

Ken Rive, chair of the Sports Wall of Fame, said after Groen’s death in 2010, his induction will be a way of honouring what his players learned from him.

“He was a remarkable basketball coach. I knew him and he was a great guy,” Rive told The Lake Report. 

He is looking forward to the lawn bowling club coming out to support Smith, he added.

“We are very pleased to have these two new sports on our wall. It’s becoming a bit more diversified,” he said. 

Last fall, Smith became a national lawn bowling champion, winning gold at the 2023 Canadian Senior Triples Lawn Bowling Championship, alongside teammates Pat Kostecki and Valerie McWilliams.

There are numerous hockey and lacrosse athletes on the wall, Rive said, but these will be the first inductees involved in basketball and lawn bowling.

The induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Aug. 16 at the Meridian Credit Union Arena: socializing with food and drinks will be at 5 p.m., with the ceremony beginning at 6 p.m.