Ross Rumbell Award Recipient: 1991

A larger than life personality, Bill Sydney was an exceptional all-round athlete who excelled at basketball, football, tennis, squash, and karate. A former National Junior Tennis Champion and third Degree Black Belt, Bill served as Karate Canada’s first National Tournament Director (1977-1987) and as Vice-President of Karate Canada where he was instrumental in uniting karate in Canada. He revolutionized the National Championships format in 1977 by introducing a tournament structure that continues today. Bill passed away in 2008 at 62 years of age. He will always be remembered as a founder who propelled Canadian Karate out of the 1950s and into a new, more enlightened era.