Marg Derbyshire

Marg Derbyshire is a master organizer and visionary who leaves an indelible mark on the athletic atmosphere in Medicine Hat and our province. At the time of induction to Medicine Hat’s Sports Wall of Fame in 2020, Marg remains active as the South Zone Secretary-Treasurer for the Alberta Schools Athletic Association (since 1984), the Secretary-Treasurer for the South Zone Junior High Athletic Association (since 2000), the Rotary Track Manager for the Medicine Hat Track and Field Society (since 2008), and the Co-Chair of the Comfort Quilts committee of the Cactus Rose Quilters’ Guild (since 2010). Retired, but as busy as ever, Marg’s impact on our community continues to grow.

Marg attended school in Vantage, SK until grade 7 and finished her high school years in Assiniboia, participating in volleyball, softball, basketball, track and field, and even cheerleading along the way. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK, focusing her efforts in computer training. At the time, the post-secondary school required all new students to either swim a length in the pool or sign up for a Phys Ed class. She opted for the latter, which ultimately influenced the direction she took in life. She later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970 and a Bachelor of Education in 1972.

Marg’s first job was in Australia where she spent two years teaching math and physical education. She recalls that the schools had a “sports day” each week where each teacher was responsible for leading one sport in the morning and a different sport in the afternoon, yet neither of the schools she worked at had gymnasiums – all sports occurred outdoors. Marg took a seven-month trip home, backpacking the overland route through Asia and Europe, before settling in Medicine Hat in 1975 to teach math and physical education at McCoy High school where she remained for her entire teaching career until retiring in 2000.

As the Secretary-Treasurer of the South Zone of the Alberta Schools Athletic Association – a position she has held since the South Zone was created - Marg organizes junior high and high school zone competitions in badminton, cross country, track and field, curling and more. She also officiates track and field in many outside communities. Supporters argue it would be difficult to find someone in Southern Alberta’s sporting community who didn’t know of Marg’s contributions to sport.

Marg held organizational positions, many times as a Director or Chairperson, in the Alberta Summer Games, Continental Cup of Curling, Canada Cup of Curling, ASAA Provincial Track and Field Championships, ASAA Provincial Golf Championships, Western Canadian Tri-Provincial Championships, Alberta Special Olympics Summer Games and Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games, among others. She held distinctive positions on the Health and Physical Education Council and the Connaught Golf Club executive.

Over the course of her career, Marg earned significant recognition including: Health and Physical Education Council Distinguished Service Award (1986), ASAA Robert H. Routledge Award of Merit (1994), ASAA South Zone Award of Merit (2003), Canadian School Sport Federation Certificate of Recognition (2008), Athletics Alberta Novice Official of the Year (2009), City of Medicine Hat Civic Recognition Award (2013), Alberta Recreation Volunteer Recognition Award (2013), and the Southern Alberta Recreation Association Max Gibb Award (2016). Marg was inducted into the ASAA High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. In addition, the Provincial 1A and 2A Girls Golf Trophy is named after her, and the Monsignor McCoy’s home volleyball tournament each fall is dubbed the Marg Derbyshire Invitational.

Peers describe Marg as innovative, selfless, honorable, kind and organized. Her attention to detail and the little things she did when no one else was looking, ensured all her events went off without a hitch. Her diligence and excellence is second only to her desire to ensure all people are valued and appreciated when they are around, no matter how small or large the task they volunteer for. She found great pride in watching children progress in their chosen sport, citing how pounding feet turned to soft whispers in a mere couple of weeks when a new track and field athlete learns to run. Her contributions, largely administrative, provided the opportunity for those athletes to excel.

One of her most visible legacies is the “Wall of Fame” she constructed in the volunteer room at the Rotary Track and Field Complex in Crescent Heights. She pored through local and regional news sources, meticulously clipping out any references of local Medicine Hat track athletes, laminated them and posting them on the wall. She beams with pride when high school athletes happen upon an article or photo of themselves that she posted years back when that student was much younger. In fact, Marg joked that she thought some of the local sports reporters took extra care in writing track and field articles because they knew their work would ultimately end up on the wall.