Gail Rice’s varied contributions as an athlete, coach, official, administrator and media personality are more than enough to qualify her to share a pew in the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame alongside many of the athletes, teams and builders she reported on during her career. The bottom line on the little gal with the big smile and big heart is that she has always loved sports so dearly, and has used that love to continually make positive impacts on the sporting life of our province. When I think of Gail, I recall the first time I met her, more than 30 years ago after I had just been appointed sports editor of The ChronicleHerald.
She was actively involved with the fan club of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs and I remember being so impressed with her enthusiasm for what she was doing, what she was promoting. And after all these years I still admire that enthusiasm of hers. Gail loved playing sports, coaching and helping kids, and working behind the scenes to ensure the betterment of sport. A while ago Gail was the subject of a sport profile I wrote for The ChronicleHerald. It was not surprising to hear her explain how sports became so huge to her as she grew up in Halifax. “I happened to be a tomboy,” she said. “I played hockey outdoors and I just loved sports. Being close to the Forum, I had a chance to go all the time and see boxing, wrestling and, of course, hockey. I took it from there.”Oh, how she did !! At St. Patrick’s High School she played volleyball and basketball and did track. At the University of New Brunswick, she was too small for volleyball, so she tried field hockey and helped win a Maritime title. She played university basketball and got into tennis. But maybe coaching is where she excelled most. At Mount St. Vincent University, she coached basketball and volleyball and was athletic director. She coached women’s hoops at St. Pat’s for over 30 years.
For four decades she has assisted young athletes in that capacity. She also refereed basketball for many years. As an administrator, Gail was on the National Advisory Council on Fitness and Amateur Sport, the executive of Basketball Canada, president of Basketball Nova Scotia, on the board of directors of the Athletic University Athletic Association, and the advisory board of the Voyageurs. In the media she worked in radio, print and television to report sport in metro and across the province. She was the first female radio sports director in the province. “I probably loved basketball at times more than I should have,” she told me. “But it was a passion.”
Bio Courtesy of Hugh Townsend
