CORA recognized that there were many individuals who had made “Significant and Exemplary Contributions” to Canadian outrigger canoeing, but their stories had never been captured, and they had never been formally recognized. CORA spent January 2021 thru June 2026 tracking down this history, and fact-checking as best as possible the exploits of those individuals who founded CORA, who founded / nurtured CORA clubs, who inaugurated / perpetuated races, who excelled at IVF / Molokai / Catalina / Queen Liliuokalani events, and who designed / built / imported / distributed canoes to grow the sport.
As of the August 2026 CORA Board Meeting there were 7 individuals inducted into the Canadian Outrigger Hall Of Fame for 2026.
CORA will have an online Town Hall late in 2026 or early in 2027 to recognize the inductees for 2026. CORA invites individuals who have known these Inductees to speak on their behalf at the upcoming virtual Town Hall session.
CORA wishes to congratulate the 7 Canadian Outrigger Hall Of Fame 2026 Inductees:
- Bob Woodman (Vernon, BC)
- Melanie Durban (Kelowna, BC)
- Mike Billy Sr (North Vancouver, BC)
- Karen Simpson (Oakville, ON)
- Joey Hertz (Kelowna, BC)
- Á’a:líya (Theresa) Warbus (Cultus Lake, BC)
- John Roberts (Calgary, AB)
You can visit the CORA website and view the “Virtual Hall Of Fame” that has the names / headshots of the 7 individuals inducted this year and links to a 3-page PDF that has their contributions in 2-pages and a 1-page set of references on every online article that CORA could find where they were mentioned.