Catherine (Kay) Thompson
Volunteer, 2017
Clovelly
Catherine Thompson (nee Wright), Kay to us, was born in South Africa and moved with her family to Calgary, AB when she was five years old. There she stayed until 1984 when she relocated to NL. Most of her working life was with Revenue Canada, but she spent many of the later years of her career seconded to the RCMP until her retirement in 2005.
Her interest in sport probably came from her father, Kay curled, played volleyball, basketball, and tennis. In the early 1990’s, she finally saw the light and took up golf and liked the game. She began golfing at Captain’s Hill, Pippy Park and became a member of Admiral’s Green once the 18-hole course was built.
There she helped with various activities around the club, spent 4 years on the Board of Directors of
Thomas Development and was a founding member of the Admiral’s Green Ladies’ Invitational and the
Captain’s Hill Bag Ladies’ Tournaments. In partnership with Judy Bugden, she co-chaired the 2000 Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association National Ladies’ Amateur Championships which were held at Admiral’s Green.
Early on she knew that rules was her area of interest; so she started attending meetings of the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association/NL Branch (CLGA/NL Branch) and by 2001, she was the Provincial Rules Director. Once committed to rules, she took every opportunity to improve her knowledge and skills. In 25 years, her involvement included”
CLGA/NL Branch
- Served as Assistant Rules Director until 2001
- Served as Rules Director from 2001 until amalgamation in 2006
- Volunteered with CLGA Girls’ Club for two years – a National initiative
- Acted as Rules Chair and did rules for provincial junior, provincial ladies, Atlantic Girls’ Interprovincial Championships, and Atlantic Future Links.
- Served on three constitution committees
- Officiated at NL Summer Games in 2000 (The Wilds) and 2004 (Grande Meadow)
- Worked on Tournament Manual revision
- Served on Amalgamation Process Committee in 2005
- Served on joint committee of NLGA and CLGA/NL Branch until amalgamation in March 2006. NLGA/GNL
- Officiated at numerous Provincial Adult and Junior Championships.
- Officiated at several High School Golf Championships
- Officiated at 2012 NL Summer Games (Pitcher’s Pond)
- Ex officio member of NLGA/GNL Board
Tely Junior Golf Tour
- Member, Executive of The Tely Junior Golf Tour [Tely Tour] as Rules Chair 2007-2017
- Donated trophy for Bantam Girls’ Division in 2014
- Contributed in conjunction with Bruce Watson to The Wednesday Golf Page in The Telegram for the past 9 years [ 15 columns per summer].
National Experience – RCGA and Golf Canada
- Nationally certified Level 4 Golf Canada Rules official since 2003.
- Worked about 25 Golf Canada events, mostly in Atlantic Canada but also in Ontario and as far west as Manitoba, in the capacity of Golf Canada Rules Chair, GC Tournament Chair, GC Rules Official and GC Starter and Scorer. These tournaments included Canadian Women’s Amateur,
Women’s Senior, Women’s Mid-Am, Men’s Senior, Men’s Mid-Am, Senior Men’s Match Play, Junior Girls, Junior Boys, University and College Championship, Club Champions Championship, CN Future Links Championship and Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship.
- Women’s Division Governor, Golf Canada 2007-2009
- Governor, Golf Canada, 2009-Present
Past Committees – Golf Canada
- Member, Audit and Risk Management Committee
- Member, Amateur Championships committee
- Member, Women’s Fund committee
- Member, Golf Canada Foundation
- Member, Ad Hoc Committee to develop policies and identify training opportunities on Recognition and Prevention of Abuse, Harassment, Violence and Discrimination GC Employees, Volunteers and Participants
- Nominating Committee – responsible for recommending slate of candidates to serve as Golf Canada Board Members, Officers, Governors, and Provincial council members
- Sub-committee of Golf Canada Foundation: Scholarships and Grants
- Golf Canada Diversification Project: A committee which seeks to identify six or seven underrepresented segments of the population and make recommendations for change. Kay serves on the aboriginal and indigenous groups sub-committee