After researching sports options, and with assistance from the city, Denise started Hamilton Challenger Baseball in 1991. At that time, it may’ve been the only Challenger Baseball club in Canada. In the early years, most parents were reluctant to register their disabled children in a sports program and so there was only about a dozen players. A big part of sports for people with disabilities is adapting the sport as required so no one is excluded and to enhance the sport for special needs players. With this in mind, Denise invited able bodied siblings of Challenger players to participate in the games in order to fill out two teams. Once established, Denise persuaded some of the parents to start a committee to run the program. Denise stayed on as a consultant for 32 years, until her retirement from HHSC in 2023 and also was one of the founding Directors of Hamilton Accessible Sport Council. HCBA is now a charity, run by a board of Directors.
Nominated by Mike Moore (past president of Challenger Baseball)