Margot Wheeler, born and raised in Mimico, still lives on the street she grew up on with her 3 siblings Will, Donna, and John. Giving back to her community was instilled in her early in her life, observing her parents Dorothy and Ken Wheeler doing just that. Both parents volunteered at their local church, teaching Sunday school and acting as church wardens. The church sadly burned down but Dorothy was instrumental in constructing a memorial garden on the site of the church. Fondly known as Do-Do, she was also a founding member of LAMP which offers a variety of programs, including community-based health services.

Margot attended Mimico High School and was named co-athlete of the year in her graduating year. She was very active in student life and played all varsity sports. Margot was also president of the ski club and organized school ski trips to Old Smokey and Mount Tremblant. Margot, promoting sport even back then, convinced her high school “wing man” Diane Henderson (nee Leane) to take up the sport which they still enjoy doing to this day.

Mimico had a long tradition of producing great basketball teams and Margot was hooked. She went on to play regionally for Central East and attended the Ontario Summer Games. At training camp, she was billeted with an arch-rival school star player Barb Nosella (nee Whibbs), resulting in a life-long friendship. Barb and Margot went on to play basketball at York University. Highlights included road trips to away games and even a tournament in Mexico. Ironically, Margot and Barb had daughters a year apart in age, Emma and Kara. The next logical step was to coach their daughters, participating in the same road trips and attending the Ontario Summer Games as coaches for their daughter’s team.

She is still active in the sport of basketball as a certified referee for the Toronto Association Basketball Officials and part of the stats crew for Raptors 905. Margot also volunteers her time by refereeing the annual Stingers Special Olympics Basketball Tournament. In 2015, Margot volunteered for the Pan Am games and witnessed the Women’s National team winning gold. She was recognized by Basketball Ontario for her contribution to the sport as a volunteer.

While Margot was attending school she worked for Etobicoke Parks and Recreation, teaching swimming and fitness at Gus Ryder Pool and Health Club. She worked alongside Cliff Lumsdon, who was inducted into ESHOF in 1994. Margot still swims competitively, holding the provincial records for her age group in the freestyle event, and has won the Stony Lake Mile swim since 2007. While swimming for Norseman Masters, she was coached by Kim Lumsdon, another ESHOF inductee, class of 2006. Margot served on the executive for 15 years in various positions.

Always open to new challenges in sport, Margot took up the triathlon. With her background in swimming, it was an easy transition. Margot was named long-distance triathlete of the year by Ontario Association of Triathletes in 2004. She has raced locally and on the world stage representing Canada at the World Triathlon Championships in Spain, Italy, and Montreal. Margot has completed in four Ironman competitions, with the highlight being competing in the World Ironman Championships in Kona Hawaii in 2004.

After watching her son Cameron play rep hockey for Faustina and the Humber Valley Sharks, Margot decided she wanted to give it a go. The logical league was with the Etobicoke Dolphins Association. She organized the year-end banquet for several years at her beloved Blue Goose and was instrumental in recycling the jerseys to help save the planet and keep registration costs down.

Returning to tennis after a 35-year hiatus, Margot loved the thought of jumping on her bike and riding to Mimico tennis club. After only 1 year at the club, Margot found herself on the executive as Vice President. She succeeded in having the antiquated lights replaced with new state-of-the-art lights in a collaboration with the City of Toronto and the club.

Further to her community involvement, she was recognized as the 2017 Humber Lakeshore Athletics Community Member of the Year. For those not in the know, Humber College Athletics opened one of the most vibrant Fitness and Wellness Centres in south Etobicoke in that same year of 2017.

With many letters of support for her nomination, the quote from long-time friend Donna Hamill stands out. “I feel Margot’s accomplishments have transcended coaching, refereeing, and organizing,” said Hamill. “She has been an inspiration to many athletes and has taught values and behavior through her example. These gifts are immeasurable.”

Margot is a current governor with the ESHOF and has been on the board since 2014. She heads up the Athlete of the Month portfolio. It is really rewarding to source out the young athletic talent in Etobicoke, meet the athletes, and write the story which is featured in the Etobicoke Guardian. Margot not only thinks of the Hall’s motto often: Promoting, Supporting, and Developing Sport in Etobicoke, she lives it.