Albert Tschirhart has had an exceptional impact on sport in the city of Guelph, the province of Ontario, and Canada. Tschirhart recently retired from teaching with the Wellington Catholic District School Board, but his outreach with young athletes continues to span the map of our great country.
After an accomplished wrestling career at the University of Guelph where he won two national open titles, he would eventually become the athletics director at Our Lady of Lourdes High School (2008–2017). There he coached cross-country running, wrestling, and track and field (1978–83, 1986–2017). Through his work at the high school, he became a coach at the Guelph Track and Field Club from 1983 until the present.
“As an athlete I always wanted to be the best that I could be, it was a constant pursuit of excellence,” said Tschirhart. “To have young athletes willing to work hard in their pursuit of excellence never seemed like work to me. It was always fun.”
His dedication to sport led to his appointment into the following roles:
Athletics Ontario, Western Region President 1992–2000
Athletics Ontario Board Member 1992–2007, 2014
Sport Competition Chairman Ontario Summer Games, Guelph 2001
Athletics Ontario, President 2002–2007
Athletics Canada, Board of Directors 2008–2009
Guelph Track and Field Club, President 1980–present
While president of Athletics Ontario, he said. “I worked to create harmonious relationships between officials, politicians and clubs.
Tschirhart has convened a long list of national and provincial championships and was recently hired as the competitions director for two major events: the 2019 North Central and Caribbean Masters Track and Field Championships in Toronto and the 2020 World Masters Track and Field Championships with potentially over 6,000 athletes, making it the largest track and field meet in North America.
As a builder, Tschirhart has influenced and developed many top athletes from Guelph and continues to contribute his incredible experience and knowledge at the international level.
Inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame – Builder category – May 15, 2019
