Oak Bay’s Jack Wallace Track symbolizes athleticism and achievement

VICTORIA, British Columbia — Many great athletes have trained on the Jack Wallace Memorial Track, the running track behind Oak Bay High School. With 30 provincial championships and 130 Island championships over Oak Bay High’s illustrious track and field history, the Jack Wallace Track is a symbol of achievement and athleticism in Oak Bay.

Keith Butler began his teaching career at Oak Bay High in 1987. At that time, Oak Bay principal, Court Brousson, was looking to rebuild a faltering track and field program at the school. Keith was brought on for the job and he remembers his shaky start: “I called my first cross country practice the first week of school, calling for all interested runners to meet at the Garry Oak tree that stands at the track. I was the only one who showed up. And so, the hard work began in earnest…”

Through an aggressive recruitment drive, Keith managed to field a full boys’ cross-country team which included tennis standout, Ian Baskerville, Derek Ireland and Grade 10 phenom Gita de Costa Ries who qualified for the BC High School Championships. In the Spring of 1988, with the support of Oak Bay Alumni Sports Hall of Famers Murray Allen and Yeta DiLalla, Oak Bay fielded a full team at the junior city track and field championships and won. Thus began Oak Bay’s unstoppable winning streak.

Keith believes that Oak Bay’s initial success in the championships stems from the creation of a cross country camp inaugurated in the summer of 1988, at his parents’ cabin on Thetis Island. When the number of athletes in attendance grew beyond capacity, the camp was moved to Camp Barnard in Sooke. By 1992, a record 96 athletes attended the camp, including future national 800-metre champion and Sydney Olympian Zach Whitmarsh.

The installation of a modern synthetic track in 1994 was a milestone for Oak Bay High’s track and field program. Financially supported by the Victoria Track and Field Club and the 1994 Commonwealth Games Committee, the new track served as a training track for the Commonwealth Games, as well as the training track for both the Victoria Track and Field Club and Oak Bay High School. Wayne Lundgren of the Victoria Track and Field Club worked with Principal Brousson to pave the way for the project’s success and was then supported by Victoria Track and Field Club’s Carol Bennett. The fountain at the track has a plaque dedicated to Carol’s legacy and memory. Fundraising for the project included a donation from the Oak Bay Kiwanis in support of naming the track after long-time Oak Bay Principal Jack Wallace.

Keith fondly remembers the donation campaign for the track: “The school held a $5 per student donation campaign. I offered to shave my head if the school raised $10,000. Thanks to some generous donations, I lost my locks!”

The new track was instrumental in providing invaluable training opportunities and the accolades earned during Keith Butler’s tenure as coach are simply too numerous to list, but Keith can confidently ascertain that no other school in the province can match Oak Bay’s combined success in cross country and track and field at the provincial championship level. He explains, “Thousands of athletes have contributed to Oak Bay’s success over the years. The positive team culture of hard work and commitment is what makes me most proud. Without the Jack Wallace Memorial Track, none of this was possible. The track legitimized the sport at Oak Bay and made us all proud. Currently, the track badly needs resurfacing and I hope the community responds with financial support.”

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