For Kathryn (Ursell) Stoesz, it seemed like an easy thing to say yes to. In 1969, renowned local gymnastics coach Elfriede Goermann (inducted in 1987) was recruiting gymnasts and coaches to become judges and officials when she approached Stoesz.

More than 30 years later, Stoez is still involved in judging, and has become one of the top gymnastics judges in the country and the world. “At the beginning, I just started officiating to help out,” recalled Stoesz. “But then I enjoyed doing it. It was a good challenge so I continued.”

With her background as a gymnast at the club and university level and as a coach, Stoesz seemed naturally suited to be a judge. “I was ahead of the game a little bit because I already knew what the skills were and I just needed to evaluate them,” she said. “That made it less daunting and it was something I could do without too much stress.”

Stoesz was a regular fixture at the Canadian gymnastics championships, officiating every year from 1973 to 2002. Over the years, she has served on various Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique committees. She made her mark internationally, serving as an official for at least one international competition per year from 1976 to 2002 including world championships in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997, four Commonwealth Games, one Pan American Games and the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.

One of the highlights of her international judging career came in 2001 when she completed the International Judges Course and Exam in Arnhem, Holland and finished second in a field of over 100 judges from around the world.

“When I was a gymnast and when I started judging, the FIG judging rule book was probably an eighth of the size that it is now,” said Stoesz, who was the Manitoba Gymnastics Association technical director from 1988 to 2000 before becoming the executive director in 2001. “There are over 600 skills in the Code of Points now (to be judged) where then there were maybe 50.”

Stoesz’s contributions to the sport of gymnastics have certainly been recognized over the years.

In 1995, she was presented with the Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique Life Membership which is given to a person who has given a minimum of 15 years of service to the GCG and has served in a variety of roles such as coach, judge, athlete, manager, event organizer and GCG representative.

She received the Manitoba Gymnastics Association Jack Mowat Award in 1997 for her significant and long-lasting contributions. In 2000, she was named MGA Official of the Year and Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique Women’s Program Service Award for her exceptional service to the sport.