When Larry Switzer was a competitive runner, he never gave much thought to the many people who worked so hard to put on the various track meets that he competed in. Outside of his coach and teammates, he focused on his performance and his times.

Generally, he just showed up, ran and collected his prizes.

It was only when his competitive days were winding down and Switzer became one of those countless volunteers that he came to truly appreciate their contributions. It was that appreciation led him on the long road to induction into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

“Somebody helped me and it was important to help the next generation,” said Switzer, an accomplished cross country and track runner in the early 1970’s who has worked as a volunteer, manager, administrator, coach and teacher in athletics from the late 1970’s to the present day. “Nothing makes you feel better than to watch a young kid with the fire in their eye to become a national team member and to wear the Maple Leaf.”

At the urging of local national team manager and 1991 Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dave Lyon, Switzer served as manager of the Canadian team for the World Cup track and field competition in Puerto Rico in 1985. It was the first of 14 stints as manager or team leader for Canadian track and field teams that he would serve over the next 20 years, including the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games, the 1993, 1999 and 2001 World Athletics Championships and the 1987 Pan Am Games and 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games.

As well, he has served as a member of the Athletics Canada’s Managers Committee from 1996 to 2005 and as director of the Winnipeg Optimist Athletics Club and on the Athletics Manitoba Board of Directors from 1979 to 2005.

“From 1985 to today, I’ve had many opportunities to help the next generation of athletes,” said Switzer, whose experiences has ranged from the highs and lows of the Ben Johnson era to the current crop of dedicated young track and field athletes.

“In our sport, there’s probably a hundred people on the field that have to all be there (for an event to take place),” said Switzer, who has been honoured along the way with the 1987 CAPHER Young Professional Achievement Award, 1996 MPETA Special Recognition award for physical education contribution, the 2003 Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for volunteerism in track and field and the 2004 Athletics Manitoba/ Sport Manitoba Award of Excellence Volunteer Service. “Our sport is very labour-intensive in terms of volunteers. There’s lots of opportunities for people to get involved in our sport and my little niche was on the national scene.”