She is among the best female hockey players to ever come out of Saskatchewan and one of the best local athletes.
Fiona Smith-Bell grew up playing minor hockey in Edam before joining the Battlefords Minor Hockey Association, where she shared the ice with the boys. When she was a teenager, Smith-Bell competed in speed skating simply because women's hockey had not yet been established for younger hockey players. Smith-Bell has helped change that throughout her hockey career and continues to help as a representative for women's hockey today, as she has represented the province and country as a hockey player.
Smith-Bell will be one of 10 inductees to be immortalized in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame June 16.
The 46th annual induction will feature athletes Darcey Busse (Outlook, volleyball), Orland Kurtenbach (Surrey, B.C., hockey), Michael Mintenko (Colorado Springs Colo., aquatics), Vanessa Monar Enweani (Saskatoon, athletics), Donna Veale (Saskatoon, softball), builders Don Clark (Regina, wrestling), Karin Lotstrom (Ottawa, multi sport), Judy Peddle (Saskatoon, athletics) and the 2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders football team.
"2012 is an exciting year for the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame," said Linda Burnham, co-chair of the induction weekend. "We have a strong slate of new inductees who have achieved success and recognition in their chosen sports. We are pleased to honour them at our induction ceremony and their accomplishments of excellence will be displayed at the hall to ensure their place in Saskatchewan's sport history."
Smith-Bell, who was inducted into the North Battleford Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, is an Olympic silver medalist from the 1998 games, a two-time Women's World Hockey champion, a two-time Pacific Rim champion and a three-time 3 Nations Cup (now known as 4 Nations Cup) winner.
Along with being an international champion on the ice, Smith-Bell has been an ambassador for hockey across Canada and overseas. Smith-Bell was an RBC Olympian in 2011, as well as a torch bearer for the 2010 Olympics as the torch made its way through the Battlefords to Vancouver.
Last summer, Smith-Bell joined the International Ice Hockey Federation's Ambassador and Mentor Program as an athlete ambassador for the German hockey program. She has experienced the growth of female hockey in Canada and jumped at the opportunity to help develop female hockey globally.
Smith-Bell was captain of the first Saskatchewan women's team at the 1991 Canadian Winter Games and played in 13 national women's championships, 10 with Saskatchewan and three with Alberta.
Smith-Bell now lives in Stonewall, Man. with her husband Rob and two sons Kian and Jaxon.
