Hedley Benyon (1999 – 2000)
Hedley was born in South Wales in 1936. It was at Cowbridge Grammar School that he was first introduced to Rugby, in 1948 and he played, in the latter stages of his schools career, at the First XV level. Upon graduation from school, he joined Pontyclun R.F.C. Over the course of his involvement at Pontyclun, apart from playing, Hedley held the positions of Fixtures Secretary, Secretary and Chairman and he was ultimately accorded the honor of being made a Life Member of the club. He also became involved in the administration of the W.R.U. East District, where he was a District Selector and Vice Chairman.
Hedley decided fairly early on in his career that refereeing would be where he would apply his talents. In 1973 he joined the Cardiff and Districts Referees Society. After three years he was promoted to the W.R.U. Referees Society and, in 1979 he refereed the District Final at Cardiff Arms Park.
In 1983, he and Liz decided that Canada would be their next move and to Toronto they came. He was immediately welcomed into the ranks of the Toronto Districts Referees Society and he was promoted, the next year to the Ontario Society. In 1985 Hedley rose to the ranks of the Canadian Panel. Over the period 1984 to 1987 Hedley refereed in a wide variety of venues including Charlottetown, Chicago, Montreal, Monterey and Baltimore. He also refereed the McCormack Cup final in 1985 and the Labatt’s Championship in Toronto in 1986.
Benyon became involved in administration as early as 1985 when he was elected Chair of the T.D.R.R.S. In 1989 he was elected to the Board of the O.R.U. and in 1992 he became a member of the Board of Rugby Canada, taking on the responsibilities as Vice President – Referees and Laws. He took on additional administrative responsibilities, in 1988, with the Brampton R.F.C., serving, over the course of the next decade, as Fixtures Secretary, Director of Coaching, and President. He demonstrated his managerial skills when, he managed the Canadian Under 21 and Under 23 teams over 1993 to 1995.
He became President of the National Union in 1999 and he served in that capacity for one term. While in office he became very involved with the activities of the North American West Indies Rugby Association, and in 2001 he was elected as the founding President of that body. He represented, in his inimitable fashion, that Regional Association at IRB meetings and he was also Rugby Canada’s representative to the Pan American Rugby Association.
Since leaving, in a formal sense, Rugby Canada, Hedley has continued his involvement with Rugby. In 2002 he was appointed as the IRB Match Commissioner for the R.W.C. Qualifying tournaments played in the Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Salt Lake City. He was rewarded for his service to the T.D.R.R.S., in 2000, by being made a Life Member. In 2008 he was appointed as the Rugby Canada representative at the Women’s Under 20 Nations Cup at Appleby College in Oakville. On November 26, 2005 he was inducted into the Ontario Rugby Union Hall of Fame, acknowledging his enormous contribution to that Union.
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Suite 110
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L4B 1J2 Canada
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