Langley City resident Terrie Moore earned the Sport BC Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award for her decades-long push to open sports to athletes with disabilities. Officials announced the honor on Feb. 17, praising her work in para-cycling, para taekwondo and Paralympic involvement.

Moore’s journey began in the 1970s at Vancouver’s Percy Norman swim club. A swimmer with a head injury approached her, eager to compete in disability games but shut out because his condition didn’t match spinal cord injury categories. “One of the swimmers came to me, he had a disability, he wanted to go to the disability games,” Moore recalled.

She linked up with physiotherapists and recreation therapists. Together, they discovered an international organization that welcomed the athlete and offered global competitions. The group raised funds to get him there. That effort sparked Moore’s lifelong advocacy.

Moore co-founded Sportability, a registered charity delivering physical activity programs for people with disabilities. She also helped establish the Cerebral Palsy Sports Association of British Columbia and its Canadian counterpart. Her resume lists deep roles in para-cycling and para taekwondo. She attended six Paralympic Games—Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020—serving twice as a torch-bearer.

“It wasn’t an intended career path,” Moore told reporters. “It all started with one athlete. And it just built from there.”

The award, named for celebrated B.C. athlete, coach and administrator Daryl Thompson, spotlights sports development leaders. Sponsored by the BC Games Society, it will be presented March 5 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver before the 58th Annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards.

“I was absolutely shocked,” Moore said of the announcement. “It was very emotional.” The citation highlights her more than 45 years elevating disability and para sport.

Early on, Moore saw physical disabilities overlooked in competitive sports. “One of the reasons why I got involved in the beginning is that people didn’t recognize that people with physical disabilities should be supported to compete and to get involved in sports,” she said. Her goal: equip athletes to live fully, matching able-bodied competitors. She remains a vocal Paralympics supporter.

Now technically retired, Moore has moved from British Columbia to Saskatchewan. The relocation brings her closer to her youngest daughter and new grandchild. Still, her impact endures through the organizations she built and the athletes she championed.

Sport BC officials noted Moore’s role in creating pathways where none existed. From that single swimmer to international stages, her efforts reshaped opportunities for disabled athletes across Canada and abroad.