PEISAA – More Honours for Garth Turtle

TOSH, PEISAA, PEITF honour the contributions and memory of Garth Turtle as a dedicated teacher, coach, administrator

Jason Simmonds · Journalist | Posted: Feb. 25, 2022, 6 p.m. | Updated: Feb. 25, 2022, 6 p.m.

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Garth Turtle’s impact as a teacher, coach and administrator extended far beyond gymnasiums and playing fields.

Turtle, who died on Sept. 13, 2021, at the age of 69, dedicated close to 40 years of involvement with school sports on Prince Edward Island as a teacher, athletic director and coach at Three Oaks Senior High School (TOSH) in Summerside.

Turtle’s resumé also includes 10 years as executive director of the Prince Edward Island School Athletic Association (PEISAA) and many more in different administrative capacities as a commissioner, official and co-ordinator of PEISAA all-star certificates following retirement.

“School sports were everything to him other than (his family), but he involved us in it,” said Garth’s daughter, Kristen, who chuckled that the hallways around the Three Oaks gymnasium were the playground for her and her sister, Michelle, growing up.

“It was his life. His passion was getting people active.”

Kristen, who lives in Halifax, and her mother, Lynn Turtle, participated in a pre-game ceremony for the Three Oaks Axewomen senior AAA basketball team on Feb. 23 – the team Garth coached for many years, including the 2020-21 season.

TOSH staff member Dave Chisholm presented Lynn and Kristen with the P.E.I. Teachers Federation’s annual special recognition award, honouring Garth’s many years of service.

PEISAA award

Also at the ceremony, Phil Bridges, school sport co-ordinator for the PEISAA, announced one of the association’s prestigious awards will now be known as the Garth Turtle Merit Award. Turtle received the award in 1997.

“It is such an honour because it would mean so much to him,” said Kristen. “Receiving it would be an honour for him, but knowing other people are receiving it in his honour means so much.”

“It is such an honour because it would mean so much to him. Receiving it would be an honour for him, but knowing other people are receiving it in his honour means so much.”

– Kristen Turtle

TOSH athletic director Joel Arsenault, who is also the president of the PEISAA, told the gathering inside the Three Oaks gymnasium that the school hopes to stencil one of Garth’s best-known sayings – “Make good decisions” – on the gym floor. Arsenault said one possible location is near the home team’s bench, where Garth spent many hours patrolling the sideline over the years.

“We thought about what we could do, and it certainly made sense to do something in the gym area, whether it be a bench or something commemorative,” said Arsenault. “A lot of people have said, ‘make good decisions’ since Garth passed away, whether it be former students or people he coached.

“That was his go-to line when he was speaking with students. Maybe before a weekend, he would use that.”

Kristen, who played one year of senior A basketball for her father in Grade 10, acknowledged Garth’s coaching style changed over the years but described him as a great coach who knew how to get performance out of players, bring a team together and get results while stressing team camaraderie.

“It didn’t matter how you grew up, who you grew up with; you were a family (at Three Oaks),” said Kristen. “That was important to him.”

Tournament name

Following the ceremony, Arsenault told SaltWire Network that the annual Sweetheart basketball tournament at Three Oaks will be known as the Garth Turtle Memorial Sweetheart basketball tournament.

The 2022 tournament could not go ahead due to COVID-19 restrictions, but Arsenault is looking forward to the popular event returning in 2023.

Garth and the late Glenn Edison founded the tournament in the early 1980s.

Need to know

• The Garth Turtle Merit Award is presented annually by the P.E.I. School Athletic Association (PEISAA) to an active member to recognize a career of outstanding contributions to the association and school athletics.
• Recipients have contributed to the PEISAA as an executive member, sport commissioner or tournament manager.
• As well, the recipients must have been active in extracurricular activities like coaching, managing or officiating.

Bridges said the idea of renaming the merit award came up at the first PEISAA meeting after Turtle’s death. Everyone, said Bridges, was unanimous in their support.

“You would have to look pretty far to see anyone who has given more to school sports in the last 40 years,” said Bridges. “We thought this was a way to make sure his legacy lives on, just like the impact he had on so many students over the years continues to live.

“The effort that he gave for students on P.E.I. to participate in school sport, this is just a small token, I think, for the PEISAA to say thank you.”