Inducted 2012
Corner Brook athlete Joy Burt established herself as one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s outstanding multi-sport female athletes. Joy was a world champion on the lifting stage from 1986 to 1992 when she represented Canada at the World Power Lifting Championships. She won a silver medal at the 1986, 1988 and 1989 championships and a gold medal at the 1987 and 1992 championships. In 1989 Joy was invited to the World Games, based on her international performances, and won the gold medal in her weight class. At the 1992 championships Joy was named “Champion of Champions” which is a designation indicating the strongest competitor pound for pound in the competition. In 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1992 Joy won the gold medal in her weight class at the Canadian Power Lifting Championships and won the right to represent Canada at the World Power Lifting Championships. During this time she also competed and won in her weight class at the Provincial Power Listing Championships and earned the right to represent the province at the national championships. In 1996 Joy competed in the Provincial Power Lifting Championships as a Master 1 and she continued to hold the world record in the Deadlift until the weight classes changed in 2011. At the 2006 Provincial Power Lifting Championships Joy competed as a Master 2 in the Classic Category and set 21 new Provincial and Canadian records in all lift events. From 1984 to 1987 Joy competed as an elite soccer player in Atlantic University Soccer competition with Memorial University. From 1972 to 1987 Joy competed in the Corner Brook and the St. John’s Women’s Soccer Leagues winning scoring and MVP awards and in 1982 and 1983 her team won the NL Senior Women’s Soccer Championship. As an acknowledgement for her outstanding soccer career, Joy was named by the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association as their Female Player of the Decade for the 1970’s and she had the honour of being the first female inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Hall of Fame. Her dominance as an athlete gained her the titles of St. John’s Female Athlete of the Year (Tom Dynamite Dunne Memorial Award) in 1986; Corner Brook’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1978, 1979, 1984 and 1985; and the provincial Elizabeth Swan Senior Female Athlete of the Year Award in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Joy Burt brought an immense desire and drive to succeed, both on the power lifting stage and soccer field. Coupled with athleticism and explosive power, she quickly became a dominant force in both her chosen sports.