Val LeBlanc handles TFBC's biggest problems. As legal council for the league, he's the one we turn to when we have accounting issue, like forgetting to file annual reports, or when a player tries to sue the league for injuries, and there was the time the treasurer abscond with the league fees. And with out him the league may never have existed…
In 1978 Val Leblanc was a young lawyer, who had just moved from Halifax, when a friend, Ted Campbell, who lived in the same building asked him to come play touch football. He joined the top-flight Chuggers and played receiver and centre for 6 years, including an undefeated season, in which they beat the Dolphins, only losing in the finals to the Average White Guys and their star player Harvey Alter. They also won the Kelowna tournament one year.
"Those were wild times," says Val, "chugging was the accepted mode of consumption on the the team." There were boat races after games and it wasn't unusual to be at a restaurant with the guys 3 hour after a game "well on our way." Bad knees may brought an end to the Chuggers as most of the players could swap stories of their injures and a few could pull their knees two inches out of place for show and tell. Val then joined the X-Birds a team made up of UBC and CFL alumni: Danny Smith was QB, Mike Campbell, Shawn McGuiness, former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Mark MacDonald, and BC Lion Kevin Konar. and while they enjoyed regular season success, they couldn't get "fired up enough" or convert the tackle ball skill set to the touch game.
Val retired from the field in 1984, but his legacy off the field is where me made his mark. Val Leblanc, who also volunteered on the Board of BC Amateur football, incorporated Touch Football BC on February 12 1979, after the inaugural season. Together with Hans Finken, Donald Stutt, Glenn Guerin, John Koxon, John "Dolphin" McClain, Craig Karlyle and Ted Campbell they drew up the bylaws and signed the league into existence. And while he no longer chases ball carriers on the field -- he remains the league counsel, and occasionally chases down the president for paper work to "keep the league in good standing."