Hadi Abassi as a builder, Larry Brown in media and Yvonne Visser in the athlete category are the 2026 inductees into the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame. New members go to the hall every two years with the next official induction ceremony scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20. (Image Credit: Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame)

By Dan Marshall

Going to the Hall

Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame induction class includes Abassi, Brown and Visser

Feb 17, 2026 | 9:34 AM

NANAIMO — Three new members have been added to the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame.

Founder of the VI Raiders Hadi Abassi, Olympian Yvonne Visser and long time member of the national media Larry Brown have been selected and will also be honoured at a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 20.

Sophia Maher with the Nanaimo Museum said the hall has existed at the museum since 2008 with new members being selected at first yearly and now every two years.

“You can nominate people year round. When all the nominations are in our committee will meet and go through and evaluate against our criteria, which is standard for sports halls of fame across Canada. It’s quite a long process including interviews and what’s going to go in the individual display cases.”

The ceremony itself is a part of the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards.

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The partnership began in 2024 and Maher noted how special it’s been honouring those who have had long time career achievements alongside those making a contribution in the here and now.

“Combining our process with theirs turned out to be really meaningful for athletes at all levels. The younger athletes were able to see the Sports Hall of Fame inductees honoured and the significant contributions they’ve given to Nanaimo. For the people being inducted it was special to them to be in the same room with these other athletes at various stages of their journey and to be part of that energy and the cycle of their careers.”

This year’s hall of fame class covers a wide range of sports and a recognizes careers that extend well beyond Nanaimo.

Hadi Abassi brought the VI Raiders to Nanaimo in 2005 and the club went on to win national championships in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

The Raiders also won six straight B.C. conference titles between 2006-2011.

Abassi also spent time at the helm of the Western Lacrosse Association’s Nanaimo Senior A Timbermen.

Maher said Abassi worked hard to make the Raiders football program player focused.

“He encouraged his players to develop life skills and be active in the community. He has been widely recognized for his leadership including being inducted into the BC Football Hall of Fame in 2020.”

Larry Brown was a sports columnist for the Nanaimo Daily Free Press and has worked in television production on some major national broadcasts including the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament.

His resume also featured work in the NHL, NBA and MLB with CBC, TSN and Sportsnet.

Maher said his breakthrough on the national stage came in television at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

“He then went on to work as a director for Hockey Night in Canada as well as the Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, the NBA for CTV and he has worked on Vancouver Canucks broadcasts from 1998 to 2006. He worked on Olympic productions from the 1970’s through to 2010 and is a very proud Nanaimo resident who continues to volunteer in the community to this day.”

Yvonne Visser competed in biathlon in two Winter Olympics.

She went into a career in sports medicine and went on to work with Olympic teams from 2006-2018.

In total Visser was a part of eight different Olympic games.

“She participated in the Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994,” Maher said. “Visser has also competed in various world championships from 1986 to 1994.”

The trio will be inducted at the 2026 Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards at the Coast Bastion Hotel and will have their own display cases at the Nanaimo Museum ready for viewing soon after.

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