Linda Kidd (Murdoch)

Born in 1958, Linda grew up in the South Gower/Kemptville area attending local schools and becoming involved in many local sports programs.

An avid athlete, Linda was involved in many sports both in school and in the community. While attending North Grenville District High School, she played on many competitive teams including volleyball and basketball but she really excelled in the javelin competition in track and field. She won not only in our local district at LGSSAA, but also at the provincial level – OFSSA. One of Linda’s high school coaches, Gary Bowlby, described Linda as a tremendous athlete with a fierce competitive drive.

At the community level, Linda was part of the first organized girls’ hockey team playing out of Kemptville. The team was comprised of local players and were call the “Mountain Mets” and later became known as the “Kemptville Home Hardware Team”. Also during this time, she played softball and was selected to represent Ontario at the Canada Games in 1977 in Newfoundland, winning a bronze medal. Two years later in 1979, Linda and her team won the gold medal in the Ontario Junior Softball Championships.

Linda’s competitive career continued at Queen’s University where she played girls ice hockey and field hockey, winning two Canadian University titles in each sport. It was at this time that Linda also became an enthusiastic cyclist. During the summers she would bike from her South Gower home to Ferguson Forest Centre for her day job and then to Rideau Carleton Raceway for her evening job.

Upon graduation from Queen’s, Linda became an RCMP officer. Her work ethic is evident as she ran 800 km during her training, ran her first marathon and continued with her cycling, occasionally biking home to South Gower from Toronto. She also went biking through New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia. One of Linda’s assignments while with the RCMP was as the personal bodyguard for Mila Mulroney during Brian Mulroney’s tenure as Prime Minister of Canada. She once joked with Mary Bowlby that when she was required to attend official functions with Mrs. Mulroney, it was difficult to find evening wear for her athletic build.

In 1984, Linda was struck by a vehicle while biking. She suffered a coma, fractured back and concussion. Linda credits her athletic training with helping her through this difficult recovery.

Now retired, Linda lives near Renfrew with her 4 dogs and 5 cats (all rescued animals) and strives to keep up her athletic abilities. She golfs 6 days a week, walking the course carrying her own bag. She also golfs in many fundraising tournaments including those for Hospice and Home Support, just to name a few. She also does Masters Swimming, curling and three years ago trained for a power lifting event.

Truly a lifelong athlete, Linda says that her best award has been regaining her health after her accident and being able to continue to live a full and happy life.