Dean Faris
Multi Sport (2001)

Dean has been an eight-time participant in the Canadian touch football playoffs, has played four times at Canadian senior men's basketball playoffs, three times at Canadian 10-pin bowling playoffs and also reached national finals in slow-pitch, badminton, track and field.

Dean was born in Biggar on March 24, 1953, and when he was seven years old, he was part of minor baseball and hockey teams in the community. When the family moved to Regina, one of his first teams was the IPSCO minor football team and he also played other minor sports as well as high school sports at Thom Collegiate.

Dean came to the University of Saskatchewan in 1971 and played four years in the Huskie basketball program. He graduated from the university, went into the brokerage business, then into teaching, starting at Nutana Collegiate and then at Mount Royal Collegiate.

His first experience at the Canadian touch football championships came was in 1986 with the Saskatoon Toads, most of whom stayed together for eight years. 

In slow pitch, Dean played on the Total Audio team in the co-ed league, five men and five women, and they won three Saskatoon city championships. In men’s slow pitch, one of the highlights came in 1995 when the Thermo-Tex team represented Saskatchewan and finished third in the national playoffs held in Saskatoon.

In tennis, he and Don Axtel were partners, winning the Western Canadian senior indoor tennis championships in the 45 and over doubles at Edmonton in 1999.

In 10-pin bowling, he appeared in the National Classified championships three times and was part of a silver-medal winning team performance from Eastview in 1995.  Eastview returned to the National Classified with a strong lineup again in 1996 and this time, they won the Canadian gold medals.

Success continued in Canadian touch football and most of this team won two straight Canadian championships, 1998 and 1999, in the Master men's division for those over 35. Six times he was voted a most valuable game player at the nationals.

His all-round ability allowed him to play rugby, badminton, broomball, soccer, golf, track and field, curling and racquetball and as a result, he was nominated for the Sask Sport Master Athlete of the Year in 1996 and again in 1988, and then won the award in 1999.