Carole Hamilton-Goodale showed athletic prowess from adolescence: not only did she lead her Sudbury Secondary School team to the provincial championships in 1980 and ’81, but was also asked to join the Canadian National Basketball Team at the age of 16.
Thanks to her immense talent, Hamilton-Goodale was granted a full scholarship to Ohio State University. As a freshman at Ohio State, she was a starting guard, and The Buckeyes were Big Ten Conference co- champions in both of her years there. She then transferred to Laurentian University, where she played for two years. To this day, she remains their all-time scoring leader.
She earned most valuable player honours in 1984 and 1985 while helping Laurentian win back-to-back silver medals at the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union Championships.
During this time, Hamilton- Goodale also represented Canada on the National Team. Over her 12 years with this group, she saw a bronze-medal win at the 1986 World Championships. She went on to pursue a professional career in Europe, where she garnered scoring and rebounding titles playing on professional teams in France, Sweden, Spain, Luxembourg, and Israel. Her leadership culminated in taking her French team (Aix-en-Provence) to the European Championships in 1999.
Hamilton-Goodale received a variety of accolades during her career, including the Nan Copp Award for Outstanding Female Basketball Player in Canada (1984-85); the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union Player of the year (1985); the Laurentian University Athlete of the Year (1984-85); the title of First Team All Canadian (1984-85); the Harry Jerome Award for excellence and achievement in the black community (1989); and the Federal Government Sport Excellence Award (1989). She was also inducted into the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Since moving to Oakville in 1989, Hamilton-Goodale contributed many things to the community, donating her time and talent as an athlete, coach, sport builder, and businesswoman. She also worked as a motivational speaker for FAME (Female Athletes Motivating Excellence) where she visited schools and camps across Oakville to share her experiences and reinforce the values of determination, good sportsmanship, and team work.
Hamilton-Goodale impacted the lives of countless students, teachers and families throughout Oakville as a certified coach, referee, and founder of Home Court Basketball, the first non-profit family basketball club in the town. Home Court basketball gave Oakville youth an option outside of the school team to play and develop their basketball skills via camps, recreational leagues, and competitive team settings. While Hamilton-Goodale passed away in 2003, her memory lives on in the heart of our community.
