• Competed on the Golden Bears hockey team for five seasons (1958-63).
• Member of three Canada West championship Golden Bear hockey teams.
• Coached the University of Calgary Dinosaurs hockey team (1967-1981); named CIAU Coach of the Year in 1974 and 1981.
• Served as national coach and director of hockey for Norway (1989-91) and national coach for Germany in 1994.
• Assistant coach with the NHL's Calgary Flames (1981-82) and the Minnesota North Stars (1988-89).
• The first head coach of the San Jose Sharks (1991-93).

George Kingston (BPE ’60, Bed ’63, MPE ’68, PhD ’78) was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in Edmonton but his unique career in sport has made him a true citizen of the world. Following high school at Strathcona Composite he was the Gold Medalist in graduating with degrees, beginning with his BPE in 1960 – the first of four degrees he earned at this university. He played junior varsity basketball in his first year and was a valued member of the Golden Bears hockey team, Canada West champions in three of the five seasons in which he played as both an undergraduate and graduate student. He had already begun his coaching career in community hockey when he became a teacher at Queen Elizabeth High School. He was to mentor young people in no fewer than 10 different sports in high school competition.

His appointment to the Faculty of Physical Education at the University of Calgary in 1967 led to a 22-year academic career in which he rose to the rank of Professor, and earned terms as Associate Dean (Academic), and Acting Dean. Meanwhile, he coached the Dinosaur hockey team for 15 seasons, taking them to five Canada West titles and five CIAU championship tournaments, and played a lead role in the development of hockey coaching through frequent presentations at clinics across Canada, the USA and Europe. His exceptional analysis of the game, presented in written and video forms, was widely used for several decades in Europe as the basis for teaching young and experienced players alike. Further significant contributions were made as the author of instructional monographs, articles, videos and segments of the Canadian Hockey Coaching Certification Program. In addition, throughout his career, George has influenced organizations and coaching development programs beyond hockey. He capped many committee and administrative assignments across the country with a term as chairman of the board of the Coaching Association of Canada.

He was assistant coach of Team Canada at the World Championships (bronze 1983), at the 1984 Winter Olympics, and head coach at the Spengler Cup (gold 1988). From 1989 to 1991 he was the national coach and Director of Hockey for Norway. He came home as Hockey Canada’s Director of Operations in 1994 and as head coach led Canada to our first World Championship gold medal in 33 years. He was Canadian mentor coach and general manager at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994 (silver). In the NHL, he was an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames (1980-82), the Minnesota North Stars (1988-89), and the first head coach of the San Jose Sharks (1991-93). He returned to Europe in 1994 as the German National coach.

The Organizing Committee for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary appointed him Tournament Chairman of Ice Hockey, and his expertise was shared as a consultant to the organizers of the Lillehammer, Norway 1994 Olympics.

Since 1982 he has trained and competed in Trail Ultra-Marathon, a grueling event over a course of anywhere from 50 to 100 miles.

His many honours include being named a CIAU Coach of the Year in 1974 and again in 1981, and the Sport Canada, Excellence in Coaching Award in 1994.