Alison Tuton

Alison has lived all over Newfoundland and Labrador, but she grew up mostly in the community of Steady Brook, nestled between Marble Mountain Ski Hill and the great Humber River, meaning there was plenty to keep an active kid busy. Thanks to the encouragement of a Physical Educator, she got tangled up in just about every sport, competitively and successfully, including alpine skiing. Eventually, it was soccer goalkeeping that ‘stuck’ as it covered the physicality of a variety of sports she enjoyed.  

Prior to landing at Acadia, a highlight came for Alison in 1986 when she was invited to attend the inaugural National Women’s Soccer Team selection camp in Winnipeg. She missed the cut, but was later recruited by the legendary Anson Dorrance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—home to 22 Tar Heel NCAA Division I Women's Soccer titles. However, the results of an unfamiliar and ill-prepared SAT on short notice fell shy. Tanked spirits followed by an impatience to play led her to Acadia; it was a league-leading program much closer to home, with one Gunn Baldursson perpetually atop the scoring. It was a safe bet for success.  

In hindsight, the historical assurance of a national title—that being a Tar Heel offered—materialized nevertheless for Alison as an Axewoman under Laura Sanders in the form of four straight AUAA titles (1987-1990, two as a defender followed by two as the goalkeeper), CIAU silver, bronze, and finally CIAU gold. Both goalkeeping years earned her AUAA All-Star honors and in 1990, her final year of eligibility, she was named a First Team All-Canadian and later Acadia’s female athlete of the Year.   

She says playing soccer at Acadia has been a gift that keeps giving; countless hours of dedicated practice and competition year after year has translated well. Alison credits this Hall of Fame honor to her coach and team—a collective sweet spot of grit and talent.   

Alison jokes that she’s a jeweler/goldsmith disguised as a Dental Laboratory Technician, a trade that has kept her creatively busy since graduating from Acadia. 

She has come full circle and returned to Newfoundland and Labrador to call St. John’s home, where Telemark skiing back at Marble Mountain, ocean swims and snorkeling in nearby coves, and hiking keep her active year round.