Dr. Jack Taunton
Dr. Jack Taunton is a Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Medicine, Division of Sports Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He had a clinical practice in sports medicine at the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre for over 40 years where he was the director for over 25 years after co-founding the Centre in 1979. He was the director of the PGY3 Advanced Skills in Sport & Exercise Medicine in the Department of Family Practice at UBC.
He is very involved in clinical and exercise medicine research with a keen interest in overuse injuries, injury prevention, concussion in sport and cardiac disease in athletes. He is a member and co-founder of Sports Cardiology BC. He has been involved in the establishment of the Chronic Brain Wellness Program at UBC. The program utilizes exercise, wellness and music in the treatment of patients with chronic brain diseases. He has raised $3.5million for the new sports medicine centre at UBC including $1million for a cancer exercise program and more recently $1million for the Chronic Brain Wellness program.
Dr Taunton was the Director of Medicine and Director of Sports Medicine for Fortius Sport and Health. He was on the board of directors of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport for two terms. He was the Clinical Advisor to the Concussion Protocol Harmonization Project for Parachute Canada. He was Chief Medical Officer -ITLS Training Centre – GEMS-ERT: Global Emergency Medical Services – Emergency Response Team – Terranoval International Safety Canada Incorporated. Dr Taunton is on the board of the National Health and Fitness Institute and is a board member at Polycan.
He co-founded Sportmed BC while president of the Sports Medicine Council of Canada. He was a member of the IOC Medical Commission from 2005-2010. He was the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and CMO for Canada at the Sydney Olympics, two Pan American and two World Student Games. Dr. Taunton has worked with distance runners, cyclists, triathletes and other athletes both as doctor and coach. He was the Women’s Team Physician and Association Coordinating Physician for Field Hockey Canada for over 25 years. Dr. Taunton was the Team Physician for the Vancouver Grizzlies NBA Team during its time in Vancouver. He was co-founder of the Vancouver Marathon, the Vancouver Sun Run and most recently the UBC Grand Prix of Cycling (now PoCo Grand Prix) and is the co-director of the Port Coquitlam Grand Prix. He was the CMO for the IOC –affiliated 1st Regional Masters Games in Vancouver (Americas’ Masters Games August 2016).
In 2016 Dr Taunton and two others initiated the establishment of a sports medicine clinic in Uganda, In May 2017 he and a team including an administrator, 2 physicians, a physiotherapist and and orthotist travelled to Uganda, examined over 100 athletes, completed two days of education for local physiotherapists and physicians and established traineeships. Groups continue to travel to Uganda on a yearly basis. Fundraising is an integral part of this initiative and Dr Taunton co-directed a fundraising evening and the group was able to send a much needed MSK ultrasound to assist in the diagnosis of muscle and tendon injuries seen in 50% of the national team athletes.
Dr Taunton has been a competitive runner, completing over 60 marathons. He continues to be active and fit. He was inducted into the BC Athletics Sports Hall of Fame and the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame and was named to the Globe and Mail 2012 Power 50. In 2014 he was inducted into the Simon Fraser University Sports Hall of Fame and into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Richmond Sports Wall of Fame in 2018. In 2020 he was inducted into Field Hockey Canada’s Hall of Fame. In 2021 Dr Taunton was inducted into the UBC Athletics Sports Hall of Fame as a Builder.
He was named an outstanding alumni at Simon Fraser University and received a Community Faculty award from the University of British Columbia Alumni. He was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. In 2014 he was named as one of Simon Fraser University Faculty of Science’s 50 most inspiring alumni. He was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine in February 2015. He received the Wallace Wilson Leadership Award from the UBC Medical Alumni Association in May 2016. It is awarded to a graduate of the UBC Faculty of Medicine who has demonstrated high ethical standards and outstanding leadership to the profession. He has been chosen as a recipient of the 2017 Doctors of BC Silver Medal of Service for long and distinguished service to the Doctors of BC and outstanding contributions to medicine in BC. He received the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine Medal of Service Award in 2018. The award recognized individuals who have made an exceptional and outstanding contribution to the advancement of sport and exercise medicine in Canada. In 2019 he received a Doctors of BC Service award.