Moira Colbourne came from a large sports-minded family. An outstanding player, she was awarded the Watson Trophy in 1968, the highest award given in field hockey. Colbourne was also captain of the BC team that won a gold medal at the 1969 Canada Summer Games in Halifax, and on teams taht competed at two International Women’s Field Hockey Tournaments in 1959 and 1971.

Colbourne was a member of the Vancouver Women’s Field Hockey Association council for over 35 years. She formed the Burnaby Women’s Field Hockey Association in 1969 and helped form associations in Delta, Coquitlam, and West Vancouver.

She served on the council of the BC Women’s Field Hockey Association for many years beginning in the late 1960s.
She worked as head coach of the SFU women’s field hockey team for over two decades beginning in 1966.

Colbourne served as a volunteer coach at Royal Oak Junior Secondary school and Burnaby South Senior Secondary school for five years.

She umpired high school and senior games from 1960-65, as well as provincial and national championships from 1977-85. She served on the BC Umpires Committee from 1973 onwards, organizing and running clinics throughout the province. She received the top Canadian Umpire ‘A’ rating in 1981.

Other roles included technical advisor for the field hockey section of the 1973 Canada Summer Games in Burnaby and the manager in 1978, and coach in 1979, of the BC Team that won the junior national championship. She was also a member of the organizing committee of the “Seventy Niners,” a club formed to financially assist the hosting of the 1979 International Women’s Field Hockey Tournament.

Colbourne coached the BC team to a gold medal at the 1981 Canada Summer Games and four years later served as manager of the BC team at the 1985 Canada Summer Games.

She was elected to the executive of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Association and was elevated to vice-president of coaching in 1983.