Paul Shortt has been a football leader on Vancouver Island for over half a century. He first played for the juvenile football with the Oak Bay Farmer Construction before beginning a coaching career that spanned from 1971 to 1994. During that time, his teams included: Oak Bay Crusaders (Bantam), Saanich Vampires (Bantam & Juvenile), Victoria Hornets (Tier 2 BCJFA), Victoria Dolphins (Junior), Saanich Vampires (Midget), Oak Bay Marauders (Junior Bantam), and Victoria Payless (Junior).
In 1995, Paul became a director of the BC Football Conference as a Conference Head Coach, then vice-president, then finally president, the latter a role he held for eight years.
In 2008, he was elected to the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) as executive director, where he dealt with the duties of certification, rules and regulations, policies and research. In 2019, he took over the job as Deputy Commissioner of the CJFL.
He has also become a noted football historian, providing valuable nuggets of information on junior football in BC and Canada.
Among his accolades include: BCJL Coach of the Year (1991), BCFC Executive of the Year (1998-99), BCFC and Canadian Junior Football executive of the year (2002), Sport BC Presidents Award (2007), Life Member of BC Football Conference (2009), Life Member of Canadian Football Conference (2009), and Pioneer Award at the Orange Helmet (2014).
