BLG Awards

May 2, the eight national nominees will be honoured at the Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary where the Female and Male winners will receive a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship.

(Thanks to Michel Bélanger Communications & Relations Médias Sport Interuniversitaire Canadien for the info)

All finalists will receive a commemorative gold ring from Jostens and a watch from Timex, the official suppliers of CIS.

This year marks the 21^st presentation of the awards gala in Calgary and previously the event has held been held in Toronto (2009, 2013) and Vancouver (2011).

Although the 2016 recipients will be determined by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit board which has selected the winners for the past 23 years, the general public is once again invited to vote online, building on last year’s pilot project which generated over 10,000 votes.

Doug Mitchell, National Co-Chair of BLG stated “We are extremely excited to be hosting the 24^th BLG Awards in Calgary and we continue to be amazed by the talents and accomplishments of these outstanding athletes.”

Graham Brown, chief executive officer of CIS stated “The BLG Awards represent the highest honour for our student-athletes and are always a highlight of the CIS season,”

He continued “This year’s national nominees are not only exceptional athletes; each of them is also a leader in the classroom and in the community.”

The 2016 nominees for the Jim Thompson Trophy presented to the female BLG Award recipient are basketball player Paloma Anderson from Acadia University, hockey player Mélodie Daoust from McGill University, swimmer Kylie Masse from the University of Toronto and volleyball player Iuliia Pakhomenko from Thompson Rivers University.

On the men’s side, the finalists for the Doug Mitchell Trophy are hockey players Jordan Murray (University of New Brunswick) and Guillaume Asselin (University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières) as well as volleyball player Stephen Maar (McMaster University) and football player Andrew Buckley from the University of Calgary.

Daoust (2013) and Buckley (2015) are both repeat BLG Award nominees, while Pakhomenko and Asselin became the first-ever finalists from their respective institutions.

Anderson, a sociology student from Phoenix, Arizona, became the first player in school history to be named MVP of the AUS conference in women’s basketball.

The 5’1” guard was also voted a first-team all-Canadian and finished second in the country in league play with 18.7 points per game.

He was one of the main reasons the Axe-Women improved from a 4-16 record a year ago to 16-4 this season.

Daoust, a physical and health education student from Valleyfield, Que., was named RSEQ MVP and a first-team all-Canadian thanks to her superb 18-16-34 dossier in only 20 regular season contests.

The 2014 Olympic gold medalist claimed the Quebec scoring race and topped the nation in both goals (0.9) and points (1.7) per game while helping the Martlets reach the RSEQ final and the CIS championship tournament.

Masse, a kinesiology student from LaSalle, Ont., was selected as the CIS female swimmer of the year after she guided the U of T women to their first national title since 1997.

At the CIS championships, the 20-year-old sophomore, who recently qualified for the Rio Olympics, captured seven medals in as many finals, broke the meet record in all three individual backstroke events, and set a new Canadian senior long-course standard in the 50-metre back.

Pakhomenko, a master of business administration student from Donetsk, Ukraine, became the first Thompson Rivers player to merit CIS-MVP honours in women’s volleyball.

In her second season with the WolfPack after transferring from Northwood University in Michigan (NCAA Div. II), the 5-foot-11 left side hitter topped CIS in kills (4.67) and points (5.5) per set while leading her team to a playoff berth only two years after TRU finished with an 0-22 mark.

Murray, a business administration student from Riverview, N.B., was chosen CIS defenceman of the year and a first-team all-Canadian before guiding the Varsity Reds to their fifth University Cup triumph in the past decade.

The 6-foot-1 rearguard played with Acadie-Bathurst and Drummondville in the QMJHL, tied for the lead among AUS blue-liners (28 points in 27 league games) helped UNB post the second-best defensive record in the country.

Asselin, a business administration student from Quebec City, claimed the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as CIS player of the year after leading the nation in goals (27), points (47) and game-winning goals (6) in 28 conference games.

The 5’11” right-winger starred with Montreal and Chicoutimi in the QMJHL then helped the Patriotes capture the Queen’s Cup as OUA champions and qualify for the University Cup tournament.

Maar, a history and political science student from Aurora, Ont., was voted OUA player of the year and a first-team all-Canadian thanks in large part to his conference-leading 4.29 kills and 5.0 points per set.

The towering 6-foot-7 outside hitter guided the Marauders to first place in Ontario with an 18-2 league record, their fourth straight OUA banner and a silver medal at the CIS championship.

Buckley, a kinesiology student from Calgary, claimed his second straight Hec Crighton Trophy after he rewrote the record books while leading the Dinos to an undefeated 8-0 regular season.

In his final university campaign, the 6-foot quarterback and 2015 draft pick of the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders set a single-season CIS record for most passing yards (3,162), established a new Canada West standard for completion percentage (72.0) and kept the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the nation (19-1).

2016 Female BLG Award Nominees (Jim Thompson Trophy)

• AUS: Paloma Anderson, basketball, Acadia (Phoenix, Arizona)
• RSEQ: Mélodie Daoust, hockey, McGill (Valleyfield, Que.)
• OUA: Kylie Masse, swimming, Toronto (LaSalle, Ont.)
• CWUAA: Iuliia Pakhomenko, volleyball, Thompson Rivers (Donetsk, Ukraine)

2016 Male BLG Award Nominees (Doug Mitchell Trophy)

• AUS: Jordan Murray, hockey, UNB (Riverview, N.B.)
• RSEQ: Guillaume Asselin, hockey, UQTR (Quebec City, Que.)
• OUA: Stephen Maar, volleyball, McMaster (Aurora, Ont.)
• CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, football, Calgary (Calgary, Alta.)