Sport BC, on behalf of the BC sport community, announced today the outstanding amateur athletes, coaches and officials, named as finalists for 14 of the 18 award categories to be presented at the upcoming Athlete of the Year Awards.
The 48th annual awards ceremony and gala dinner, set for March 5, 2014 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, recognizes BC’s best amateur athletes, coaches, and officials for outstanding performances in their sport over the 2013 season.
Nominations are received from the provincial and multi sport organizations, high schools, colleges or universities. Finalists and winners are selected by a committee of 20 highly regarded BC sportswriters, broadcasters, and amateur sport leaders.
“A significant number of very strong nominations were received this year,” notes Sport BC’s President & CEO, Rob Newman. “The Athlete of the Year Awards provides a great opportunity to recognize these talented and deserving athletes, coaches and officials.”
For 2013, in partnership with ProMOTION Plus, a Female Coach of the Year Award category was added. “This year’s nominees in all of the award categories are certainly a testament to the strength and depth of sport in our province,” states Newman. “So too is the funding support that we have received this year from ViaSport and our other sport and business partners.”
Newman is pleased to announce that the finalists for the 48th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards represent 21 different individual and team sports and 20 communities throughout the province and include:
Athlete with a Disability
- Sonja Gaudet (Vernon, BC) – Wheelchair Curling
- Brianna Nelson (North Saanich, BC) – Swimming
- Michelle Stilwell (Parksville, BC) – Wheelchair Athletics
College Athlete of the Year
- Alanna Bekkering (Kamloops, BC) – Soccer (Thompson River University)
- RuiLin Huang (Burnaby, BC) – Badminton (Douglas College)
- Kayla Unger (Abbotsford, BC) – Volleyball (University of the Fraser Valley)
Female Coach of the Year
- Kim Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, BC) – Athletics – Track & Field
- Tracy David (Victoria, BC) – Soccer
- Jen Ross (Abbotsford, BC) – Rugby
Male Coach of the Year
- Randy Bennett (Victoria, BC) – Swimming
- Victor Gantsevich (Richmond, BC) – Fencing
- Graham Thomas (Vancouver, BC) – Hockey
Female High School Athlete of the Year
- Asianna Covington (Surrey, BC) – Athletics – Track & Field (Little Flower Academy)
- Emma Entzminger (Victoria, BC) – Volleyball, Basketball, Softball and Soccer (Lambrick Park High School)
- Emma Wolfram (Kamloops, BC) – Basketball (South Kamloops Secondary School)
Male High School Athlete of the Year
- Lars Bornemann (Victoria, BC) – Volleyball, Basketball and Track & Field (Oak Bay Secondary School)
- Marcus Davis (Saanichton, BC) – Football (Mount Douglas Secondary School)
- Amarveer Dhesi (Surrey, BC) – Wrestling (Burnaby Central Secondary School)
Female Junior Athlete of the Year
- Georgia Ellenwood (Langley, BC) – Athletics – Track & Field
- Taylor Kim (Surrey, BC) – Golf
- Emma von Dadelszen (Vancouver, BC) – Fencing
Male Junior Athlete of the Year
- Kyle Carragher (Port Coquitlam, BC) – Gymnastics
- Dylan French (Richmond, BC) – Fencing
- Kevin Kwon (Maple Ridge, BC) – Golf
Master Athlete of the Year
- Christa Bortignon (West Vancouver, BC) – Athletics
- Gerry Poulton (Victoria, BC) – Squash
- Dr. Cathryn Zeglinski (Vancouver, BC) – XCO Cross Country Mountain Bike
Official of the Year
- Len Apedaile (Black Creek, BC) – Cross Country Skiing
- Dale Jackson (Victoria, BC) – Golf
- Steve Papp (Saanichton, BC) – Hockey
Female Senior Athlete of the Year
- Stacie Anaka (Burnaby, BC) – Wrestling
- Hilary Caldwell (White Rock, BC) – Swimming
- Kim Gaucher (Mission, BC) – Basketball
Male Senior Athlete of the Year
- Dylan Armstrong (Kamloops, BC) – Athletics – Track & Field
- Ryan Cochrane (Victoria, BC) – Swimming
- Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, BC) – Basketball
Team of the Year
- Team McNamara (Delta, BC) – Beach Volleyball
- Trinity Western University Women’s Soccer (Langley, BC)
- University of British Columbia Men’s Soccer (Vancouver, BC)
University Athlete of the Year
- Maxwell Lattimer (Delta, BC) – Rowing (University of British Columbia)
- Shanice Marcelle (Victoria, BC) – Volleyball (University of British Columbia)
- Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (Vernon, BC) – Basketball (Simon Fraser University)
“It will be a great celebration of sport on March 5th with an additional four awards being presented, including Best of BC, Community Champion, Harry Jerome Comeback and the Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award,” notes Newman.
