Two North Okanagan Paralympic gold medallists are among the recipients of the 2014 Curl B.C. Annual Awards.
Lead Sonja Gaudet, who was Canada’s flag-bearer at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games, was named Female Athlete of the Year.
Meanwhile, her teammate Ina Forrest, who played third on the Paralympic team that struck gold in Sochi, was given the award for Athlete with a Disability.
Gaudet, of Vernon, and Forrest, of Armstrong, and 14 other award winners, have been invited to a banquet in their honour at the Best Western PLUS Coquitlam Inn on June 14.
Forrest and volunteer Karen Watson will give the keynote address at the banquet on the topic of the Paralympics in Sochi.
Gerry Peckham, High Performance Director at the Canadian Curling Association, was just one of the people to support Gaudet’s nomination.
“As an athlete Sonja is relentless in her pursuit of excellence and has also emerged as a great ambassador of wheelchair curling world-wide,” said Peckham. “In addition to her commitment and responsibility to the life of a training Paralympian, she continuously demonstrates unwavering caring and dedication to her community.”
Meanwhile, Forrest was described as “hard-working, community-minded and always pleasant to be around.” She is the absolute epitome of her motto that “life is a journey, so plan a great trip.”
Both Gaudet and Forrest are members of the Vernon Curling Club.
Another member of the club, Jim Cotter, was named Male Athlete of the Year.
Cotter had a spectacular season in 2013-14, winning the chance to play in the Olympic Trials after clinching victory at the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar.
In December, with his team of John Morris, Tyrel Griffith and Rick Sawatsky, Cotter narrowly missed out on the chance to play at the Olympics – finishing as runner-up behind eventual Olympic gold medallists Team Brad Jacobs.
In February, Cotter went on to win gold at the 2014 Canadian Direct Insurance B.C. Men’s Championship, advancing to the Tim Hortons Brier in his former hometown of Kamloops.
His team blazed through the round-robin games and into the playoffs, but lost to Team Kevin Koe in the final, taking home the silver medal.
