For the third consecutive year, a member of the UBC Okanagan Athletics Department has been honoured as a nominee from the 47th Annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards.
Golfer Jen Woods, a member of the national champion Heat women’s golf team, is the nominated UBC Okanagan athlete after stellar play on the links this past season.
Previously nominated for the Heat were volleyball players Preston Tucker (in 2012) from the men’s team, and Alex Basso (in 2011) from the Heat women’s squad. Both of those athletes went on to win the award.
For Woods, the nomination caps a fantastic fifth and final year of competing at the collegiate level; a year that has been full of awards and accolades for the Kelowna-born golfer.
Woods Jen led her team to what had previously been an elusive national championship for the women’s golf team, having captured silver in two of the previous three seasons. However, she was finally able to carry her team to the top this past October at the 2012 PING CCAA Golf National Championship, hosted by Durham College at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club.
At the 2012 PING CCAA national championship, Jen finished fourth overall individually, collecting a National Tournament All-Star for her efforts; her third time earning that distinction.
Woods and her Heat teammates won their fourth straight PACWEST provincial championship in 2012, with Woods earning a Provincial All-Star nod as well as an Athlete of the Week accolade for her individual efforts.
Jen won 7 of the 20 tournaments she competed in and finished top 3 in every tournament this past season. Provincially she has earned two Player of the Years and two All-Stars.
Even more impressive due to the fact that in Jen’s freshman season in the PACWEST (formerly the BCCAA) golf league; she was the only female golfer and competed directly with her male counterparts.
Woods says enjoying her passion for golf and having the opportunity to represent her university have been her favourite experiences while attending UBC’s Okanagan campus. Along with all the golf, Woods has been able to find time to pass her love of the game and experience to possible future Heat golfers. She helps coach the golf team at her Alma matter, Rutland Senior, when time permits between studies, practice, and competitions.
Dedicated to pursuing a UBC education, she is enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program and is currently in her fourth-year of Health Studies. She is expecting to graduate in April 2013 and looks forward to pursuing golf and helping the community in the future.
The 47th awards ceremony and gala dinner, set for March 7, 2013 at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond BC, recognizes BC’s best amateur athletes, coaches, and officials for outstanding performances in their sport over the 2012 season. Each finalist was nominated by their Provincial Sport Organization, high school or university, and selected by a committee of B.C. sportswriters, broadcasters, athletes and amateur sport experts.
