Vancouver Island rugby standout Maggie Banks was honoured with the BC Games Society’s top award as the Cowichan 2018 BC Summer Games closed out at Duncan’s Island Savings Centre on Sunday afternoon.
A member of the national rugby program, Banks led the Vancouver Island-Central Coast (Zone 6) team to the gold medal in girls rugby sevens, beating the Fraser Valley team in Sunday morning’s tournament final. She received the W.R. Bennett Award for Athletic Excellence that afternoon.
SEE MORE: Rugby star Maggie Banks carries family legacy to BC Games
A native of Coquitlam, Banks lives year-round on Vancouver Island in order to attend Shawnigan Lake School and train with the national program. Both of her parents were captains of Canada’s national rugby teams.
The W.R. Bennett award was named in honour of the former premier of British Columbia, William Bennett, who was instrumental in starting the BC Games program in 1978. The award was first presented by Bennett at the 2008 BC Summer Games, which were hosted in his hometown of Kelowna.
The award includes a $2,500 bursary and is designed to recognize and support the ongoing development of young athletes.
