Strong, fast, skilled athletes were the winners at tonight’s Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards.
The annual gala was held Friday at the Coast Bastion Hotel, with athletes and teams representing a range of sports chosen as the winners.
Sports Story of the Year was the senior B Nanaimo Timbermen hosting the Presidents Cup national lacrosse championship tournament, with the home team making it all the way to overtime of the final.
Members of the organizing committee Natalie Cashmore and Frank Dubenski accepted the award, and Dubenski said it really is an award for all of Nanaimo.
“It was an amazing event. Fans were extraordinary,” he said. “But as all of you know who get out and support sport in Nanaimo, it doesn’t happen without the great volunteers that come out.”
He said the organizing committee was inspired throughout the year by the senior B Timbermen lacrosse team and what players were able to do out on the floor. Dubenski also recognized the contributions of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, co-hosts of the Presidents Cup.
“The game of lacrosse has very rich tradition and history in North America. It’s an ancient game. It’s a game that was given to people by the creator and it has very deep spiritual meaning in the indigenous world and it’s been a gift to the rest of us,” Dubenski said. “We walked the path of reconciliation with Snuneymuxw to bring this wonderful event to the community of Nanaimo. Without them, it wouldn’t have happened the way that it did; with them, it actually turned out to be a beautiful event.”
Team of the Year for 2018 is the Vancouver Island University women’s volleyball team, which won the CCAA national championship.
Junior Team of the Year is the midget A2 Nanaimo Timbermen, who won the provincial championship in rep lacrosse.
Male Team Athlete of the Year is Usama Zaid, who starred with the VIU Mariners basketball team and was PacWest Player of the Year. Female Team Athlete of the Year also came from VIU, as Cara Dunlop was MVP of the PacWest championships as her Mariners won the provincial title.
Male Individual Athlete of the Year is Raf Korkowski, who set 11 provincial and national records in weightlifting, while Female Individual Athlete of the Year is runner Melissa Ross, who was first on the V.I. Endurance Trail Running Series and a number of other races.
This year’s winner of the Michael Rhode Memorial Award for longtime dedication to sport is hockey volunteer Terri Cook. Mountain biking volunteer Phil McGarrigle won the Steve Smith Memorial Award for contributions to extreme sport and Dan Brady was honoured with the Hero In You Award for his support of running, mountain biking and sports tourism.
Male Junior Team Athlete of the Year was Barsby Bulldogs linebacker Zach Taylor, Defensive Player of the Year in B.C., and Female Junior Team Athlete of the Year was NDSS volleyball player Jayden Saywell, MVP of Island championships.
Male Junior Individual Athlete of the Year is trampolinist Blake Mould, who made the national team, and Female Junior Individual Athlete of the Year is 10-pin bowler Jordan Singer who won two different provincial championships and two national titles in 2018.
Masters Athlete of the Year is Patti Rogers, who won six gold medals at the B.C. 55-Plus Games.
Partners of the Year are provincial- and national-champion five-pin bowlers Maranda Eby and Natalie McCallum.
High Performance Coach of the Year is Kaleb Toth from the Nanaimo Timbermen senior A lacrosse team, while Grassroots Coach of the Year is Rick Hart, cross-country running coach at Barsby. Sport Administrator of the Year goes to Rick Bevis of the Mariners Volleyball Club.
Official of the Year for 2018 is Garrett Watson, who officiates both soccer and lacrosse.
The evening’s guest speaker was Michael Olson, former Nanaimo Clippers captain who led the 2004 BCHL championship-winning team, went on to win a Canadian junior A Player of the Year award and played NCAA Div. 1 hockey and minor pro. Olson said young athletes can draw motivation from a lot of different sources, including negative experiences. He talked about how as a 14-year-old, he wasn’t selected to his zone team and was devastated.
“Looking back and seeing the successes I had after not making the only team I never made was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “Because of that negativity and using it as motivation, it became a huge positive in my life.”
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