COURTESY OF GAMING

Support4Sport is the largest source of funding for amateur sport in Nova Scotia.

Visit support4sport.ca Title Sponsor’s Message

elcome to the 2020 Support4Sport Awards! We are thrilled to be back supporting the most prestigious Wsport awards in Nova Scotia. Support4Sport has been a proud supporter of amateur sport in Nova Scotia for over a decade. In 2006, Nova Scotia Gaming partnered with Sport Nova Scotia to create the first dedicated revenue program in the province. This program has since raised over $42 million for community groups, provincial and community sport organizations, coaches, officials and athletes in Nova Scotia and is now the largest source of funding for amateur sport in our province. At Nova Scotia Gaming, we believe that sport goes far beyond the physical benefits, it brings people together and builds communities while teaching us qualities like teamwork and leadership. Everyone that has been honoured with these awards exemplifies excellence in sport, and we are proud to celebrate with you. On behalf of Nova Scotia Gaming and the Support4Sport Program, I would like to extend our congratulations to everyone. We are inspired by your dedication, perseverance and commitment to excellence in sport.

Bob MacKinnon, President & CEO Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation

Sport Nova Scotia’s Welcome

n behalf of Sport Nova Scotia, thank you for helping us celebrate the hard work and perseverance Odemonstrated by athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, families, sponsors, and sport organizations across the province. The provincial sport sector is a tight-knit community, and it’s been enlightening to see you pull together and support one another as we all do our best to navigate the global pandemic. From creative social media campaigns to video conference workouts, your commitment to sport is inspiring. Sport Nova Scotia and our provincial sport organization members embody over 160,000 Nova Scotians and these recipients represent the best of the best. This is an opportunity for us to reflect on all of the hard work each and every candidate has put in over the past year. You’ve all made a positive imprint on the sport sector and you should be very proud. We’ll be presenting over 200 awards this year, and we’re delighted to have our title sponsor here with us. Through their program Support4Sport, the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation has provided over $42 million to Nova Scotian communities and amateur sports since 2006. This evening wouldn’t be possible without them.

Farida Gabbani, Chair Sport Nova Scotia Board of Directors

3 Community Sport Organization Awards This award recognises community sport organizations for the incredible work they do to deliver sport opportunities to Nova Scotians. The award highlights the individuals and teams that make it all happen. They strive for excellence in how they operate, how they collaborate, innovate, lead, and, in some cases, use sport as a tool to create positive social change.

Sport Makes a Difference Awards The Sport Makes a Difference Award is presented to candidates who create, establish or initiate an innovative program, competition or event or demonstrate an outstanding example of fair play, thereby improving the sport system in Nova Scotia.

Provincial Sport Organization Awards Sport Nova Scotia recognizes that there are many individuals who have excelled in their sport in the past year. To pay tribute to these individuals, Sport Nova Scotia presents the volunteer, official, coach, team, junior male athlete, junior female athlete, senior male athlete and senior female athlete of the year awards to those individuals selected by their provincial sport organization. Provincial Sport Organization volunteers and sponsors of the year are also recognized at the Support4Sport Awards.

Support4Sport Awards The Support4Sport Awards are the best of the best. The winners of these overall awards are selected from the entire pool of Provincial Sport Organization Award winners in the following categories: official, coach, team, junior male athlete, junior female athlete, senior male athlete and senior female athlete of the year. Sport Nova Scotia follows the Sport judging process, appointing two different selection committees. Each committee is comprised of leaders of our provincial sport organizations, representatives from the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, the media and community stakeholders. Rankings are tabulated and the winners are announced tonight.

Sport Nova Scotia Chair Award The Sport Nova Scotia Chair Award recipient is selected by Sport Nova Scotia’s Chair of the Board of Directors. It is presented to an individual/family who has made a special and significant contribution to the development of sport in Nova Scotia and has had an impact on the quality of sport in the province.

4 5 Provincial Sport Organization VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ David Todd ~ Randy Crouse David has earned a reputation as the BNet guy. A long- Randy spearheaded the plan to construct a fully time volunteer, David is instrumental in every aspect accessible ballfield in Antigonish. After raising more when it comes to acquiring, installing, monitoring, than $500,000, the field became a reality when it putting away and storing BNet. This is a critical officially opened in July 2019. Randy also oversees function for Alpine Ski athletes to be safe during races Antigonish Challenger Baseball and is the provincial and David does it all without complaint, even making and national coordinator for Challenger Baseball, it fun with humorous BNet party emails. Dave and his which provides an opportunity for youth and adults fellow volunteers are affectionately referred to as Dave with cognitive and/or physical disabilities to enjoy the Todd and his Merry Band of BNetters. game. More than 300 athletes participate provincially and Challenger now totals more than Artistic Swimming ~ Lezlie Lowe 8,000 athletes. Randy’s passion has rubbed off on his Lezlie became chair of the board with Atlantis in 2016 son, Gehrig, eight, who completed his first year as a and has worked hard to boost numbers in the pre- Challenger Baseball buddy and mentor. competitive age categories to build a stronger base for the club. This change — a group effort of successive ~ Lori Shea boards and, while led by Lezlie, driven in tandem with Lori is a dedicated volunteer who helps Basketball Atlantis head coach Ally Merrill — has resulted in a Nova Scotia in multiple roles. In 2019, Lori was the doubling of Atlantis’s recreational enrolment, and the team manager for two provincial teams that travelled club’s national stream teams moving from consistent to Victoria, B.C. She managed planning, fundraising bottom-two placement to solidly middle-of-the-pack. and budgeting for the teams. Lori also helped BNS This year, Atlantis had an athlete invited to national with sourcing and managing volunteers and handled team trials for the first time. seedings for provincial championships. She’s always on top of her many tasks and is able to manage challenging Athletics ~ Ed James situations as they arise. Ed is the utility player every organization wants, going above and beyond in filling several roles. Whether Bicycle ~ Brianne Steinman dealing with hurdles, steeplechase barriers, blocks or The community voted her as the volunteer of the lane marker logistics, Ed is there to capably handle year for her contribution to cycling through her race it. He sits as a member-at-large on the ANS board of photographs. Brianne captures the action and great directors, and also filled the role of interim co-chair of moments in the sport. the ANS board in the fall as the search continued for a permanent chair. Ed was a key figure in taking care Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Cathy Sawler of equipment logistics for last summer’s 2019 Legion Cathy has been part of the Blind Sports Nova Scotia Youth National Championships in Cape Breton. board of directors since 2016. She has served as treasurer for the past two years, managing all the finances for the organization. In amateur sport, this is a critical role and, despite having a busy career, Cathy keeps the organization running smoothly.

6 Provincial Sport Organization VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Boxing ~ Greg Martin Figure Skate ~ Rozanne Raine Greg has spent more than 40 years as a coach. He Rozanne has been giving back to the skating community continues to coach, alongside his son, Daniel, at the for the past 35 years. All skating officials are volunteers Membertou Boxing Club, a club that offers free boxing and give their time for the training necessary to give to anyone wanting to learn the sweet science. Greg even more time when test days and competitions has also served eight terms in various positions on happen. Rozanne is a gold evaluator and junior level the executive of Boxing Nova Scotia and in 2019 was judge doing almost every competition and test day that elected BNS president. has been held in Nova Scotia this year. In addition, she has coordinated both the attendance of other officials Cross Country Ski ~ Lorenzo Caterini at these events and their training. Lorenzo is selfless in his dedication to the Halifax Nordic Ski Club (HNSC) and works tirelessly to make Golf ~ Bill MacMillan skiing possible and accessible. He has been the driving Bill has been volunteering with the NSGA for force behind the very successful relationship between more than 30 years and in 2019 received Golf HNSC and Brunello Golf Club and especially the Canada’s Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year award. fundraising and technical work to create the ‘snowbowl’ He works tirelessly as a referee, course rater and a board at Brunello — with snowmaking equipment and lights member at the provincial and national levels. During for night skiing. The snowbowl is a game changer for his 35 years with the NSGA, Bill rated over 2,400 HNSC as it enables the club to hold consistent weekly holes in seven provinces and two states. He has also lessons and is a crucial training venue for competitive been a referee at more than 270 provincial and national skiers when there is no snow anywhere else in Halifax. championships.

Equestrian ~ Alexandra Beaton ~ Tanya MacKenzie Alex gives her time and energy as a coach and mentor Tanya started volunteering for the Cobequid Spartans for many levels of equestrian. She is the Regional Show in 2000 and has been an integral member of the club Jumping Chair for NS Pony Club and supports the Pony ever since. Tanya has done everything from recruiting Club through lectures, coaching and examining. Alex is the club’s competitive coach to starting a building an accomplished coach, especially within her specialty fund and overseeing two building moves. Her ongoing of Eventing. She was also instrumental in ensuring contributions to the club include running staff NS Pony Club successfully hosted the Canadian Pony meetings, doing newsletters, taking care of payroll, Club National Show Jumping Championships in paying bills, purchasing needed supplies, hiring and Windsor. She assisted with the planning, promotion helping with grant applications as well as cleaning and and execution of the four-day event. maintaining the gym.

7 Provincial Sport Organization VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Judo ~ Angele LeBlanc Orienteering ~ Kara Turner Angele was instrumental in the re-opening of the Kara took on many initiatives to introduce Nova Nova United Martial Arts (NUMA) club. A dedicated Scotians to orienteering. She runs clinics at summer volunteer, Angele spends at least four evenings a camps and for running and outdoor clubs, especially week there, working on administration, promotion, in the South Shore area. Kara also co-facilitated planning, and implementation of club programming. orienteering intro sessions for newcomers to Nova Angele also prepares the NUMA team for upcoming Scotia in partnership with ISANS. She has given talks tournaments, provides communication to parents, and about aspects of orienteering at the 2019 Hike Nova chaperons athletes who require a chaperone in order to Scotia Summit and Bay to Bay Trail AGM. Kara was compete. She builds relationships with other clubs in published in Eco Parent magazine for her article Five Nova Scotia, and beyond, to share best practices and Reasons Orienteering is your New Favourite Sport. organize joint training opportunities. Rope Skipping ~ Laura Horne Karate ~ Cary Hollett Laura has been one of the most helpful and reliable Cary serves as tournament coordinator. His role volunteers in the long history of the Jump Energy includes organizing registration and then overseeing Rope Skipping Club. She’s always the first to jump into all aspects of the tournament. When events are over, action when something needs to be done, whether in Cary compiles all the standings for each division, the competition gym, helping new parents with rules or and sends to each dojo coach. He breaks out all the judging support. Laura is also a key figure in organizing information by tournament, dojo, athlete and overall. fundraising for her team. This information helps coaches evaluate and prepare their athletes. Cary also saved rental costs for Karate Rowing ~ Joan Backman Nova Scotia by researching and finalizing a deal for a Joan was instrumental in the formation of the used travel trailer to store tatami mats. Row NS President’s Committee, which has vitally improved inter-club communication and the sharing ~ Steve Brown of knowledge. Joan has also been a key figure in the Steve’s dedication to the sport of lacrosse dates back emergence of coastal rowing in Nova Scotia. Her more than 40 years. His hard work promoting the support and guidance of the Lunenburg Rowing Club sport was particularly evident in 2019 when the Wolves resulted in the club hosting the province’s first coastal Lacrosse Club saw their spring registration numbers regatta in the summer of 2019. Joan is a longtime board balloon to more than 200 players — a new best for the member in Nova Scotia rowing and an accomplished club. Steve is president of the Wolves and his endless umpire. hours of volunteering and vision have made the club what it is today. Their 8U age group alone had an Rugby ~ Geno Carew exceptional number of first time and returning players Geno has been at the helm of for (60 plus), attracted by a quality program. the past eight years. During his tenure as president, the organization has seen growth in several areas, including number of athletes, number of clubs and in programming. Notably, with his leadership, RNS was able to expand staff from one part-time position, to two full-timers and one part-time position — all of which contribute to overall development in the sport. Geno’s dedication is unmatched.

8 Provincial Sport Organization VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Snowboard ~ John Doucet Swimming ~ The Curly Girls John is the consummate volunteer who is always Stephanie Sealy and Krista Chen, better known as helping out at NS Snowboard events. He also served the Curly Girls, are outstanding volunteers in various as the team manager for the NS Snowboard speed capacities, including overseeing hospitality at major development team for the 2019-2020 season. events. The Dartmouth Crusaders duo has welcomed officials and coaches to provincial championships every Soccer ~ Lindsay Van Kessel summer for the past six years, ensuring everyone is well President, administrator, development lead, coach, and hydrated and nourished by providing home cooked community leader are just some of the roles Lindsay meals and greeting everyone with a friendly smile. has filled through his contributions as a dedicated volunteer. He currently sits on numerous boards and is Table Tennis ~ Stephane Craan a central figure in the development of soccer on Nova Steph has been running his club in Canning for 16 Scotia’s South Shore with Thunder FC. Lindsay is a years. During that time, Steph has had a positive recruiter and mentor for coaches of all ages and stages. influence on a great number of people in the region. Thunder FC’s coaching retention rate is well over 90% This year, he has 30 players participating with the and the club has experienced membership growth every Annapolis Valley Table Tennis Club — a mix of high year for the past three years. school and university students as well as adults. His club runs two Nova Scotia Table Tennis provincial Speed Skate ~ Don Mosher tournaments each year as well as hosting the Nova Don’s involvement in speed skating started almost 10 Scotia School Athletic Federation regionals. years ago when he answered a desperate call for help. Organizers were struggling to get enough officials to TaeKwonDo ~ Duane McOnie work the short track and long track events at the 2011 Duane is the secretary of the Maritime TaeKwonDo Canada Winter Games. Don stepped up with his Union (MTU) and keeps the sport organization and international officiating experience in paddling and board running smoothly. After manually managing completed the necessary training. He’s now a certified MTU membership the past three years, Duane Level II starter. Don has travelled to Quebec to attend adopted software to streamline the process. The new an advanced officials course and regularly volunteers software, including web page, allowed for direct signup at competitions across the Maritimes. He also trains and more flexibility in managing the more than 20 other starters. member schools and close to 1,000 members across the province. Communicating with members and ~ Angelia VanderLaan processing payments for membership applications also Angelia is a familiar face on the Squash Nova Scotia improved. scene. If there’s an event in Halifax, you’ll see Angelia checking you in, managing the board, or finding you after your win to give you the prize of refereeing the next match. She also serves as a Team Captain in the Halifax Squash League and has managed her team while travelling for work from such destinations of Vancouver, , and even Barcelona.

9 Provincial Sport Organization VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Volleyball ~ Sharyn Hiscock Wrestling ~ Sharon Charlton Wanting a place for young women to play volleyball, Sharon has filled the role of secretary for the Wrestling Sharyn started the Digby Crossfires in 2013. Initially, Nova Scotia board of directors for almost two there were just 16 players. This year, the club had the years, assisting the organization on planning, policy biggest turnout in its history with 110 girls showing development, and resources to help the organization up for tryouts — making the Digby Crossfires one of grow. She attends almost every wrestling event in the largest clubs in the province. From the beginning, the province, always ready to pitch in where needed. Sharyn has handled almost all aspects of running the Sharon also dedicates her time to the Metro Amateur club so coaches could focus on coaching. She books Wrestling Club (MAWC) through organizing practices, tournaments, lines up hotels, sets up fundraisers, orders booking facilities, organizing logistics for athletes and equipment and more. coaches travelling to tournaments, and much more.

10 Provincial Sport Organization MAJOR CORPORATE SPONSORS OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ Steve Earle Cross Country Ski ~ Hub Cycle Steve gives his time and financial support to the Hub Cycle in Truro is a key supporter of cross-country Martock Ski Race Club. His company, WCL Bauld skiing in Nova Scotia. Hub Cycle provides expert advice Insurance, is a generous corporate sponsor of the on equipment, financial support for cross country ski club, helping this year with the purchase of insurance clubs and events, access to high-level equipment for coverage on a new policy. As volunteer equipment provincial ski team members and outstanding service. manager for the club, Steve inventoried all the club- In 2019, Hub Cycle also played a major role in helping owned equipment. He also built storage for the Cross Country Nova Scotia and the Halifax Nordic speed skis, labelled all the equipment and developed Ski Club purchase new equipment for a school ski a sign out system to track equipment. He supported program and public try-it events. Owners Bruce and an application for grant funding and was integral in Daisy Roberts consistently go the extra mile. making sure Super G athletes had properly sized and fitted speed skis for events. Equestrian ~ ScrapCo Atlantic ScrapCo Atlantic and owner Jennifer Poole have Basketball ~ Eastlink given generously to the sport of equestrian. ScrapCo Eastlink is a valued community partner. Eastlink and Atlantic’s known contributions span across several Basketball Nova Scotia have cultivated their relationship disciplines and include events for beginner to advanced over several years. Eastlink has been instrumental in participants. Poole and her company have contributed helping to grow the sport and in putting Nova Scotia to Draft, Reining, Exhibitions, Driving, Barrel Racing, basketball athletes on a community, provincial, national Hunter/Jumper, Dressage, and 4H. In addition to their and international stage. Eastlink is always open to amazing contributions to equestrian, they support new ideas on how to work together in the community environmental projects, events, Relay for Life, the to engage more families in basketball and help more Alzheimer’s Society and many other organizations and athletes play. charities.

Bicycle ~ Java Blend Golf ~ MCT Insurance Java Blend and its sister café, Cortado, have been For the past 10 years, Macdonald Chisholm Trask supporting cycling clubs for years. Insurance (MCT) is the major sponsor for the NSGA Men’s Amateur and Men’s Mid-Amateur Canoe Kayak ~ Lake City Cider Championships. MCT also offers preferred rates for Lake City Cider has been an ideal partner for canoe- all members of the NSGA. “Taking care of people, it’s kayak. The Dartmouth-based cidery has supported what we do” is a mantra MCT lives up to corporately, events and provided goods and services. Lake City and through its community involvement, including hosted canoe-kayak’s volunteer appreciation night and as sponsorship, and volunteering opportunities. MCT continues to promote the values of the sport. Lake City is one of the largest independent brokerages in the owner Poet Comeau is a former paddler and embraced region, with more than 110 insurance professionals in the opportunity to give back. 18 community-based urban and rural offices.

11 Provincial Sport Organization MAJOR CORPORATE SPONSORS OF THE YEAR

Rugby ~ Atlantic Gold Corporation Wrestling ~ Crossfit Basinview Atlantic Gold sponsors the Keltics senior women’s Crossfit Basinview allows the Metro Amateur Wrestling team. The company jumped in to help, seeing the Club (MAWC) to train rent-free in its facilities. partnership as a natural fit considering the values The company also offers free crossfit training on of the company and the program. Atlantic Gold Saturday morning to the athletes. The people at Corporation, of St Barbara Limited, believes in Crossfit Basinview are selfless and community-driven supporting the communities in which they operate supporters of not only wrestling, but also of physical through volunteering, in-kind support and sponsorship activity and healthy living. of groups, events, activities and initiatives.

Volleyball ~ Lifemark Lifemark has donated hundreds of hours to Volleyball Nova Scotia over the years. Lifemark’s talented therapists have been of great service at many of VNS’s biggest events, helping players prepare for competition while also serving as first responders. This community- minded company has been an excellent partner and has always been incredibly generous with its support.

12 Provincial Sport Organization OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR

Artistic Swimming ~ Maurice Hurley Boxing ~ Kyle Clarke Maurice has been refereeing for 10 years throughout the Kyle, a Level 3 official, worked the Nova Scotia Atlantic region while holding various positions on the provincials as well as club cards. Kyle keeps on top of board of directors as well as carrying out many other duties his officiating through courses and testing. on deck at competitions. On the NSAS circuit, Maurice worked the technical elements meet, the provincial Cross Country Ski ~ Rejean Chamberland championships and the provincial invitational meet. He Rejean has been an official at every single event North was also an official at the Atlantic championships. Maurice Highlands Nordic Ski Club has hosted since 1987. This is a very hard working and accomplished volunteer. includes the 1987 , 1989 junior national championships, numerous Atlantic and provincial Badminton ~ Áine Humble championships and the Nordic Loppet that has taken Áine continues to hone her umpiring skills at the place every year for the last 35 years. He’s always one provincial, Atlantic and national levels. She has of the first officials on site to help set up for races, and attended multiple tournaments throughout the season has been part of the timing crew for every race over the in , contributing to their quality and past 10 years, usually as the official starter. success. She regularly assists in developing new umpires and providing feedback to regional umpires to improve Figure Skate ~ Gregor MacLean their skills. recognized Áine’s A former successful skater, Gregor has been giving back efforts when she received her national certification this to the skating community for more than 35 years at season at senior national championships. both the provincial and national levels. He’s a national level referee and judge, provincial level technical Basketball ~ Matt Boyle controller & technical specialist, diamond & gold Canada Basketball officials selected Matt to represent Canada evaluator and data specialist. Gregor has officiated at at the Jr. NBA Global Championship. This is the highest many national competitions used to name world and level of competition for U14 athletes and a great chance for Olympic team members, as well as multiple Canada high level officials to get training from NBA officials. Matt Games, where one of the most meaningful events for is the only Nova Scotian official to be FIBA certified and was him is the Special Olympic category. awarded his FIBA 3x3 license this past summer. Golf ~ Dave Bolton Bicycle ~ Pat MacDonald Dave has been volunteering, and refereeing with the Pat officiated at the Kentville Canada Cup. The event NSGA for the past three years. During the 2019 is the only stop for the Canada Cup series in Atlantic season, Bolton was a lead referee at the Canadian Canada. Men’s Amateur Championship, the highest amateur competition in the country. The event attracts the top Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Jeff Sawler amateur golfers from across Canada and the globe, After becoming Nova Scotia’s first certified goalball representing more than 12 countries. Dave also served referee five years ago, Jeff has volunteered to referee as lead referee at various provincial championships the Nova Scotia annual goalball tournament every across Nova Scotia. He’s the NSGA 2nd vice president, November. He has also been selected by the Canadian chair of the NSGA rules & handicapping committees, Blind Sports Association to referee at several national and a representative on the board of goalball tournaments, including the Canadian senior directors. When not refereeing, Dave is educating and championships. Jeff gained his referee certification training the next group of referees and golfers. through the CBSA program and maintains his status through the number of games he works each season.

13 Provincial Sport Organization OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR

Gymnastics ~ Thorne Sutherland Orienteering ~ Pam James Thorne served as a judge at the Trampoline World Cup Pam not only competes as an accomplished orienteer, in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Federation International de she also helps to make events happen. In 2019, Pam was Gymnastique designated Baku as a Group 1 event, the an official at four events hosted by the Annapolis Valley highest classification and on the same level as world Orienteering Club. She was also the controller and championships and Olympic Games. It was the first co-event director for the Bluenose Classic Provincial event in the Olympic qualification process for Championships held in Long Lake Provincial Park. 2020. Officials are selected based on experience and The event attracted more than 100 participants. level of Brevet, which is issued by FIG. Only judges Pam plans quality events that are fun, challenging holding a Category 1 or Category 2 Brevet are eligible and fair for orienteers. She also plans extra training to attend. activities to help Nova Scotian orienteers develop.

Hockey ~ Shauna Neary Rope Skipping ~ Sarah Miles Shauna has officiated at the highest level in Canada Sarah is the judging coordinator for RSANS and at university and national championships. Shauna officiated at the national championships. Sarah was assigned to the IIHF Women’s World Hockey continues to be the most valuable and reliable member Championship (Division III) in Sofia, Bulgaria. The of our officiating team. She coordinated all officials tournament took place last December. She’s the only at the RSANS Provincial Championships and judged Level V female official in Hockey Nova Scotia and is several events at the Rope Skipping Canada National the referee-in-chief for Metro West Female Hockey Championships. Association. In addition to her own development, she continues to mentor and coach young officials through Rowing ~ Yetta Withrow supervision and instruction at HNS development Yetta is a tireless supporter of the sport of rowing. Her events. involvement goes back more than 20 years, including more than 14 as a Nova Scotia RCA umpire. Yetta Karate ~ David Griffin goes out of her way to make sure regattas can run David is well known and well respected in karate circles. efficiently and safely not only by upholding the RCA He is Karate Nova Scotia’s premier official. David rules of racing as an umpire, but by making herself oversees all provincial tournaments and certification. available to the regatta local organizing committee He’s one of the senior officials in national tournaments, for additional duties. She brings depth of knowledge, and has also achieved international certification. professionalism and an excitement for racing to every regatta she attends. Lacrosse ~ Morgan Faircloth Morgan is a dedicated box lacrosse official, always Rugby ~ Chad Mahoney striving for improvement. In her fifth year of officiating, Chad is recognized as a knowledgeable match official Morgan is a Level 3 official who works games in the and has advanced to become a match official educator. Metro Minor Lacrosse League (MMLL) at all age He has refereed at the Canadian rugby championship categories, male and female games. Her commitment and USport levels. Like many match officials, Chad to perfecting her game-management skills is also worked his way up and put a great deal of time into shown through her willingness to learn from senior his development. He started off refereeing local high officials and travel outside the Halifax region to help school and club games. referee. Morgan was accepted as a referee for female box nationals last summer in B.C where she officiated the 14U bronze medal game and the 16U gold medal game.

14 Provincial Sport Organization OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR

Snowboard ~ Eric Weigelin Squash ~ Thomas Hori Eric was selected to be chief of start for the Snowboard Thomas is a provincial level official who is also Atlantic cross FIS race at Ski Martock in February. A FIS level Canada’s only certified referee assessor. event is the highest level of competition for any snow He’s devoted to referee development and to helping sport. Eric, a Level 2 official, was picked for the role rebuild the pool of provincially qualified officials. by FIS TD and chief of competition. Thomas has been the tournament referee for many of Nova Scotia’s provincially sanctioned events, including Soccer ~ Marie-Soleil Beaudoin for the SMUFit Autumn Classic. Marie-Soleil was one of 75 referees from around the world selected to officiate at the 2019 FIFA Women’s Swimming ~ Beth Casey World Cup in . She worked four matches, Beth has been officiating at the club and provincial level including the Round of 16 showdown between host for almost 10 years and is one of 16 Level IV officials France and Brazil. Her performance in that game in Nova Scotia. She volunteers at various meets across earned her an appointment as referee for the semifinal the province and shares her expertise and experience between the Netherlands and Sweden. Marie-Soleil by teaching fellow officials at clinics. She’s a mentor was also the referee for the senior women’s final, to many. This past year, Beth travelled to all parts of worked games in the and Nova Scotia, from Cape Breton to Yarmouth, to run was appointed to referee France’s national women’s clinics and assist clubs with hosting meets. professional final. Table Tennis ~ Erica Ans Softball ~ Darren Gerrior It was a landmark year in Erica’s officiating. She Darren was one of two Canadian umpires appointed to became the first female in Canada, and only the second the WBSC Men’s World Softball Championship. The female in North America, to attain the certification top 16 national teams in the world competed at the event. level of International Referee. Erica travelled to Darren is the provincial umpire-in-chief, a position Japan to take part in International Referee School he has held since 2017. He has also been a presenter where she was one of 10 candidates, and the only to at the Blue Convention, which is the flagship achieve the distinguished certification. She was also training opportunity for Softball Canada umpires, Canada’s representative as table tennis umpire at the and an instructor at the national umpire school. In in Lima, Peru. Erica umpired 2019, Darren also worked the Canadian women’s both the women’s singles and team event finals. Erica championship. finished 2019 as deputy referee at the North American Challenge Plus tournament in in December. Speed Skate ~ Brent Thompson Brent has been involved in speed skating for more TaeKwonDo ~ Dylan Bennet than 40 years. Brent started as an athlete, then became For the past two years, Dylan has served as an official a coach and more recently has worked on his referee for grassroot and developing competitors to high credentials. He has officiated at provincial, regional performance athletes at many tournaments throughout and national events. Brent facilitates clinics for Nova Scotia. Dylan enjoys the challenge of officiating officials and oversees the certification process, always high performance athletes, including national and volunteering his time, energy, expertise in a supportive international competitors, seeing it as an avenue to environment. He’s also instrumental in making speed testing and improving his abilities. Dylan has also skating events happen whether it’s setting up lines and played a role in creating draws and ring management equipment, ensuring safety standards or working with at competitions. club members and facility personnel.

15 Provincial Sport Organization OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR

Volleyball ~ Suzanne Dittmer Wrestling ~ Kim Walsh Susanne is a veteran volleyball official who has achieved Kim was upgraded to a National C officiating level this the highest certification (Level 4) available in Canada. year at the Eastern Canadian Championships. He’s an She’s an inspiration to younger referees and has earned ex-wrestler and a longtime (40-plus years) coach who is the respect of players and coaches through her elite transitioning to the role of official to remain involved in officiating, which includes taking the stand for matches wrestling. He officiates at all age groups and was set to at all levels from junior high to national championships. officiate at this year’s U17-U19 national championships Susanne helps other referees in her role as a nationally until the event was cancelled because of COVID-19. certified mentor and evaluator.

16 Provincial Sport Organization COACHES OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ Remi Poirier Basketball ~ Fabian McKenzie Remi was one of two head coaches selected to lead Nova Fabian’s extensive basketball resume earned him the Scotia at the U16 nationals at Sun Peaks in B.C. this position of head coach of Canada Basketball’s U18 past March. The former Atlantic Alpine ski racer gained women’s team. This follows a successful summer as international coaching experience out West in classic an assistant coach with Canada Basketball’s 2019 Alpine and Ski Cross events and is now putting that development women’s national team, which competed vast knowledge to work in Nova Scotia. Remi started at the Pan American Games. In Lima, Peru, Canada as head coach with the Martock Ski Race Club last fall. finished sixth after falling 59-54 to Argentina. Fabian, After one short season, Remi has built an impressive a native of Glace Bay, is well known for his work, and coaching staff. success, with the CBU Capers women’s program.

Artistic Swimming ~ Ally Merrill Bicycle ~ Jon Burgess As head coach at the Atlantis Synchronized Swimming Jon coaches the provincial team. A third-place showing Club, Ally has developed programs at the recreational out of 50 at XCO nationals highlighted the season. and competitive levels. Ally has increased the number of club coaches, added support coaches for Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Linda MacRae Triff competitive teams and incorporated strength and Linda’s leadership in her role as coach helped Nova mental awareness training. During the COVID-19 Scotia nab double gold at the Canadian Junior Goalball crisis and with pools closed, Ally turned to Skype to Championships. It was the first time Nova Scotia took continue training sessions. Last summer, she identified the boys and girls titles at the event. Four Nova Scotia a boot camp in Alberta as a prime learning opportunity athletes were named as top tournament players. Linda and travelled there with three swimmers. Ally also also coaches youth, senior and recreational teams. volunteered countless hours to support an athlete selected to attend junior national team selection trials. Boxing ~ Brad Ross She’s a valuable resource and mentor for fellow coaches. Brad is the high performance lead for Boxing Nova Scotia. He also served as head coach of Team Nova Badminton ~ Leon Fu Scotia for the 2019 Canadian Olympic qualifier Leon puts countless hours into developing junior tournament. players in Nova Scotia. He’s the coach of the largest and most successful club in the province — the Junior Cross Country Ski ~ Jack Soloman Badminton Training Centre (JBTC). The athletes Jack is a highly dedicated coach of beginner to training under Leon made huge strides in 2019, with intermediate adult skiers, which is the most important many of them winning provincial and Atlantic titles, demographic for expanding the sport in Nova Scotia. and one athlete winning a National Junior Elites singles Jack has provided coaching support to the provincial title. Leon has begun the Badminton Canada coach ski team, but his most important role has been to development pathway. coordinate and teach adult ski classes — helping to grow the number of families engaged in cross country skiing. Many of the people Jack has coached at the Halifax Nordic Ski Club have gone from novice to racer in one season — a sign that he inspires confidence as well as teaching technical skills.

17 Provincial Sport Organization COACHES OF THE YEAR

Equestrian ~ Angie Holt Karate ~ Mitchell German Angie is an innovator, a mentor and a successful A dedicated coach, Mitchell organizes tournaments executive director with the Halifax Junior Bengal and directs the training necessary for athletes to Lancers. She has made significant contributions to the compete at the Senior National equestrian community by recognizing the importance of Championships. One of Mitchell’s athletes, Ryan both athlete and equine health. Several of her students O’Neil, has accomplished enough on a national level earned top-5 finishes in Nova Scotia Hunter Jumper to earn a Fueling Athlete and Coaching Excellence Association divisions. One of her athletes competed (FACE) grant. The work the two have done together in the 1.2m JC Anderson Legacy Medal National has put Ryan in the mix for Olympic qualification. Finals and the CET Medal Regional Finals. Angie has also mentored instructor candidates, and increased Lacrosse ~ Kristen Fortune participation for therapeutic athlete programs. Kristen has thrown herself into developing and growing female field lacrosse. She showcased her Figure Skate ~ Charleen Cameron lacrosse coaching skills as the 2019 head coach for You don’t necessarily have to go away to be successful. Nova Scotia’s U19 field lacrosse team and also as a Charleen set out to make that point, creating a pair team coach for the Bluenose Field Lacrosse League. In short that stays and trains in Nova Scotia — and the results are order, Kristen shaped the U19 provincial team into a impressive. Gabrielle Levesque and Pier-Alexandre Hudon cohesive unit that had a great showing at the Canadian have earned two national bronze medals and placed 15th Lacrosse Association nationals in Peterborough, Ont. at junior worlds while training under coach Charleen. Players praised Kristen for her level-headed approach Now, five young pair teams are training in Nova Scotia. and outstanding communication skills.

Gymnastics ~ Rope Skipping ~ Cameron Short A two-time Olympic athlete, David started coaching Coach Cameron played a pivotal role in supporting as a teenager in 1996 and has been assisting Canadian Jump Energy at the 2019 Rope Skipping Canada gymnasts ever since. In the case of Ellie Black, the two National Championships. After a senior athlete suffered have teamed up for record-smashing success. Ellie an injury, Cameron helped hold the team together dominated at the winning a throughout the rest of the competition. Her leadership whopping five medals, including two gold (all-around, guided the team to an overall bronze medal finish — all ). She became Canada’s most decorated Pan Am with a substitute athlete from Alberta. She also helped gymnast. Ellie also finished fourth all-around at the several other Jump Energy athletes jump to several gold, 2019 world championships. David has been named silver and bronze finishes. one of the lead coaches for the next Olympic Games. Rowing ~ Patrick Cody Judo ~ Jason Scott It was a banner season for Pat and the athletes he coached. Jason re-opened the Nova United Martial Arts (NUMA) For a second straight year, Pat was selected by Rowing club and membership grew to more than 100 in less than Canada to the RCA NextGen coaching staff for the a year. Jason is an avid promoter of the sport to all age World Rowing Junior Championships. This time, the groups. He has coached many judokas at tournaments women’s quad, coached by Pat climbed to fourth place. such as the Eastern Canadian championships, Fall In 2019, athletes coached and mentored by Pat competed Classic, and the Kanokai Tournament, having his at the senior world championships, junior world athletes medal at all of these competitions. At the Eastern championships, CanAmMex and Trans Tasmin regattas. Canadian tournament, Jason coached 16 athletes and Pat also led Team Nova Scotia to three medals, including the athletes earned 11 medals, including four gold. two gold, at the National Rowing Championships.

18 Provincial Sport Organization COACHES OF THE YEAR

Rugby ~ Jack Hanratty Squash ~ Janet MacLeod Jack continues to wear many hats in helping rugby The Pan American junior team squash championships players in the region and across the country. In 2019 were held in Canada for the first time last June and alone, he was renamed head coach of the Canada’s Janet coached the national women’s team to gold. A national women’s U20 squad, served as an assistant coach total of 78 athletes represented 12 countries at the with the senior women’s national team and was Rugby under-19 event in Toronto. Janet also served as manager Nova Scotia’s provincial coach. He’s also well known and assistant coach at the world junior women’s team for his work with the Keltics Academy. Jack has stepped squash championships last summer in Kuala, Lumpur, up to help the sport in every way, including grassroots Malaysia. She serves as chair of the coaching committee programming, high performance training, coaching for Squash Canada. development and in the areas of health and safety. Swimming ~ Miranda Elliot Snowboard ~ Kimberly Sutherland Miranda’s coaching continues to help athletes develop Kim has been the development race coach for NS and excel. She’s the head coach and meet manager for Snowboard for the past two seasons. This season she the Truro Centurions and last season coached at the had great success with her team. They travelled to Canadian junior national swimming championships. Bromont, Que., for a regional level snowboard cross Madison Bond and Craig Bush, both members of the event where she had one athlete narrowly miss the NextGen team, competed at junior nationals. Madison podium with a fourth-place finish. finished 12th in the women’s 200m breaststroke and 14th in the women’s 100m breaststroke while Craig placed Soccer ~ Hilary Wagg 30th in the men’s 100m and 200m butterfly events. Hilary did double duty last season. She was head coach of the HCU U13AA girls’ team as well as assistant TaeKwonDo ~ Helbert Porter coach of the U17AAA girls’ team. Hilary helped Helbert coached five athletes at the 2019 Pan American lead the U13AA girls to third place in league play, Open and three of them earned gold. He also took a as well as a first-place finish at the SNS provincial team to the U.S. Open for the 10th consecutive year championships, giving them a spot in the U13AA and the eight-athlete contingent came away with Atlantic club championship for the second year in a five top-seven finishes, including one gold and one row. The U17AAA girls, meanwhile, claimed fourth at bronze. About 2,500 black belt competitors from 74 the national club championship in October. countries attended the U.S. Open. Helbert also served as Team Canada coach at the 2019 Pan Am Junior Speed Skate ~ Lauren Muzak-Ruff Championships. Athletes under Helbert’s guidance Lauren leads the Annapolis Valley Speed Skating also entered the Canada Open and Pan American Club’s competitive program and she also works with Presidents Cup. the skills development and recreational groups. She designs and delivers on-ice and dryland sessions. She Tennis ~ Juan Barreto also works with skaters on goal-setting and on charting Coach Juan achieved the feat of completing two levels their progress. Many AVSSC skaters achieved personal of certification within four months. A challenging task bests this season and two athletes turned in stellar considering a candidate has to finish a certain number performances at the 2020 of hours after the first level before being able to register Winter Games in Thunder Bay. The club also had for the Club Professional 1 course. Juan’s rapport with its first female, and youngest ever, qualifier for the students is truly exemplary for any coach in any sport Canadian Youth Short Track Championships — East. and plays a major part in his coaching success at both the grassroots and high performance levels.

19 Provincial Sport Organization COACHES OF THE YEAR

Volleyball ~ Jennifer Weatherhead Wrestling ~ Tommy Chubbs Jennifer is an integral member of the Fury Volleyball Tommy is fully committed to coaching his athletes, Club. She became director of the club in late 2019 travelling across Canada and the United States to and was successful in her application for a Manulife bring athletes together for camps and tournaments. Financial Community Sports Grant to support Fury He coaches the most successful wrestling athlete in Ignite360; a project focused on the club’s three pillars: Nova Scotia with results including a gold medal at the Develop, Empower and Compete. The grant supports U19 level of the Mohawk Valley International. Despite mental health, physical training, nutrition, coach and geographical challenges, Tommy finds ways to get athlete development and provides greater access to the the training and opportunities required. Tommy has sport through new programming at the grassroots level. invited other athletes and coaches to training camps During competition in 2019, Jennifer guided her 14U in Cape Breton and constantly shares his knowledge. girls team to silver at provincials.

20 Provincial Sport Organization TEAMS OF THE YEAR

Artistic Swimming ~ Halifax Aqua Nova’s PS11-12 Team Lacrosse ~ Box Lacrosse Team NS Peewee Boys Halifax Aqua Nova’s PS11-12 team turned in a The Nova Scotia peewee boys team attended the dominating season, including a gold-medal performance Canadian Lacrosse Association’s Box Lacrosse National at the Atlantic Regional Championships. Eden Championships. Team Nova Scotia played well through Stapledon, Alice MacDonald, Leah McLean, Rowan the round robin and advanced to the bronze medal game LaPointe, Ella Jewer and Paige Yanosky made up the for this age category. The boys placed fourth overall in team’s roster. Not only did these girls swim together as the tournament, which was the best showing for a young a team, each of them did a second routine, either as a team from LNS.“It was an honour and a treat to be a duet or soloist. These young swimmers strive to achieve part of the 2019 team,” said one of the coaches. personal bests at meets with members consistently placing in the top three for both figures and routines. Rope Skipping ~ Electrified Electrified worked through a mid-competition injury Baseball ~ Nova Scotia 17U Selects to manage a third overall finish at the national The N.S. 17U Selects made history, becoming the first championships. The team still had their strongest event, team from Atlantic Canada to win the Canada Cup. double dutch pairs freestyle, left to do with only three of The prestigious Baseball Canada event, featuring the top their four members. With the help of their coaches, they players from across the country, is usually dominated by avoided disqualification by teaming up with an athlete the big three of , Quebec and . from Alberta. They reconfigured their routine and went But the mighty N.S. squad went 6-1 in 2019, earning on to finish third overall in the always tough 15 to 17 victories against Manitoba, Alberta, Newfoundland, female division. Electrified team members are Hanna New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. The Canada Janes, Bailey Poirier, Amy Randell and Karly Turner. Cup serves as the last stop for many players going on to post-secondary or professional opportunities. Rugby ~ Women’s Valley The Valley Rugby Union is a collaboration between the Basketball ~ North Preston Bulls - U14 Boys Valley Bulldogs and Windsor Machine rugby clubs. In The North Preston Bulls reached the national qualifiers its inaugural year, the women’s team came together to used to select a team to represent Canada at the Jr. NBA compete in the Division 1 and Division 2 league. The Global Championship. The Bulls won Basketball Nova joint venture provided development opportunities for all Scotia’s U14 boys division 1 provincial championship to players, while maintaining a competitive environment. advance to the regional championship. After defeating Both sides claimed first place heading into playoffs, with teams from Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince the Division 2 team losing in the semifinals, and the Edward Island, the Bulls went on to compete in the Jr. Division 1 team claiming the provincial title. Together, NBA Canadian qualifiers in Ontario where they finished the two teams had a record of 16-1. with a record of one win and three losses. Soccer ~ U15AAA Halifax CITY girls team Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Nova Scotia Junior Boys Team The U15AAA Halifax CITY girls team is a story of Nova Scotia went undefeated in repeating as the perseverance, commitment and teamwork. Coming off gold-medal winner at the Canadian Junior Goalball a 2018 season in which the team managed just two wins, Championship. The format is a double-round robin with the girls worked extremely hard during the winter and semifinals and a final. In the past four years, the Nova went on to win six games in league play. The momentum Scotia boys have won two gold medals and two silver carried into the summer season when Halifax CITY medals. The tournament boasts the best junior goalball finished atop the standings (10-2-2). With only 12 athletes from across Canada. Several of those athletes players, they lost the final on penalty kicks, narrowly also play for their senior provincial teams. missing the opportunity to represent Nova Scotia at the national club championships.

21 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ Shane Sommer Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Mason Smith Shane, 15, continues to dominate the regional ski race Mason’s strong play paced Nova Scotia to a second circuit and impress on the national stage. He qualified straight gold medal at the Canadian Junior Goalball for U16 nationals via a national point selection process Championships. Mason was chosen as one of the and finished eighth in GS before the U16 event was top three male players from the 12-team field. He cancelled due to the evolving pandemic. After two was named to the 2019-2020 national team pool straight seasons of excellence, Shane is striving for an and is eligible for selection to the Canadian National invite to the NextGen team in the near Goalball Team for international competitions. Mason future. also played on the senior provincial team, which won bronze at senior nationals and gold at the 5th annual Athletics ~ Alex Amero Nova Scotia Tournament. Alex makes a habit of rising to the occasion at big meets. The Canadian U20 Track and Field Championships Boxing ~ Matthew Ross were no exception. Alex, a member of the Truro Lions, Matt continues to excel in the 69-kilogram division, placed fifth in a strong field of 12 in javelin with a fighting at the national championships in B.C. The personal best of 56.43m. He also came eighth in discus New Waterford fighter won a bronze medal at the last with a throw of 41.97m. Canada Winter Games.

Badminton ~ Veer Kundhi Canoe Kayak ~ Andrew Billard Veer is an up-and-coming athlete. The young and Andrew competed in major events at the highest level talented Veer was selected to Canada’s national attainable for his age. He won the B final, placing him badminton team for the Pan American Junior 10th overall, in the C1 1000 metres at the 2019 ICF Championships in Moncton in 2019. He was the only Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships. player outside of Ontario to be chosen to represent Andrew, a member at Maskwa Aquatic Club, also raced Canada in the U13 division. Veer made it to the top 16 to a pair of gold medals at the prestigious Olympic at the Pan Am Championships before being defeated. Hopes Regatta in September in Bratislava, Slovakia. In local competition, Veer is challenging older players The event is a top international regatta for young in the U19 and senior categories. paddlers. Andrew was first in the C1 500m and C1 1000m. Basketball ~ Keyonte Beals Keyonte was the only Nova Scotian athlete invited to Cross Country Ski ~ Ogen Newcomb Canada Basketball’s U16 men’s selection camp in 2019. Ogen competed at the Eastern Canadian The Dartmouth native was selected as an alternate. The Championships, part of the NORAM Cup national Canadian team went on to compete at the 2019 FIBA points series race. He came 28th out of 63. Ogen U16 Americas Championship in Belem, Brazil, where managed the result despite very limited access to they placed second after falling 94-77 to the United adequate snow for training. His performance reflects States. Eight countries were represented. a savvy ability to be resourceful and to persevere.

Bicycle ~ Eric MacLean Eric, a junior athlete, placed second at the Kentville Canada Cup. His silver came in a field of 14. The event hosts riders from all across the nation and is the only stop for the Canada Cup series in Atlantic Canada.

22 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Figure Skate ~ Leo Mont Orienteering ~ Milo Hall Leo competed at the highest level for pre juvenile, Milo won two bronze medals at the 2019 Canadian attending the Skate Canada Nova Scotia Provincial Orienteering Championships in Laval and Rawdon, Championships. He won in pre juvenile and Star 7 Que. He placed third in the M10 Sprint and in the categories. Leo, who trains at the Bedford Skating M10 Middle Distance. Closer to home, Milo earned Club, has shown tremendous growth in his skating gold at the Nova Scotia provincial championship in development. his age category. His overall success this season secured him top spot in points in M10 for the Nova Scotia Gymnastics ~ Kai Dwyer Orienteering Series. Kai continued to consistently deliver results at the elite level, winning both national team trials in 2019 Rope Skipping ~ Jacob Nussey to maintain his status as the top-ranked athlete on the Jacob enjoyed great success at the Rope Skipping junior national team. He was the gold-medal winner Canada National Championships. Jacob finished in individual trampoline at the Elite Canada event in second in single rope speed in the 13 to 14 male and the Canadian national championships division. He had several other strong performances, in Oshawa. In December, Kai competed at the world leading to a fifth-overall finish. age group championships in Tokyo, Japan, where he finished 56th in individual trampoline and 26th in Rowing ~ Emerson Crick synchronized trampoline. named Emerson to Canada’s roster for the 2019 CanAmMex competition. CanAmMex Judo ~ Hunter Annis is a junior national team development regatta used as Hunter, who is from Wilmot, picked up bronze medals a stepping stone to world juniors for younger or more at the Eastern Canadian championships and at the inexperienced national team rowers from the United Fall Classic. He also earned gold at the Judo Nova States, Mexico and Canada. Emerson also placed fifth Scotia Provincial Championships and the Kanokai at the national rowing championships in junior men’s tournament. Three times a week, Hunter travels more single. than three hours to train at his Judo club. He has been competing in higher divisions to gain more experience, Rugby ~ Seif Sanad earning a silver medal in the U-18 category at the Seif and his teammates won the U19 Kanokai tournament. Canadian Rugby Championship for the first time in nine years. Atlantic Rock defeated the defending- Karate ~ Gassan Alkurdi champion 21-5 in the final in front of a Gassan captured gold in the youth under-55 kilogram big home crowd at Adele’s Pitch at the Swilers Rugby division at Karate Canada Junior Nationals in Complex in St. John’s. It was a stellar match with Edmonton. En route to first place, Gassan competed excellent defence and offence from the Rock side. Seif in a double elimination style tournament against a high earned his spot on the Rock roster through training level of competition. He qualified for the national team sessions and trial matches. based on his performance.

23 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Sailing ~ Ryan Anderson Speed Skate ~ Findlay Tulloch For the second time in three years, Ryan competed at Findlay captures the commitment, dedication and the World Youth Sailing Championships. He placed great sportsmanship that the speed skating community 17th out of 57 in the boys radial class. Countries are aims to foster in its athletes. The Bedford skater always allowed to send just one sailor per class and Ryan works hard to reach his competitive goals while being qualified by winning Canadian selection trials. He has a positive and motivating presence among his peers, also been named to the Canadian Sailing Team Youth and a great role model to younger skaters. Development Squad and was honoured as the 2019 Male Youth Sailor of the Year by . Squash ~ Samuel Gallant Samuel is the top-ranked junior (BU19) in Nova Snowboard ~ Ethan Brewster Scotia and ranked 44th in Canada. He competed at Ethan had a great weekend at the Martock FIS the Canadian junior open, finishing 41st out of 64 Snowboard Cross events, finishing first on both days entries. Samuel captured the Nova Scotia junior open of the competition. Ethan qualified in second position title last November and posted three top-five finishes on both days but was able to battle his way to the top in regional play in the men’s A division. He placed fifth step of the podium. The event attracts provincial level in the N.B. Open, the Dalhousie Open and at the 30th riders from Nova Scotia, Alberta and Quebec. annual Mill River Open.

Soccer ~ Kaveh Wornell TaeKwonDo ~ Django Meier At the beginning of the 2019 summer season, Kaveh Competing against 16 competitors from 14 countries, returned to United Dartmouth Football Club from a Django emerged with a silver medal for Canada in the very successful three years with the SNS Whitecaps youth category at the Pan American Championships. program. Kaveh captained the UDFC U17AAA team The international event hosted more than 600 athletes. to the NSSL summer league title and the final of the Django went 4-1, losing a close match with Argentina SNS Cup. He was called up to play with the UDFC in the <55kg final. Django also competed in the senior senior team at the national Championship, playing in category at the 2019 Canada Open. Here, he faced 16 every minute of all five games. He was a key contributor competitors from eight countries, and won bronze. in UDFC’s bronze medal win. Tennis ~ Gryffin Minor Softball ~ Brody Fraser Gryffin placed second in under-16 boys singles at the Although one of the younger players on the roster, Atlantic indoor junior championships in Fredericton. Brody helped Canada to gold at the 2019 WBSC His hard work is paying off. Gryffin has put the time Junior Men’s Pan American qualifier in Guatemala in to get better and the results are showing, qualifying City, Guatemala. The win earned Canada a spot in the for the first time for the national championships. 2020 WBSC World Cup in . In the final, Brody scored the winning run versus Mexico. For the tournament, he struck out 13 batters in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Brody also competed at the U16 and U19 Canadian championships. The East Hants Mastodons went on to win silver at the U16 event after Brody tossed a perfect game in a 3-0 semifinal victory against Shallow Lake, Ont.

24 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Volleyball ~ Josh DeYoung Wrestling ~ Eamonn Dudley-Chubbs Josh was a member of Team Atlantic which finished Eamonn was the top U19 wrestler at the prestigious fourth at last summer’s Canada Cup representing the Mohawk Valley International. The majority of the best result Team Atlantic has ever achieved. Josh, the competitors were from New York State, Canada and top 18U player in Nova Scotia, helped Team Atlantic overseas. He wrestled three opponents from the U.S. to fourth place at the event. He was also a member to reach the final, which he won 11-10. Eamonn of the Southside Kingsmen Volleyball Club that won also competed at the U17/U19 nationals and the silver at the Nova Scotia championships. His play Journeyman World Classic and earned sixth place at earned him a spot on the tournament all-star squad. both competitions. He has limited access to training Josh was later selected to Volleyball Canada’s regional partners in his area of the province but attends high excellence program. calibre training camps throughout the season.

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26 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ Lily Oakley Basketball ~ Samantha Russell Lily continues to advance in her alpine career with Samantha, a native of Dartmouth, attended her another strong year as one of the top female racers in third Canadian national basketball championship in the region. A second-place finish in SL, out of 50 racers, 2019. She had an impressive individual performance, highlighted her results at the 2020 Roland Brunner averaging double-digit points throughout the under-17 Race. Lily also placed fourth in GS and sixth in SG. The tournament in Victoria, B.C. Her play earned Bible Hill athlete was one of the youngest members of Samantha second-team all-star honours. Nova Scotia Team Nova Scotia at the last Canada Games. finished seventh after defeating Manitoba 65-50.

Artistic Swimming ~ Ella Jewer Bicycle ~ Natasha Hahn Ella placed first overall in her age group at all provincial Natasha, 14, was a star on the provincial scene. She and Atlantic regional championships over the past was the point series winner. several seasons and helped lead her team to first- place finishes at events across Atlantic Canada. She Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Shams Hamad joined Halifax Aqua Nova’s program in 2015 and has Shams helped make history as a key member of the first competed every season since in both solo and team. Nova Scotia girls team to win gold at the Canadian Ella has participated in numerous artistic swimming Junior Goalball Championships. She was chosen as clinics and camps across the country. She balances her one of the top three female players in the tournament. training with participation in musical theatre, ballet Shams was selected to join the Nova Scotia senior and highland dancing. Ella is admired by her peers and women’s team and won gold at the 5th annual Nova respected by her coaches. Scotia Tournament. She was named to the 2019-2020 national team pool and is eligible for selection to the Athletics ~ Maggie Smith Canadian national team for international competitions. Maggie led wire-to-wire in capturing gold for Canada in the 1500 metres at the 2019 Pan-American U20 Boxing ~ Renae Cowal championships in Peru. She finished in 4:25.47. The Renae returned with gold from the Canadian win highlighted an outstanding season for Maggie, championships. She competes at the highest level for who set multiple N.S. provincial records and claimed 44-kilogram female athletes. She trains out of the Tribal silver in the 1500m at the Canadian U20 track and Boxing gym and calls it her ‘happy place.’ field championships. Villanova University recruited Maggie, who is coached locally by Rich Lehman of Canoe Kayak ~ Julia Lilley Osende Halifast Athletics. Julia and partner Sophia Jensen cruised to canoe gold at the 2019 ICF Junior & U23 sprint world Badminton ~ Ritu Shah championships in Romania. The two won the Ritu moved to Halifax in 2019 and has made an C2 Junior 500 metres in 2:04.612. The depth of immediate impact on the Nova Scotia badminton scene. field during selection is the highest level globally Ritu, unseeded, beat all challengers in U17 singles to in Julia’s discipline. Women’s finals in Canada are earn gold in her first National Elite Series event. The typically faster overall than world finals. Julia is a field of 32 included the best junior competition in the member and youth coach at Mic Mac Aquatic Club. country. Although an under-17 aged player, Ritu has amassed an undefeated record in senior singles action in Atlantic Canada and provides stiff competition for senior male players in the region.

27 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Cross Country Ski ~ Fiona McClure Hockey ~ Erin Denny Fiona competed at the pre-Christmas Candy Cane Cup Erin enjoyed a banner year last season. She was in , Que., a central location attracting elite named to Team Atlantic for the national under-18 skiers from Ontario, Quebec and even New England. championship and turned in a standout performance at She placed 21st in a highly competitive field of 42. The the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships. Erin event is part of the NORAM Cup national points series was the team captain for the Aboriginal tournament race. Fiona’s performance reflected her strong training and scored nine of the team’s 18 goals. She was also attitude. Before the Gatineau competition, Nova Scotia named MVP for the Nova Scotia Female Midget had not experienced sufficient snowfalls to facilitate Hockey League. The Saint Mary’s Huskies recruited effective training on skis. Erin for the upcoming season.

Equestrian ~ Ariel Boesener Karate ~ Angel Niet Ariel was the top Canadian, placing fifth in junior Angel capped her successful junior career with a silver- freestyle dressage at the 2019 North American Youth medal finish at nationals. She competed in a double- Championships. NAYC is the premier equestrian elimination format in the under-21, 55-kilogram competition in North America for junior and young division, an extremely challenging division with 10 riders, ages 14-21. Ariel had a personal-best freestyle capable athletes. Angel is now set to move up to the score (70.375%) and her first-ever Federation Equeste adult division. Internationale (FEI) score above 70% in junior dressage freestyle competition. Ariel ranked 24th-overall in youth Lacrosse ~ Georgia Davis dressage. In team competition, she contributed to a Georgia plays both female box lacrosse and women’s fifth-place showing in junior dressage for a combined field lacrosse at the club level and for Team Nova Scotia. Quebec/N.S. team. She’s a versatile, skilled player with a positive attitude that makes her very coachable. Another strength is the Figure Skate ~ Katelyn Li quiet example she sets for her teammates. This quality Katelyn made huge strides in her skating development was on display at the CLA’s midget female box nationals this past season. She was a double-winner at the when Georgia consistently built up other players on provincial championships, winning both the U12 and her team during the tough going. Star 7 categories. Katelyn trains at the Mariposa East Skating Centre in Pictou County. Rope Skipping ~ Alena Collens Alena competes and excels at the highest level for her Gymnastics ~ Jordyn Ewing U11-age group. Alena emerged first-overall in a field of 26 Jordyn is only the second female from Nova Scotia to at the Rope Skipping Canada National Championships. gain high performance senior status. She competed When it mattered most, Alena delivered. She performed at the Elite Canada event in February, finishing 13th personal-bests in all of her events. out of 34 in all-around. The result allowed her to compete in the Gymnix Challenge later in the season. Rowing ~ Claire Ellison It marked Jordyn’s second time attending Gymnix, an Claire helped Canada’s junior women’s quad crew international meet. improve its ranking at the 2019 World Rowing Junior Championships. The boat finished fourth out of 14, bettering its sixth-place showing in 2018. Claire is a former Rowing Canada junior athlete of the year.

28 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Rugby ~ Madison MacInnis Squash ~ Madeleine Khan Madison earned selection to represent Canada at the Madeleine competed at the 2019 Canadian Junior Open. U18 level. She worked hard to get there. In the fall of It’s Canada’s biggest junior event of the year, attracting 2019, Madison relocated from Sydney to Halifax to the best players in Canada as well as competition from train with staff at Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic and several other countries, including , Egypt, the Rugby Nova Scotia. Her dedication saw her take the United States and Mexico. Madeleine won two Atlantic next step from Keltic Blue to Canada Red. Canada women’s B-level tournaments last season and now competes in the A division. Snowboard ~ Bridget MacLean Bridget competed alongside the top riders from Swimming ~ Hanna Mountford 17 nations at the Lausannne 2020 Youth Olympic Hanna was a member of the 27-swimmer contingent Games in Switzerland. Bridget locked down her spot that competed at the 2019 Speedo Eastern Canadian at Lausanne 2020 with a strong fourth-place showing Swimming Championships in Laval, Que. Hanna’s at the Canadian Nationals. She worked hard in sixth-place showings in the 1500m and 400m freestyle preparation for Lausanne 2020, travelling to Austria events highlighted her results at the four-day meet. She early in the season to get on snow and experience also came ninth in the 200m backstroke, 16th in 100m European courses. Unfortunately, she fell in her first backstroke and 16th in the 100m freestyle. Throughout run at the Games and fractured her wrist. the season, Hanna excelled at several provincial events where she ranked National and achieved Swimming Soccer ~ Annika Leslie Canada on-track times. Annika continues to excel on the national stage. In November, she was named to the women’s U17 Table Tennis ~ Maddy Hayes Excel Camp squad that went to Mexico City for an Maddy repeated as a multi-category winner at the eight-day camp in preparation for the FIFA U-17 Atlantic championships. She came first in the junior Women’s World Cup in 2020. The trip included two girls team event, under-18 girls singles, under-21 girls international friendlies against Mexico. Last August, the singles, women’s singles and under-18 mixed doubles. talented defender moved to Ontario where she would Maddy is the top female player in Atlantic Canada. be surrounded by other national team players at the Last year, she was honoured within the table tennis Super REX centre. community as the most improved female player. Her development continues to impress. Speed Skate ~ Aoife Marshall Aoife skated the fastest 500 metres in long track speed TaeKwonDo ~ Carrington Carroll skating in Nova Scotia this season for females. This was Carrington started the 2019 season by winning her her first year as a junior (ages 14-18) and she missed eighth Canadian national title. She went on to represent the Canada Cup standard in the 500m by less than a Canada in youth competition at the Pan American second. Canada Cups are the national circuit for the Championships in Portland, Oregon, where she top Canadian long trackers and the pathway toward brought home her second straight Pan Am title. At the qualifying for the national team. Aoife easily made the Portland event, Carrington moved up a weight class time standards for the Canadian Youth Long Track and also won the Pan Am open championship for back- Championships. Unfortunately, an ice storm prevented to-back gold-medal performances. Despite dealing Team Nova Scotia from travelling to Red Deer for the with an injury, she again moved up in weight class to competition. manage a silver medal at the Canadian International Open Championships.

29 Provincial Sport Organization JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Tennis ~ Isabella Baker Wrestling ~ Maddie Charlton Isabella won under-16 singles at the 2020 Indoor Junior Maddie has produced impressive results this season Atlantic Championships. Only the top eight players in through training at multiple clubs in the province. the rankings are invited, making for a strong field at Maddie came home with fifth place at the U17-U19 the tournament. Isabella is ranked No. 2 in under-16 Canadian national wrestling championships in freestyle and under-18 singles in Nova Scotia. and earned gold at the event in the Greco Roman category. She also won gold in her weight class at the Volleyball ~ Talia Vydykhan Eastern Canadian championships, KES Tournament, Talia was a member of Team Canada’s youth national and Ragnarok in the Rex. Along with her extensive team as an alternate and was the only athlete east of participation in tournaments, Maddie has attended Ontario to be selected. Talia trained in both Canada training camps across the country. and Europe with the team until the 18U world championships in Egypt last September. Talia was also a provincial champion as a member of the Tigers Volleyball Club and an NSSAF Division 1 champion with Charles P. Allen High School. Talia was also a member of Team Atlantic and competed in the Canada Cup.

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30 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ J.D Todd Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Peter Parsons J.D.’s career is opening doors for other Nova Scotian Peter competed internationally for Canada after being athletes. A sixth-place showing out of 102 competitors selected to the national team for the Parapan American at a senior men’s FIS event in January is an example of Games in Lima, Peru. Canada went up against the top his recent success. J.D. competed in two Slalom races eight goalball teams from Pan American countries and at the event and also had a 10th-place finish. The FIS earned bronze. The field included powerhouse squads circuit is the highest level of international competition. such as the United States and Brazil — medal-winners at the 2016 Paralympics. Peter is a dominant figure in Athletics ~ Matt Coolen Nova Scotia’s goalball success. He has helped his team Matt captured gold at the 2020 Track and win seven consecutive medals at senior nationals. Field Championships. The fifth-year civil engineering student at Dalhousie won the 60m hurdles in a Boxing ~ Wyatt Sanford personal-best time of 8.02. At the 2019 Canadian Track Wyatt competed at the 2019 AIBA world boxing and Field Championships, Matt qualified in the 100m championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in September. for the prelims through the qualifying round and went Sixty boxers were in his division. Wyatt won his first on to place 19th overall. He’s the Nova Scotia record two matches to earn a showdown with a highly regarded holder in the 60m and 100m events. Russian opponent. He went the full three rounds, but lost a unanimous decision. The final results had Badminton ~ Spencer Armsworthy Wyatt ranked ninth in the world. He was also first in Spencer and Yuka Shimura are a force on the mixed Canadian qualifiers in December to represent Canada doubles scene. Spencer and Yuka won two Atlantic at the Olympic qualifiers. Series titles, and are the top-ranked tandem in the region. Spencer is also making noise in doubles with Canoe Kayak ~ Connor Fitzpatrick partner Ryan MacIntosh. The two had a tremendous Connor competed in one of the fastest C2 1000 season, claiming two out of three Atlantic series titles fields ever at the ICF world championships with the with wins at the P.E.I. and Scott Open events. winning crew setting a new record. Connor, who trains and coaches at Senobe Aquatic Club, partnered with Basketball ~ Alex Carson Roland Varga in coming second in the B final. The Alex was one of only 12 players to crack the Canadian result placed the Canadian crew 11th out of 72 in the roster for the 2019 FISU Summer Games deep and talented field. in Napoli, Italy. Canada had a solid sixth-place finish out of 16 teams. The six-foot-five guard from Lower Equestrian ~ Matthew McArthur Sackville averaged 4.7 points over six games, shooting Matthew competed regionally to qualify for the 38% from the field and 100% from the free throw line. 2019 NRHA Affiliate Eastern Canada Regional Alex has been a standout player at Dalhousie, where Championships in Quebec. Matthew competed as he took recreational management. a non-pro at the Eastern Canada Regional Affiliate Finals. He finished sixth out of a field of 11. Bicycle ~ Brandon Curry Brandon placed eighth out of 15 in the elite men’s division at the Kentville Canada Cup. Riders from across the country came to Kentville for what is the only stop for the Canada Cup series in Atlantic Canada.

31 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Figure Skate ~ Jacob Côté Karate ~ Ryan O’Neil Jacob is the sectionals pre novice men’s champion, Ryan overcame some adversity to finish second at Karate which gave him the opportunity to compete at the Canada Nationals. Competing in the 67-kilogram 2020 Challenge in Edmonton. Jacob made tangible adult division, Ryan lost one of his matches in the improvements in his skating. His score has gone from double-elimination format and had to fight his way 79.65 to 85.83, a huge jump in just three months. back through the losers bracket to reach the final. The division is one of the tougher weight classes. Gymnastics ~ Jeremy Bartholomeusz With the result, Ryan qualified for the national karate Jeremy was named to Team Canada for the 2019 team. FISU University Games. The Halifax gymnast, who studies neuroscience at Dalhousie, came ninth out of Lacrosse ~ Zac Carrigan 52 competitors in the all-around category. The FISU Zac, who plays with the Sportwheels Wolves junior A Games were attended by some of the top gymnasts in team, is the East Coast Junior Lacrosse League’s top the world. Jeremy is among the top all-around athletes scorer and offensive MVP. He broke the ECJLL single- in Canada and a training partner for local gymnastics season record for points by a player from Nova Scotia. legend Ellie Black. The league features the highest level of competition in the Maritimes for players ages 17 to 21. Zac plays Hockey ~ Jared McIsaac field lacrosse in the U.S. during the school year. He Jared played a key role in helping Canada claim gold at also helps with development sessions and coaching for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The standout Lacrosse Nova Scotia female teams. defenceman from Truro contributed a goal and three assists toward the gold-medal run and finished the Rope Skipping ~ Sam Ashley tournament with a plus-4 rating. Jared managed to Sam continues to be a leader in all aspects of the sport. work his way back from off-season shoulder surgery Sam put on another great show at the 2019 Rope in time to crack Canada’s roster for a second straight Skipping Canada National Championships, with season. He was traded from the to first-place finishes in individual overall and single rope the Moncton Wildcats after world juniors and collected wheel freestyle. 17 points in 25 games for his new team. Rowing ~ Andrew Todd Judo ~ Max Teeuwen Andrew and his partner Kyle Frederickson became Despite an injury, Max managed to achieve great back-to-back world champions. The two won the PR3 success in every Judo competition he entered this men’s pair event. Andrew also raced to gold in the PR3 season. Max’s accomplishments include winning bronze men’s single at the national rowing championships. For in under-21 action at the Quebec Open, placing sixth his incredible year, Andrew was named co-recipient of at nationals, finishing seventh at the Canada Cup and the RCA Para Rower of the Year for 2019. attending a national training camp.

32 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Rugby ~ Cooper Coats Speed Skate ~ Cooper Emin Cooper contributed to a successful 2019 for the Winning international gold highlighted a busy season national men’s sevens team. Cooper represented for this fast-improving speed skater. Cooper was part Canada at the (RAN) Sevens of the three-member Canadian team that won the tournament in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, where neo-senior men’s sprint event at the International Canada clinched its first men’s sevens Olympic berth Skating Union Junior World Cup #2. The neo-senior for Tokyo 2021. He was also a member of the national category provides skaters aged 19-23 – not yet at the team, which captured silver, out of eight teams, at the senior World Cup level – a chance to develop further Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. internationally. In addition to team sprint gold, Cooper placed fourth out of 25 skaters in the 1000m, fifth out Shooting ~ Braden Colman-Sadd of 20 in the 500m, and ninth out of 23 in the 1500m. Braden was the only competitor to fire a perfect score in taking first place in the 900-metre distance at the 2019 Squash ~ Philip Anderson Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championships in Gatineau, This fast-improving squash player has climbed into Que. The 900m is the furthest and most challenging the top five in the province since joining the sport distance for a fullbore (high power) rifle competition. just four years ago. In fact, Phil earned the No. 2 spot As a member of the 2019 Dominion of Canada on Team Nova Scotia for the Canadian men’s team Rifle Association Team, Braden travelled to Great championship. He placed second at the Cape Breton, Britain to compete in the Queen’s Prize Match — Kentville and New Brunswick open tournaments and the most prestigious international fullbore shooting at the Aspin Cup. Through his drive to excel in the competition. He made it to the second stage, placing sport, Phil participated in every tournament in Atlantic 182nd out of 884. Canada this season.

Snowboard ~ Liam Moffatt Swimming ~ Brett Liem Liam was a dominant force in snowboard cross on the Brett earned a top-three finish in all of his individual North American Cup circuit when he wasn’t competing events at the 2019 Ken Dunn Nova Scotia provincial in World Cups. Competing against fellow Canadians championships. Throughout the season, Brett and athletes from the United States, Brazil, Australia excelled at several provincial events where he achieved and China, Liam won at the Nor-Am Cup event at Swimming Canada on-track times to maintain his spot Mont Orignal and finished third at Ski Cooper. He with Nova Scotia’s NextGen team. Brett also competed came fourth-overall at the Nor-Am championship in at the varsity level at Acadia where he achieved at the snowboard cross, hopefully, earning him another spot national level by earning second swims in his top events on the World Cup circuit next year. during the USports championships.

Soccer ~ Jonathan Doucett Jon can play any position on the pitch. He’s known for his consistent performances and combative style of play. His ability to break up passes and win tackles is an integral part of WHFC Durty Nelly’s success in the premiership. Jon also contributes on the offensive end, scoring eight goals as a defensive midfielder. A true leader on and off the pitch, Jon is a medical student at .

33 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

TaeKwonDo ~ Hunter Carroll Hunter missed the first half of the 2019 season after breaking the same ankle twice. Despite the adversity, Hunter battled back to qualify for Team Canada at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Italy where he finished tied for ninth out of 41. Still nursing the injury, Hunter went on to earn bronze at the 2019 Canadian International Open and finished third at the Canadian Olympic trials. With COVID-19 forcing so many cancellations, Hunter is now focusing on the 2021 World Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games.

34 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Alpine Ski ~ Emily Todd Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Tarah Sawler Emily dominates the regional ski circuit as the top Tarah and her team won gold in the open category racer for the Atlantic series and in January placed 39th at the Nova Scotia annual goalball tournament and in Slalom at a FIS Race at the Alpine Ski Club. She was finished fourth at senior nationals. In April 2019, Tarah in a field of 60 at the international race that included was still eligible as a junior player. She was an important national team and NextGen team athletes. member of the first Nova Scotia junior girls team to win a gold medal at goalball nationals and was selected Athletics ~ Maya Reynolds as one of the top three female players. Maya sprinted to a fifth-place finish in the 60m at the 2020 U Sports Track and Field Championships Boxing ~ Christine Anderson in March. She tied her personal best in the prelims Christine came second at the Brampton Cup, a with a 7.50. At the 2019 Canadian Track and Field development tournament in Ontario. She trains Championships, Maya came through the qualifying under the guidance of coach David Penny at Dave’s rounds to the prelims where she finished 21st overall. Multisport in Bridgewater.

Badminton ~ Yuka Shimura Canoe Kayak ~ Michelle Russell Yuka and partner Spencer Armsworthy are ranked first Competing in a very challenging field, Michelle placed in mixed doubles in Atlantic Canada. Yuka and Spencer seventh in the B Final of the K1 200 metres at the won two of the three Atlantic series titles this year, ICF Senior World Championships. The result meant placing first at the P.E.I. and Scott Open tournaments Michelle finished 16th out of 45 at the event, the highest while picking up silver at the Longard Open. Yuka level of competition in the sport other than Olympics. and Ruiwen Zhu are the No. 3-ranked doubles team She trains with Cheema in Waverley. in Atlantic Canada. Yuka and Ruiwen won the 2019 Atlantic Championships and also claimed silver at the Equestrian ~ Courtney Thomas P.E.I., Scott and Longard Open events. Courtney placed second in multiple large classes at the Royal Winter Fair against athletes from Ontario, Basketball ~ Hannah Brown Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. She competed Hannah, who is from North Sydney, was among 12 throughout the year to be eligible to compete at the athletes selected to represent Canada at the 2019 FISU Royal Winter Fair while balancing university studies. Summer Universiade Games in Napoli, Italy. Hannah The Royal Winter Fair limits the number of entries in averaged 8.2 points and 6.5 rebounds over six games. its divisions and there are usually only one to two spaces She shot 43% from the field and 75% from the free for Atlantic athletes. The amateur-owner division is throw line. Canada finished 13th after defeating Mexico a height of 3’6” (1.10m) and is on the pathway to 67-54. Hannah played five seasons at Cape Breton competing in the Jumper divisions. University and signed to play pro in Germany. Figure Skate ~ Cate McKee Bicycle ~ Mackenzie Myatt Cate took her skating to a new level this past season. She Myatt placed second out of 17 at the 2019 XCO came first out of 14 to win the Nova Scotia pre novice Canadian Championships. Mackenzie competed in sectional championship, which gave her the opportunity the U23 division. to compete at the 2020 Challenge Competition in Edmonton. Cate’s score has gone from 79.56 to 93.54 in just three months — a huge accomplishment.

35 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Gymnastics ~ Ellie Black Orienteering ~ Pam James Ellie became the most decorated Canadian gymnast Pam earned three medals, including two gold, at the in Pan American Games history, collecting another Canadian Orienteering Championships in Quebec. In five medals and defending her all-around title. The her first event, the sprint distance, Pam competed in Halifax gymnast left Lima, Peru with two gold medals, the F21 elite category and won bronze. She followed two silver and a bronze giving her a total of 10 medals that up with gold in the middle distance, again over the last two Games. Ellie was named Canada’s running in the F21E category. For the long distance, flag-bearer for closing ceremonies in Lima. The two- Pam ran her age group F45 and won another gold. time Olympian also placed fourth in all-around at the She also competed in the 2019 US Masters Classic world championships in October, narrowly missing the and placed third. Back home, Pam was first overall podium after sustaining an ankle injury landing a vault. in points in the Nova Scotia Orienteering Series.

Judo ~ Tsubaki Onishi Rope Skipping ~ Karly Turner Tsubaki was outstanding at the Eastern Canadian Karly competed in the 15-to-17 female division, championships, winning silver at the under-21 level which is the deepest division at the Rope Skipping and a bronze in the senior category. The tournament is Canada National Championships. She had excellent one of the highest-level competitions in the Maritimes performances in all of her events. Karly’s top finish was and attracts about 250 total participants. She also had seventh in single rope endurance — the competition’s a strong showing at the Quebec Open in , most grueling event. earning fifth place. At the Kanokai tournament in New Glasgow, Tsubaki came back from an injury to Rowing ~ Hannah Meeson earn gold. Hannah raced to second out of 12 in U23 women’s lightweight single at the National Rowing Karate ~ Trysten Deveau Championships. She also made the A Final in two Trysten maintained an undefeated record through a events at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, finishing double-elimination format en route to winning gold second in senior lightweight pair and fourth in U23 in the 55-kilogram division at senior nationals. This lightweight single. On the university circuit, she won was a very impressive feat considering the high level silver in women’s lightweight 4+ for UVIC at the of competition she faced. In achieving this standing, Canadian rowing championships. she qualified for the national karate team. A longtime star within Karate Nova Scotia, she’s not showing any Rugby ~ Olivia DeMerchant signs of slowing down. Trysten has become a role model Olivia was a key member of the Canadian side that and is starting to coach younger athletes to give back competed in the 2019 women’s Rugby Super Series. to the sport. Canada faced New Zealand, France, England and the United States in a round-robin series to aid in Lawn Bowls ~ Jacqueline Foster preparations for the 2021 . The Jacqueline, a national team veteran, went to the team finished at 1-3, losing by just two points to both 2019 Asia Pacific Games. It was her third time England and the United States. Olivia has represented competing at the Games. She has also represented Canada 41 times. She trains with the Keltics Academy Canada at two (2014 and and acts as a mentor and coach to developing players. 2018) and two World Bowls (2012 and 2016). She has been a Team Canada member for the past 10 years.

36 Provincial Sport Organization SENIOR FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Snowboard ~ Kate MacKinnon Squash ~ Ashley Cullis Kate spent the entire season living and training in Ashley went up against Canada’s top ranked women’s Whistler, B.C. She travelled to training camps in Chile, players at the Squash Canada team championships. Nova Finland and Alberta and then competed in continental Scotia managed an upset win over Saskatchewan to leave cup events in B.C., New York, Colorado, Ontario with an eighth-place finish. The team came in seeded and Quebec. Kate earned a 15th-place finish at the Ski ninth. Ashley also recorded two first-place finishes this Cooper North American Cup. The international event season and two second-place finishes as well. attracts provincial level athletes from the United States, Australia, Japan, Argentina and Canada. Tennis ~ Michelle Karis Michelle won the women’s 60 singles event at the Soccer ~ Erin Freeman 2019 Western Canadian Senior Indoor National Erin is a versatile player who continually makes a huge Championships in Calgary. She was also a finalist at impact for United Dartmouth Football Club in the the senior outdoor nationals in August. A strong field premiership. She is the two-time league MVP as voted of 23 players competed for the title. on by coaches across the premiership. A constant threat, Erin is always on the opposition’s radar. She also had a Volleyball ~ Courtney Baker great second season with the As a member of Volleyball Canada’s NextGen program, Capers, recording three goals and four assists. Courtney competed at the World Student Games in Napoli, Italy. Canada placed eighth out of 16 teams at the Games. The NextGen program pulls in athletes with the potential to make the senior team in the next two to three years. The star was also named the women’s volleyball player of the year in U Sports.

37 JUDGING PROCESS

Some of the provincial sport award winners in each category are also in the running for the overall winners across all sports. Sport Nova Scotia follows the Canadian Sport Awards’ judging process, appointing two different selection committees. Committee A reviews and scores only the nominee’s single most outstanding accomplishment. The results are tabulated and the top five candidates in each category advance to Committee B. The score from Committee A accounts for 60% of each nominee’s final score. Committee B has no knowledge of the scores given by Committee A. Committee B considers and scores all accomplishments and achievements of the nominees. Committee B’s score accounts for the remaining 40% of each nominee’s final score. The scores are cross-tabulated to determine the winner in each category. Each committee is comprised of leaders of our provincial sport organizations, representatives from the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, the media, as well as community sport stakeholders. Thank you to the members of the 2020 Selection Committees!

COMMITTEE A COMMITTEE B Paetra Addison Ken Bagnell Bette El-Hawary John DeCoste Paul Hollingsworth Lyndsay Doyle Chad Lucas Brandon Guenette Tim Maloney Karen Ouellette Sarah McNeill Natalie Randall Price Clarissa Oleksiuk Anitra Stevens Jason Trepanier Jody Trethewey

Facilitators: Kate Trask and Tyler Smith, Sport Nova Scotia

38 2020 Overall Finalists and Winners

39 ~ WINNERS ~ Community Sport Organization

Alpine Ski ~ Martock Ski Race Club Martock Ski Race Club saw its registration surge to 164 athletes across its program offerings in 2019-2020. That’s a record high for the club, which provides alpine and freestyle ski programs for ages six through masters. The organization relies on the support of its coaching staff — 36 strong this season — and member volunteers to ensure a positive and inclusive environment for athletes, coaches and families. The club strives to deliver quality programming as economically as possible.

Rugby ~ Metro Intro to Contact Program The Halifax Rugby Club and Halifax Tars Rugby Club joined forces to create The Metro Rugby Club to offer a much-improved Intro to Contact Rugby Program. The clubs recognized the challenges in operating individual programs for this age group and opted to partner up. Together, they were able to provide the age, and stage, appropriate opportunity to 15 developing players.

Sailing ~ Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club Almost 50 boats from four countries were treated to a special week of racing and festivities when the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club hosted the Albacore International Championships. It was the first international regatta hosted by Shelburne. Sail Nova Scotia honoured the event as Regatta of the Year in 2019. Teams from Canada, the United States and Europe competed for the title of Albacore World Champion.

Surfing ~Surfing Association of Nova Scotia Wanting to reduce barriers to water activities, the Surf Association of Nova Scotia launched the Swim to Surf program. SANS worked with BLxCKHOUSE in North Preston to provide the program for people who might not usually have the opportunity, or the proper gear, to engage in water sports. SANS also partnered with the Nova Scotia Lifesaving Society to provide six swimming lessons and assessments. Seven surf lessons followed at Lawrencetown Beach. The program attracted kids and adults alike.

40 ~ WINNERS ~ Sport Makes A Difference Award

Hockey ~ Oliver Smith, OllieBots (Antigonish) Oliver passed away on June 27, 2019, but his legacy lives on through the Ollie Bot Project, which continues to raise funds to support cancer research for Ewing sarcoma. Oliver started the project with his family in November 2017, making Ollie Bots, resembling small robots, with a set of six blocks of wood held together with glue and hockey laces. Each Olliebot was signed with Oliver’s symbol — an O with a heart in it. The symbol appeared on the left hip where his primary cancer site was located. Almost 3,500 Ollie Bots have been made and more than $70,000 donated from sales to the Ewing’s Cancer Foundation of Canada Endowment Fund. The project also provides money for other local sick children and their families.

Soccer ~ The W-Inspire Conference hosted by UDFC The W-Inspire Conference hosted by United DFC began with an idea to inspire and recruit more female soccer coaches but transformed into an incredible conference celebrating all aspects of female leadership in soccer. The conference, open to women of all ages, attracted 80 delegates from all over the province, including coaches, managers, volunteers, referees and future coaches. Presenters from various backgrounds and sports gave inspiring talks on topics ranging from Becoming Your Awesome to Tips & Tricks for Player Management.

Tennis ~ Kelly Rideout, Susie Oxner and Cindy Wheeler Kelly, Susie and Cindy are the leaders behind the Tennis Nova Scotia Wheelchair Tennis Program. The three, also avid players, didn’t hesitate to volunteer and managed to get enough support to maintain a ratio of one coach to each player on the court. They bring the kind of compassion and encouragement to the court that keeps wheelchair athletes engaged, challenged and inspired. The program had only two players in May 2019 but grew to seven players over the course of the outdoor season. The demand was there to continue into the indoor season.

41 Subway® is a Registered Trademark of Subway IP Inc. © 2018 Subway IP Inc.

42 Subway® is a Registered Trademark of Subway IP Inc. © 2018 Subway IP Inc. ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Official of the Year

Soccer ~ Marie-Soleil Beaudoin Marie-Soleil Beaudoin worked games at all levels in 2019, but there was a clear highlight among her assignments. The Halifax official was appointed to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. Marie-Soleil had an exceptional event, refereeing four matches including the Round of 16 showdown between host France and Brazil. Her performance earned Marie-Soleil an appointment as the referee for the semifinal between the Netherlands and Sweden. In September 2019, at the invitation of France, she was appointed by Canada to referee the Trophee des Championne in Guingamp, France, a game which crowns the women’s professional champion for that country. Despite her international schedule, Marie-Soleil still found time to work club and university level games. She was appointed referee for the senior women’s final in August 2019. Nationally, she travelled across the country working games in the Canadian Premier League, including the inaugural game for the Halifax Wanderers in Halifax.

Softball ~ Darren Gerrior Darren Gerrior of Truro was one of only two Canadian umpires selected to work the WBSC Men’s World Softball Championship in Prague, Czech Republic. The tournament brings together the top 16 men’s national teams in the world. Darren was also Softball Nova Scotia’s umpire at the 2019 women’s in St. John’s. He’s the provincial umpire-in-chief and very involved in teaching and mentoring other umpires. Darren has served as a presenter at the Blue Convention, regarded as Softball Canada’s flagship training opportunity, and an instructor at the National Umpire’s School and Level 3 clinic. He’s on a committee to rewrite the Softball Canada Level 1 manual and to help simplify the rule book for new umpires and coaches. Darren was the Canadian exchange umpire at the men’s American Softball Association Championship in 2018, Chinese National Games in 2017 and the men’s WBSC Junior Worlds in Midland, Michigan in 2016.

Table Tennis ~ Erica Ans A banner year firmly established Erica’s status as an elite international official. She was Canada’s representative as table tennis umpire at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where she worked both the women’s singles and team event finals. Erica then travelled to Japan where she took part in International Referee School. She was one of just 10 candidates, and the only one to attain the distinguished International Referee certification. This significant accomplishment also meant that she became the first female International Referee in Canada — and only the second in all of North America. This dedicated official from Dartmouth finished the 2019 season as deputy referee at the International Table Tennis Federation’s North American Challenge Plus tournament in Toronto. She was originally scheduled to be an umpire, but event organizers called on her to switch roles with just two days’ notice. The move demonstrated their trust in Erica’s skills and professionalism. Erica continues to officiate local and regional events. She was also instrumental in rekindling table tennis in New Brunswick by training umpires and referees.

43 ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Coach of the Year

Gymnastics ~ David Kikuchi Coach David Kikuchi and his star athlete Ellie Black have teamed up for record-smashing success. In 2019, Ellie became the most decorated Canadian gymnast in Pan American Games history, collecting another five medals and defending her all-around title. The two- time Olympian also placed fourth in all-around at the world championships in October, narrowly missing the podium after sustaining an ankle injury landing a vault. David, who also went to two Olympics as an athlete, has a profound passion for assisting other gymnasts to reach their full potential. The Fall River resident grew up in a family full of gymnasts and coaches. They ultimately inspired him to pursue his career in gymnastics. David coached at the 2016 Olympic Games and at several world championships. He’s one of two lead coaches for Team Canada for the next Olympic Games, now set for 2021. On top of his national team duties, David successfully ran the competitive program at Halifax ALTA Gymnastics Club.

Rowing ~ Patrick Cody For a second straight year, Rowing Canada selected Pat to join the RCA NextGen coaching staff for the world rowing junior championships. Pat coached women’s quad and the crew climbed to fourth place at the event in Tokyo, Japan. The strong showing on the world stage was just one example of the success athletes enjoyed with Pat’s guidance. Athletes he coached and mentored also competed at the senior world championships as well as the CanAmMex and Trans Tasmin regattas. Nationally, Pat coached Team Nova Scotia at the Canadian rowing championships in Burnaby, B.C., where the team performed well and nabbed three medals — two gold and one silver. The Dartmouth coach consistently exemplifies the core values of Row Nova Scotia. In his coaching, he effectively communicates the importance of high standards, hard work, integrity, commitment to self-improvement, teamwork and community. Through his vision, actions and leadership, Pat models those very same values.

Rugby ~ Jack Hanratty Jack is raising the calibre of rugby across Nova Scotia. His extensive work has dramatically improved athlete performance, player welfare, coaching and programming. Within the Keltics club, Jack oversees all age group programs while taking on the director’s role for the senior men and the head coaching position for the senior women. He capably fills the role of provincial coach for Rugby Nova Scotia and helps lead the Atlantic Canadian Rock at both the senior men’s and U19 levels. Also in 2019, Jack was renamed head coach for ’s U20 women’s national team and served as an assistant for the national senior women’s side. Jack created a senior high performance training group, so athletes don’t have to move across the country. He also regularly pitches in at the grassroots level. He’s extremely passionate about player welfare. Jack was one of 19 individuals honoured as Canadians who are changing the course of mental health. He initiated the Rugby Nova Scotia Tackles Mental Health Campaign, utilizing the motto, “If you talk, I will listen. If you listen, I will talk.”

44 ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Team of the Year

Baseball ~ Nova Scotia 17U Selects The Nova Scotia 17U Selects took on baseball’s heavyweights and won, capturing the Canada Cup in Regina. It marked the first time Nova Scotia had reached the final, let alone won the title. Considered the premier event for Baseball Canada, the tournament boasts the top 20 players from each province. For many players, it serves as the last stop before advancing to post-secondary or professional opportunities. The Nova Scotia team went 6-1 en route to gold, knocking off Manitoba, Alberta, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. All six wins were decided by two runs or less. The Canada Cup is typically dominated by Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, considered the ‘Big 3’ powerhouses in the country. Ontario, in fact, entered the event as the eight-time defending champion. In the final, pitchers Duncan McLaughlin and Ethan McLellan combined to strike out 14 Ontario batters on the way to the 3-2 victory. Shortstop Noah Boutilier knocked in all three runs.

Blind Sports (Goalball) ~ Nova Scotia Junior Boys Goalball Team The Nova Scotia boys repeated as Canadian junior goalball champs, and they did it in convincing fashion. Nova Scotia went undefeated through the double round-robin, semifinals and final in emerging as the best team among the four competing at the event. In the last four years alone, Nova Scotia has won two gold medals and two silver medals at nationals. Mason Smith and Nick Gentleman were selected as two of the top three tournament male players. Matthew Gentleman and Griffin Hiltz were also on the championship-winning squad. The event brings together the best junior goalball athletes in the country, including several players who also play with their senior provincial teams. Players are eligible to be selected to represent Canada at the world juniors, which take place every two years.

45 ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Junior Male Athlete of the Year

Canoe (ADCKC) ~ Andrew Billard Andrew earned the opportunity to test himself against the best paddlers in the world, competing at two major international events in 2019. Andrew, who trains at the Maskwa Aquatic Club, raced to a pair of gold medals at the prestigious Olympic Hopes Regatta in September in Bratislava, Slovakia. He finished first in the under-17 C1 500 metres and the under-17 C1 1000m. The 18-year-old from Hammonds Plains added to his medal haul, teaming up with Mathew O’Neill of Ottawa for silver in the U16/U17 C2 200m and bronze in the U16/U17 C2 1000m. Andrew said he managed to exceed the high expectations he had going into the regatta, which boasted 835 athletes from 36 nations. The trip to Eastern Europe wrapped up a very busy competitive season for Andrew, who also paddled at the 2019 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Romania, where he won the B division final for 10th overall, in the C1 1000 metres.

Softball ~ Brody Fraser Brody contributed on the mound and at the plate as Team Canada won gold at the 2019 WBSC Junior Men’s Pan American qualifier in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Brody, who is from Upper Nine Mile River, scored the winning run in Canada’s 4-1 victory over Mexico in the gold medal game. For the tournament, he pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out 13 batters. Winning gold earned Canada a spot in the 2020 WBSC World Cup in New Zealand. Brody also competed at two national championships in 2019. The East Hants Mastodons went on to win silver at the U16 event after Brody tossed a perfect game in a 3-0 semifinal victory against Shallow Lake, Ont. He pitched 55 innings in the tournament, fanning 68 batters. Brody also hit .471 and drove in 11 runs. At the U19 championship, Brody competed against players three years older than him. He performed well in helping the Colchester Royals to fifth place.

TaeKwonDo ~ Django Meier Django competed internationally at the 2019 Cadet & Junior Pan American Championships in Oregon. The 18-year-old from Kingston fought his way to silver in the under-55 kilogram division, which included 16 competitors representing 14 countries. Overall, the Pan Am championships attract more than 600 athletes. Django went 4-1, losing a close match in the final to an opponent from Argentina. Winning silver for Canada highlighted a successful 2019 season for Django. He also competed in the senior category at the 2019 Canada Open. Here, Django faced 16 competitors from eight countries and came away with bronze. At the Canadian Taekwondo championships, he earned gold in the under 59 kilogram class. Django was the national champ in 2018 in the under 55kg division and in 2017 in the under 51kg division.

46 ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Junior Female Athlete of the Year

Athletics ~ Maggie Smith Maggie Smith knows how to make a debut. The Halifax athlete burst onto the international stage, capturing the 1,500-metre race at the Pan American under-20 track and field championships last July in San Jose, Costa Rica. In her own words, she went for it. Maggie made the risky decision to move to the front of the pack in the first lap, but held the lead wire-to-wire in winning gold for Canada. The 1,500-metre competition was originally scheduled to have a preliminary round but became a final-only event. Maggie ran with a lead that was as much as 50 metres and crossed the line in 4:25.47 with the second- place finisher coming across in 4:26.83. Maggie, who has set multiple provincial records, qualified for the Pan American championships with her silver-medal win at the Canadian U20 Track and Field Championships. She’s a student-athlete at Villanova University and runs at home with Halifast Athletics.

Canoe (ADCKC) ~ Julia Lilley Osende Perhaps the only thing harder than winning a world championship is defending it. But Julia and partner Sophia Jensen did just that. The two repeated for Canada, capturing gold in the C2 Junior 500 metres at the 2019 ICF Junior & U23 spring world championships in Romania. Julia, who trains with the Mic Mac Amateur Aquatic Club in Dartmouth, and Sophia Jensen, a member of the Cascades Club in Chelsea, Que., first claimed the title in 2018 in Bulgaria. Julia was just 17 at the time. Julia’s other hardware from 2019 included three medals from the Brandenburg Junior World Cup in Germany where she collected gold medals in the C1 1000m and C2 500m and silver in the C2 200m. Julia started paddling on Lake Banook when she was just eight years old and competed in her first international regatta seven years later at Olympic Hopes in Szeged, Hungary. Her ultimate athletic dream is to represent Canada at the Olympic Games.

TaeKwonDo ~ Carrington Carroll Carrington won back-to-back gold medals for Canada at the 2019 Pan American Championships in Portland, Oregon. The talented teen from Purcell’s Cove took the title in the under-49 kg junior female division before moving up in weight class to win the Pan American Open Championship that same week. After returning home, Carrington again moved up in weight class to manage a silver medal at the Canadian International Open Championships. She managed the result despite dealing with an injury. Carrington started the 2019 season by winning her eighth Canadian taekwondo national championship and has won the Nova Scotia provincial championship every year since 2010. COVID-19 has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the rest of the 2020 international schedule, including the world junior championships in Bulgaria in the fall. In the meantime, Carrington is focusing on her transition to the senior ranks. She’s aiming to represent Canada at next year’s world senior championships and at the 2024 Olympic Games.

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48 ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Senior Male Athlete of the Year

Hockey ~ Jared McIsaac Jared overcame an injury to crack Canada’s roster for the IIHF World Junior Championship and help the team to gold. It was the second straight year Jared made the national junior squad. To get there again he needed to completely dedicate himself to rehab after shoulder surgery in June. Jared managed to return to the Halifax Mooseheads’ lineup Nov. 30 and less than a month later was named to Team Canada. The Truro defenceman was a veteran presence for Canada and finished the world championship with a goal and three assists as well as a plus-4 rating. Winning gold was extra sweet for Canada after losing in the quarter-finals the previous year on home ice. After the tournament, Jared was traded from the Halifax Mooseheads to the Moncton Wildcats. He was playing a key role for the Wildcats who were making a serious run at the QMJHL title before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down hockey for the season.

Rowing ~ Andrew Todd Andrew and his partner Kyle Frederickson are back-to-back world champions. For a second straight year, the two teamed up to win the PR3 men’s pair event at the world rowing championships. The two are a dominant force. Their impressive record also includes gold at the 2018 Para Rowing International Regatta in Gavirate, Italy. In singles in 2019, Andrew won gold in PR3 at the National Rowing Championships. For his incredible year, Andrew was named co-recipient of the RCA Para Rower of the Year. He was part of Canada’s bronze-winning four-person crew at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Training in Dartmouth, Andrew sets the bar high for provincial athletes aiming to compete on the international stage. He mentors young athletes and also serves on the board of Row Nova Scotia.

Speed Skate ~ Cooper Emin Cooper was part of Team Canada’s three-member crew that won gold in the neo-senior men’s team sprint at the ISU Junior World Cup #2 at Enschede, Netherlands last November. The neo-senior category provides skaters aged 19-23 — not yet at the senior World Cup level — a chance to develop further internationally. The former Canada Games athlete from Cole Harbour also showed well in three other events at the World Cup #2 event. Cooper placed fourth out of 25 skaters in the 1000m race, fifth out of 20 in the 500m and ninth out of 23 skaters in the 1500m. Gold in team sprint highlighted Credit Hanneke Mennens a productive season for Cooper, who continued to show steady improvement. He also competed at the 2019 Fall Classic, the Canadian Long Track Championships, CanAm International, Canada Cup #1 and Canada Cup #2. Along the way, he reached personal bests in the 500m and 1000m distances.

49 ~ OVERALL FINALISTS ~ Support4Sport Senior Female Athlete of the Year

Canoe (ADCKC) ~ Michelle Russell Fall River kayaker Michelle Russell competed for Canada at the ICF Senior World Championships last August in Szeged, Hungary. Battling a very deep field, Michelle placed seventh in the B Final of the K1 200m. The result meant Michelle finished 16th out of 45 at the event, the highest level of competition in the sport other than Olympics. The 28-year-old paddler trains at Cheema in Waverley. She started kayaking when she was just seven years old after her mom signed the family up at the Abenaki Aquatic Club in Dartmouth. Michelle quickly took to the sport of paddling. Her competitive pursuits led her to join Cheema in 2004. Michelle began turning heads at age 17 when she won four medals — two gold and two silver — at the 2009 Canada Games. A career highlight came in 2013 when she raced to gold in the K1 200m at the ICF Under-23 World Championships in Welland, Ont. She was Canada’s only double medallist at the competition, also winning bronze in the K1 500m.

Gymnastics ~ Ellie Black Ellie became the most decorated Canadian gymnast in Pan American Games history, collecting another five medals and defending her all-around title. The Halifax gymnast left Lima, Peru with two gold medals, two silver and a bronze giving her a total of 10 medals over the last two Games. In addition to all-around gold, Ellie was first in vault. Her silver medals came in team and beam, she finished third in bars and fourth for . After her stunning performance, Ellie was named Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies in Lima. The two-time Olympian also placed fourth in all-around at the world championships in October, narrowly missing the podium after sustaining an ankle injury landing a vault. Ellie became the first Canadian gymnast to win a world all-around medal Credit: Scott Grant-503 Courtland when she earned silver at the event in 2017. Also in 2019, she claimed the all-around Place-Ottawa-Canada Canadian championship for the sixth time.

Rugby ~ Olivia DeMerchant Olivia was a leader and top player with Canada this past season. She competed in the women’s Rugby Super Series against New Zealand, France, England and the United States. The event is designed to aid teams in their preparations for the 2021 Rugby World Cup. Canada finished at 1-3, losing by just two points to both England and the United States. Against the U.S., Olivia, who plays front row, scored two tries in the first half as Canada built an 18-8 lead before falling 20-18. Canada’s lone victory was a 36-19 result versus France. Olivia, who is from Mapledale, N.B., relocated to Halifax to train at the highest level with the Keltics Academy where she also acts as a mentor and coach to developing players. She has represented Canada 41 times, making her the ninth most capped player in the history of the senior women’s program.

50 Sport Nova Scotia Chair Award

Duff Montgomerie Duff Montgomerie’s connection to the sporting community began as a multisport athlete in the ‘60s. By the ‘70s, his involvement had expanded to include coaching and officiating. He was the first full-time executive director of the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation and was influential in determining the philosophy and vision of the organization. Duff Montgomerie was appointed by the Canadian Federation of Provincial School Athletic Association to the position of co-chair on the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association’s Scholastic Council and was awarded their National Certificate of Recognition in 1976. He went on to fill the coordinator of sport position for the Nova Scotia Department of Recreation between 1976 and 1984 where he instigated the very first sport conference in Nova Scotia. In that role, he also implemented a review of government policy in relation to competitive officials and official’s development-policies that are still in place today. He represented the provincial government on the Inter-Provincial Sport and Recreation Council and at the Commonwealth Games. He participated in the National Coaching Certification’s steering committee, served as mission staff and as a council member for numerous Canada Games, and has helped push the agenda for the development for sport infrastructure across the province. During his time as Deputy Minister of the Department of Health Promotion and Protection, he acted as the liaison between health and sport ministers. In this role, he succeeded in his push for the government to recognize the clear correlation between sport and health—a first in Nova Scotia. Montgomerie is a Bridgetown and Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his persistent efforts to promote physical activity to Canadians. Montgomerie’s life-long commitment to the development and advancement of sport has impacted the sector at every level. He’s worked tirelessly to create an inclusive environment with a particular focus on women and indigenous communities. His passion and determination have led to positive results for athletes, coaches, teams, volunteers, builders, and organizations. Sport Nova Scotia is honored to present Duff Montgomerie with the 2020 Support4Sport Chair’s Award.

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52 Congratulations, Support4Sport Award winners!

You represent the very best of sport in Nova Scotia: our dedicated coaches, our hard-working athletes and officials, and our invaluable volunteers. Your commitment and your passion makes Nova Scotiaʼs vibrant sport community possible.

Your hard work and enthusiasm inspires more Nova Scotians to lead active, healthy lives. The Province of Nova Scotia is proud to support the Support4Sport Awards.