Press Release For Immediate Release Sport Newfoundland and Labrador Announce Provincial Annual Award’s Finalists Gala Cancelled due to Covid-19 St. John’s – Sport Newfoundland and Labrador has announced the finalists for this year’s Provincial Annual Awards. Historically these awards are presented during the annual Stars and Legends Awards Gala, a night of celebrating the achievements of decorated athletes, volunteers and administrators. Unfortunately, the Stars and Legends Awards Gala will not be going ahead as planned. In the interest of caution as the province works to navigate the challenges imposed by COVID-19, SportNL has determined that the presentation of these prestigious awards will be hosted virtually. “These are unprecedented times, and we must make the safety of our community the main priority. While the formal Annual Awards will not be going ahead this year, we are still committed to celebrating the sporting achievements in NL by continuing to celebrate via social media and ensuring that these individuals are acknowledged and honored.” says Doug Fowler, President, Sport Newfoundland and Labrador. The Provincial Annual Awards recognize the tremendous successes in athletic achievement this past year has brought. There are nine categories that encompass the Awards: Senior Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Junior Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Executive of the Year, Official of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. “As we finalize plans for our virtual Stars and Legends celebration, we will be sure to notify everyone of the details and when to expect the announcement of winners,” said Troy Croft, Executive Director, SportNL. “This event is extremely important to our sporting community and we are disappointed that we must cancel the Gala this year. However, we are confident that all Annual Award Winners will be recognized through our online initiative.” Three finalists from each category have been selected by Sport Newfoundland and Labrador’s selections committee, extracted from a list of nominees compiled by 16 Provincial Sport Organizations across the province. The finalists and their biographies can be found below. Junior Female Athlete of the Year Jaida Lee (Baseball) 2019 was a banner season for Jaida Lee as she competed at three Provincial Championships, where she claimed Top Pitcher at all three of her tournaments, in addition to claiming a Provincial Championship and two silver medals. Jaida played at the Atlantic Level where she earned a spot on Team NL Black at the Baseball Atlantic 14U Girls Championship where she represented the province. Jaida also represented the province at the National level where she was a core member of Team NL at the Baseball Canada 16U National Championships where she earned a .529 average, 2 HR, 11 RBI 7.2 IP allowing 5 hits and 1 ER with 17 K. At both tournaments Jaida proved her skillset on several levels and was able to cement herself as a core member of the Baseball NL Female program for many years to come. Jaida received numerous Top Pitcher awards at the 14U AA Provincials, 16U Provincials and 18U provincials. Additionally, Jaida is a member of the 2012 Canada Games training pool and in a position for a spot on the final roster for the 2021 Canada Games team. Megan Skinner (Gymnastics) Megan Skinner is a national level athlete with Cygnus Gymnastics, she was named to the Canada Winter Games team and competed in qualification where she aided her team to place 7th. At the provincial level, Megan earned the all-around gold medal in bars and beam, silver on floor and bronze on vault; additionally she was presented with the Redfern Trophy that is awarded to the National Athlete with the highest All Around score at Provincials. Megan earned her spot on the Gymnastics NL provincial team and competed at Eastern Canadian Championships as well as the Canadian National Championships. Megan had a great showing at Easterns that earned a team bronze, 5th All Around, Individual Silver on beam and bronze on bars and floor. The height of Megan’s gymnastics career was at the 2019 Nationals where, as a team, they placed 6th, with 8th place all-around in qualification, where they finished finals in 4th place with a bronze medal on bars and beam and an 8th place finish on floor. Megan was the only NL athlete to compete at Elite Canada, a competition used to identify potential athletes for carding and National team ranking, where she placed 10th in qualification. Megan moved on to finals where she finished with a 9th place on Floor. Additionally, Megan was invited to attend the Gymnastics Canada National Aspire Camp. Megan is a dedicated and hard-working athlete who is steadily making a name for herself and our Province on the National Stage. Shailynn Snow (Hockey) Shailynn Snow is a hard-working and inspirational female hockey player in Newfoundland and Labrador. Shailynn was named to the 2015 Canada Winter Games U18 WJC (W) as a double under-ager, where they won the gold medal, she was then later named captain at the 2019 Canada Winter Games. Her leadership serves as inspiration for young girls look up to. Shailynn is currently playing NCAA at St. Lawrence University, where she has tallied 13 Points (2 goals, 11 assists) in 18 games. In 2019, Shailynn was named to Team Canada U18 National Women’s team, who captured Gold in Obihiro, Japan. In her final year at Ridley College, Shailynn was named captain of her team picking up 35 points (26 goals, 9 assists) in 23 games. Shailynn has played at the provincial, national and international level, and her leadership serves as inspiration for young girls in the sport of hockey. Junior Male Athlete of the Year Campbell Clarke (Rugby) Campbell Clarke is an esteemed rugby player from St. John’s, playing at the provincial, national and international level. 2019 earned Campbell a gold medal on his home field in the Canadian Rugby Championships, while on the Atlantic Rock U19 Team, where he represented the National team at two different age groups. In 2019 Campbell started playing as a double under-ager on the Canada U20 European tour against Portugal, Spain and France, where he then returned home and started in all three of the U18 Summer Series Games in the USA. Campbell capped off 2019 by playing a pivotal role in the Atlantic Rock U19 team, where they won a national title in St. John’s. Campbell was a Swilers FRC Senior team member in summer of 2019, and he earned the title of Captain of Rugby at St. George School in Ontario. Joshua Kennedy (Softball) Joshua Kennedy of Carbonear enjoyed a successful softball season at the local, provincial, Eastern Canadian and National levels in 2019. At the local level Joshua captured a silver medal in the U16 Boy’s Division of the Constable William Moss Memorial Tournament, where he participated in the Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch league and Senior Men’s Fastpitch League. Provincially, Joshua participated in four Fastpitch tournaments, the U16 boys, U19 men’s, Intermediate men’s and Senior men’s, earning a gold in U16 Boy’s, a silver in U19 Men’s and finished with an impressive .455 batting average (5-for-11) in Intermediate Men’s. At the Eastern Canadian level, Joshua aided in capturing a bronze medal at the U16 Boy’s Eastern Canadian Softball Championship and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team as an infielder named top 10 performer. Joshua represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the National level on the U16 Boy’s Canadian Fastpitch Championship, where he was named to the Tournament All-Star team as infielder. Joshua’s commitment, sportsmanship and skilled sporting abilities earned him the title of 2019 Softball NL Minor Male Player of the Year. Dawson Mercer (Hockey) Dawson Mercer is a hockey player hailing from Bay Roberts who has proven his sporting abilities as the first Newfoundlander selected to Team Canada’s World Junior Team since Luke Adam in 2010. Dawson has been part of Hockey Canada team blue U17 team, and was a member of the QMJHL all-star team, where they competed against Russia in the Canada vs. Russia series. Dawson had 3 points with two goals and one assist in two games. Dawson now plays in the QMJHL in the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, tallying 45 points, with 18 goals and 27 assists, in 28 games. Dawson is a hard-working and passionate athlete, who is proud to represent NL on the National stage. Senior Female Athlete of the Year Catherine Barrett (Artistic Swimming) Catherine Barrett is an Artistic Swimmer on Team Canada and has competed at the national and international level. Catherine graduated from Malvern Collegiate Institute in 2018 and then began her bachelor of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. Catherine is currently training full time and working towards her goal of competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Catherine won gold with Team Canada at the World Aquatics Championships (FINA) in 2019, and in the same year, competed at the Panam Games in the Free and Technical categories and won gold in both with Team Canada. Though Catherine left her home Province of NL as a teenager to train in Ontario, she maintains strong ties to her roots. Catherine visited Newfoundland in the fall of 2019 to help train and inspire the next generation of Artistic Swimmers in the province who will be competing on Team NL in the 2020 competitions. Erin Daly (Ultimate Frisbee) Erin Daly is an Ultimate Frisbee athlete from St. John’s, NL. In 2019, Erin became the first NL female Ultimate Frisbee athlete to win a medal at the Canadian National Championships, where she was the highest scoring female in the competition.