SASKATOON (Jan. 11, 2023) – A group of 26 outstanding athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and teams are finalists and recipients for the nine different categories at the 2022 Saskatchewan Sport Awards.

The annual program celebrates the success and dedication of those in the province’s amateur sport community through two categories – Excellence Awards and Recognition Awards. The Excellence
Awards celebrate outstanding event performances or a series of performances by a Saskatchewan athlete, coach or team within a given calendar year, while the Recognition Awards include the Volunteer and Coach Dedication Awards which honour individuals who have devoted their time and effort to the growth of sport in Saskatchewan. Paralympic swimmer Nikita Ens and adaptive waterski world-record holder Nolan Barnes are recipients of the Inspire Through Sport awards, while long-serving biathlon coach Doug Sylvester and volleyball coach Tracy Hazen were handed the Coach Dedication awards.

For work in broomball, football, wheelchair rugby and Special Olympics, Leslie Bilodeau, Michelle Duchene, Ryan Gaudet and Tony Caissie were honoured with Volunteer Dedication awards.

The 18 finalists across the six Excellence categories includes Olympian and Paralympians, as well as national and international medallists.

“Saskatchewan is home to many outstanding and devoted individuals and teams who go to great lengths to excel at all levels of competition in amateur sport,” said Michael Rogers, Sask Sport Board of Directors Chair.

“Last year featured remarkable performances and contributions and those achievements deserve to be recognized. Without many of these devoted individuals, sport couldn’t happen in communities across the province. These individuals and teams continue to show that sport is truly more than a game.”

The 2022 Saskatchewan Sport Awards will be celebrated gala on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at TCU Place in Saskatoon. The gala will honour the eight Recognition Awards recipients, as well as announce the recipients of the six Excellence Awards and celebrate those named as finalists.

Tickets are available for purchase on the Sask Sport website.

The Saskatchewan Sport Awards will also be available for viewing live on Sask Sport’s YouTube and on SaskTel maxTV Local on Demand at a later date.

Excellence Awards

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Athlete                     Community     Sport               Nominated by

Emily Clark	Saskatoon	Hockey	Saskatoon U18 AAA Stars and supported by Hockey Saskatchewan
Margo Erlam	Saskatoon	Diving	Saskatoon Diving Club and Dive Sask
Brittany Hudak	Prince Albert	Para Nordic	Cross Country Saskatchewan and SASKI Skiing for Disabled

 

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Mark McMorris	Regina	Snowboarding	Sask Snowboard and national team coach
Ben Coakwell	Moose Jaw	Bobsleigh	Huskie Football Alumni and supported by the Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan
Rylan Wiens	Pike Lake	Diving	Saskatoon Diving Club and Dive Sask

 

COACH OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Mary Carroll	Saskatoon	Diving	Dive Sask
Maureen Johnson	Regina	Baton Twirling	Saskatchewan Baton Twirling Association
Jason Reindl	Saskatoon	Athletics	Saskatchewan Athletics

 

YOUTH FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Teah Chavez	Regina	Tennis	Tennis Saskatchewan
Presley Deck	Regina	Diving	Saskatoon Diving Club and Dive Sask
Shelaine Pritchard	Prince Albert	Athletics	Saskatchewan Athletics

 

YOUTH MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Lucas Musschoot	Grenfell	Volleyball	Family and Sask Volleyball
Keegan Rice	Regina	Tennis	Tennis Saskatchewan
Kash Tarasoff	Saskatoon	Diving	Saskatoon Diving Club and Dive Sask

 

TEAM OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Rebels Cheerleading Athletics – Team Smoke	Regina	Cheerleading	Saskatchewan Cheerleading Association
Team Sask Men’s Volleyball Team	Provincial	Volleyball	Sask Volleyball
Regina Thunder	Regina	Football	Football supporter and supported by Football Saskatchewan

 

Recognition
Awards

INSPIRE THROUGH SPORT AWARD

Nikita Ens	Meadow Lake	Para swimming	Swim Saskatchewan
Nolan Barnes	Yorkton	Adaptive waterskiing	Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan

 

COACH DEDICATION AWARD

Doug Sylvester	North Battleford	Biathlon	Biathlon Saskatchewan
Tracy Hazen	Saskatoon	Volleyball	Thunder Creek Volleyball Club and supported by Saskatchewan Volleyball Association

 

VOLUNTEER DEDICATION AWARD

Leslie Bilodeau	Debden	Broomball	Debden Speedballs Boys Minor Broomball and supported by Saskatchewan Broomball Association
Michelle Duchene	Saskatoon	Football	Saskatoon Valkyries and supported by Football Saskatchewan
Ryan Gaudet	Bellevue	Wheelchair Rugby	Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports Association
Tony Caissie	Melfort	Special Olympics	Special Olympics Saskatchewan

For more on the contributions of these coaches, officials and volunteers, as well as the history of the Saskatchewan Sport Awards, see sasksport.ca.

 About Sask Sport 

Sask Sport is a volunteer-led, non-profit organization committed to enriching Saskatchewan communities. As the provincial federation for amateur sport, Sask Sport develops collective programs and services beneficial to sport. Today, 70 provincial and multi-sport organizations and districts represent more than 330,000 registered participants in the province. Sask Sport is also licensed to operate Sask Lotteries. Through an agreement with the Government ofSaskatchewan, Sask Lotteries proceeds — from products including LOTTO MAX, LOTTO 6/49 and ZING tickets — are allocated to eligible sport, culture and
recreation groups. Learn more about Sask Sport at sasksport.ca.  

For more information:

Nicole Betker
Communications Manager
Sask Sport
nbetker@sasksport.ca