Olympians and Paralympians, international and national champions and the coaches and volunteers who have dedicated time behind the scenes, will all be honoured at the 2023 Saskatchewan Sport Awards.
The Saskatchewan Sport Awards will celebrate the 30 finalists and recipients of the event’s nine different categories on February 1 in Regina.
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.
2020 Paralympian Jessica Frotten, adaptive waterski world-record holder Blake Lamontagne and diverse gymnast group Team Saskatchewan Gymnaestrada are recipients of the Inspire Through Sport awards. While long-serving volunteers in adaptive ski, basketball and football, Pat Prokopchuk, Bob Coffin and Mike Tanton will be honoured with Volunteer Dedication awards.
Six coaches all with at least 20 years of coaching experience will be handed Coach Dedication awards. The coaches are Don Larson (box lacrosse), Rob Sleeth (canoe/kayak), Pat Barry (football), Maureen Johnson (baton twirling), Hazem Hussein (swim) and Jason Cawkwell (swim).
The 18 finalists across the six Excellence categories includes an Olympian as well as national and international medallists.
“The dedication, perseverance and success that each award finalist and recipient share is remarkable,” said Bill Kinash, Volunteer Board Chair for Sask Sport. “All finalists are strong examples of why Saskatchewan’s amateur sport community thrives locally, provincially, nationally and even, internationally. As a community, we can be very proud to celebrate their achievements.” “All finalists are a strong example of why Saskatchewan’s amateur sport community thrives locally, provincially, nationally and even, internationally. As a community, we can be very proud to celebrate their achievements.”
The 2023 Saskatchewan Sport Awards will be celebrated with a gala on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Queensbury Convention Centre in Regina. The gala will honour the 12 Recognition Awards recipients, as well as announce the recipients of the six Excellence Awards and celebrate those named as finalists.
Youth Athlete of the Year Finalists
Female
Teah Chavez – Tennis
Sophia Magus – Athletics
Lila Stewart – Diving
Male
Keegan Rice – Tennis
Luca Veeman – Speed Skating
Storm Zablocki – Athletics
Coach of the Year Finalists
David Calam – Lawn Bowling
Igor Nikitovic – Canoe
Ryan Jones – Para Swimming
Team of the Year Finalists
University of Regina Cougars Men’s 4×200-metre relay team – Athletics
Saskatoon Hilltops – Football
North Regina Little League All-Stars – Baseball
Athlete of the Year Finalists
Male
Rylan Wiens – Diving
Taylor Carter – Special Olympics: Golf
Jonathan Podbielski – Athletics
Female
Sydney Carroll – Artistic Swim
Shelby Newkirk – Para Swimming
Paige Crozon – Basketball
Coach Dedication – Recipients
Hazen Hussein – Swim
Pat Barry – Football
Jason Cawkwell – Swim
Maureen Johnson – Baton Twirling
Don Larson – Box Lacrosse
Rob Sleeth – Canoe
Volunteer Dedication – Recipients
Bob Coffin – Football
Mike Tanton – Basketball
Pat Prokopchuk – Adaptive Ski
Inspire Through Sport – Recipients
Jessica Frotten – Para Athletics
Blake Lamontagne – Adaptive Waterski
Team Saskatchewan Gymnaestrada – Gymnastics
Nominations were made for 49 athletes, coaches and teams for the 2023 Saskatchewan Sport Awards in the Excellence categories.