Sport Newfoundland and Labrador 2023 Provincial Annual Awards Winners Announced
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sport Newfoundland and Labrador (SportNL) is excited to share the ten recipients of the 2023 Provincial Annual Awards which took place on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John’s, NL.
“I am delighted and honored to join in recognizing and celebrating the remarkable athletic achievements and contributions of those who excelled in 2023. Year after year, as we acknowledge and applaud the accomplishments of local amateur athletes, teams, coaches, and administrators, we underscore the profound significance of sports in inspiring and enriching our communities across the province. I want to extend congratulations to the winners and outstanding finalists for this year’s awards.” said Sport Newfoundland and Labrador’s President Chris Schwartz.
The Provincial Annual Awards celebrates the sporting successes and contributions of those people in the sports community from our province.
“These awards continue to signify the importance that sport plays across our province and the accomplishments and contributions of each recipient to sport are undoubtedly inspiring seeing the level of accomplishments at the provincial, national and international level. A big congratulations to all the recipients as we look forward to their continued success in 2024.” shared Sport Newfoundland and Labrador’s Executive Director Troy Croft.
The following were the recipients for each of the ten award categories.
Junior Female Athlete of the Year (Margaret Davis Memorial Award)
Sarah Reid- Basketball
Sarah Reid had an incredible year on the court from start to finish. It began with being named top player on the Gonzaga Vikings leading Gonzaga to the provincial AAAA championship game. Sarah was invited and named to the national U16 team and represented Canada at the FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico where as the 6th player she helped lead Canada to the gold medal game. She concluded her year by playing for Team NL at the U17 nationals and leading NL to their best finish since 2001, being named a second-team all-star while finishing third in the tournament in scoring.
Junior Male Athlete of the Year (Joseph P. Mullins Memorial Award)
Chris Weeks – Swimming
Chris Weeks is an outstanding swimmer who had great success at provincial and national level competitions across the country. Chris in 2023, broke 18 provincial records and while in medal contention at all national meets qualified for FINA World Cup Canadian Team racing at the World Cup in Toronto. For Chris, the highlight of 2023 was earning a place to represent Canada at the Junior World Championships held last September in Israel. Chris is dedicated to his training, and an important influential member of our swimming community.
Executive of the Year (Graham Snow Memorial Award)
Krista Tobin- Soccer
Krista Tobin has served on the CBS Soccer Board of for the past several years and has been an integral part of the success of the Strikers Club during that time. As the Board’s Referee Director, Krista is responsible for overseeing and being involved in the coordination, assigning and training of referees for the Club. Krista ensures that they have the proper level of training for the games they are assigned and ensures they are registered to referee house league, metro league and with the NLSA programs. Each year Krista coordinates more than 50 referees and their assignments. As a former referee, Krista works with the club’s officials to ensure they have the support they need to progress and meets with them on a regular basis to help ensure they are comfortable and growing in their roles.
Volunteer of the Year (Frank W. Graham Memorial Award)
Karen Adams-Basketball (Posthumous)
Karen Adams was a tireless volunteer. Many people run tournaments, sit on a board, chair a committee, help to secure nationals for Newfoundland and Labrador, but very few do them all. Karen was a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Basketball Association (NLBA) Board of Directors for the past decade, she also convened several NLBA provincial tournaments in 2023, helped the NLBA secure nationals, reorganized and rewrote policies to bring them into harmony with Canada Basketball and codify everything in one place. She also sat on or chaired 5 different committees and was the NLBA’s hardest-working volunteer at our major tournaments to boot. She was one of a kind. Karen was nominated by NLBA but sadly passed away unexpectedly before being recognized with this honour.
Female Coach of the Year
Rosemary Ryan-Special Olympics
Rosemary Ryan is an exceptional volunteer coach who advocates for all youth. She coaches the athlete – not the ability or the disability – and gets the best out of all her athletes; whether they be Bay St. George athletes, Team NL or Team Canada. Internationally Rosie was a coach for the Special Olympics Team Canada that competed at the Newfoundland and Labrador Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany. Rosie’s contribution to the team was recognized by the nomination and receipt of the Petro-Canada National Coaching Excellence Award. Two of Rosie’s athletes from the Bay St. George area earned medals at the Newfoundland and Labrador Special Olympics World Games and then came home and received Special Olympics Canada Athlete of the Year! Rosemary works tirelessly to improve the lives of those around her and set them up for success.
Male Coach of the Year (John Drinkwater Memorial Award)
Peter Densmore-Rugby
Peter Densmore led the Atlantic Rock Under 19 Team to Gold Medal performances at both the Atlantic Rugby Championships and the Canadian Nationals in 2023. Additionally, the Memorial Seahawks team came home with a 4th place finish at the Canadian University Rugby Championships. Peter has been instrumental in player development at this level and continues to promote and find success on the field.
Team of the Year (Edward P. Browne Memorial Award)
Team Gushue – Curling
Team Gushue continues to be one of the world’s elite curling teams. In 2023, Team Gushue was successful in winning their second consecutive Tim Horton’s Brier. It was their fifth national championship, a record for a Canadian skip. Team Gushue had a strong performance at the World Men’s Curling Championship finishing second overall. Team Gushue advocates for the sport of curling and inspires others to be their best. Their work ethic and commitment to the sport is second to none. Team Gushue is adored by their fans and continues to be role models for the younger generation of curlers hoping to follow in their footsteps.
Official of the Year Award
Christian Dawe-Hockey
Christian Dawe has been a major player in Hockey NL’s Officiating Program on and off the ice. Christian is presently the President of the Metro Officials Association, which is responsible for the higher levels of officiating in the St. Johns (Metro) area handling approximately 1200 hockey games a year. Christian is also involved with the Hockey Canada High-Performance Program as a member of the watch list for the National High-Performance Program. As a result, Christian was chosen to officiate at the 2022 Telus Cup, the National U-18 Tournament. Last year Christian was also chosen to officiate at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island
Senior Female Athlete of the Year (Elizabeth Swan Memorial Award)
Abigail Newhook-Hockey
Abigail Newhook dominated for Boston College in her sophomore season as she scored 19 goals and added 14 assists for 33 points in 36 games. Abigail was invited to participate in a Team Canada camp in St. Catharines, Ont., before heading to Lake Placid, N.Y., with 22 other Canadian women for a three-game series against the United States bringing her one step closer to playing for Canada’s senior women’s team — something she said she strives for every day.
Senior Male Athlete of the Year (Ferd Hayward Memorial Award)
Gleb Evstigneev- Gymnastics
Gleb Evstigneev was named to Gymnastics Canada’s Development Team in 2023. Gleb’s performances at Canada Winter Games in PEI were historical where he was the first Newfoundland and Labrador gymnast to medal at the event bringing home a gold. Gleb also competed at the Pan American Championships, representing Canada. His efforts were awarded with two more Gold Medals. Gleb was Gymnastics Newfoundland and Labradors Trampoline Athlete of the Year and was also awarded GNL’s Athletic Excellence Award.