Sport Nova Scotia honours recipients of the RICOH Sport Awards
HALIFAX, NS (June 5, 2010) – The winners of the RICOH Sport Awards were unveiled by Sport Nova Scotia tonight. Among them is the 19-year-old from Bridgewater who is the top junior steeplechase runner in the country, the Halifax coach who took Nova Scotia to a first-ever sailing title, and the Cape Bretoner who scored the winning goal for Canada to take gold in world championship hockey.
Over 500 members of the Nova Scotia sport community gathered at the World Trade and Convention Centre to see Sport Nova Scotia present the 14th annual RICOH Sport Awards. The prestigious sport recognition event recognized the achievements of more than 200 nominated athletes, coaches, officials, sponsors and volunteers from across the province.
“Every year I am humbled by what these Nova Scotians have achieved. In many cases they have represented our province nationally and internationally and experienced great success,” says Jamie Ferguson, CEO, Sport Nova Scotia. “Although Sport Nova Scotia does much of its work in grassroots participation, it’s still critical to recognize this level of excellence. Each of these athletes has made a significant personal sacrifice to reach this level. They have made us proud and provide inspiration that helps enhance the sport system in this province.”
Ferguson adds, “For the past 14 years, Ricoh (formerly IKON Office Solutions) has worked with us so that we can continue to recognize these Nova Scotians for their greatness.”
Vincent Gauthier, Director of Atlantic Canada for Ricoh says, “Ricoh is honoured to be part of this event. Each of the nominees represent what our company believes in – hard work, dedication and excellence.”
The RICOH award winners of the night are:
The RICOH Team of the Year: Canadian Women's C2 200m, 500m - CanoeKayak
The RICOH Female Individual Athlete of the Year: Adrienne Power – Athletics
The RICOH Male Individual Athlete of the Year: Mattias Wolter - Athletics
The RICOH Female Team Athlete of the Year: Jessica Wong - Hockey
The RICOH Male Team Athlete of the Year: Andrew Russell - CanoeKayak
The RICOH Coach of the Year: Mike Todd - Sailing
The RICOH Official of the Year: Lou Davis – Softball
The RICOH Fair Play Award: Edward Whitehouse - Alpine Skiing
The RICOH Association of the Year Award: St. Margaret Sailing Club
The RICOH Sport Makes a Difference Award – two winners: Try Lacrosse AND Girls' Day in Baseball Committee
The RICOH Major Corporate Sponsor: Aerobics First - Triathlon
Sport Nova Scotia Chair Award: Bob Nauss
The winners in all categories, except the Sport Nova Scotia Chair Award, were chosen from over 200 nominations that were submitted by Provincial Sport Organizations. Two committees reviewed all the nominations. These volunteer committees were comprised of leaders of the Provincial Sport Organizations, representatives from the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, the media, and community stakeholders. The first committee looked at the nominee’s most outstanding performance of the past year. This is worth 60% of the nominee’s overall score. The top five candidates in each category advanced to the second committee. Members of the second selection committee were charged with looking at “everything else” - the overall year, past successes, obstacles, the competitive field, and any other outstanding considerations. This mark was worth 40% of the nominee’s overall score.
For more information on the RICOH Sport Awards, please contact Carolyn Townsend, Director of Communications and Public Relations, Sport Nova Scotia, at ctownsend@sportnovascotia.ca