For immediate release
And the finalists are . . .
Sport Nova Scotia announces RICOH Sport Award Finalists
HALIFAX, NS (June 1, 2010) – National greats, provincial record-smashers and homegrown international champions were highlighted today, as Sport Nova Scotia announced the names of the finalists for the 14th annual RICOH Sport Awards.
“We have an exceptional group of finalists this year,” said Jamie Ferguson, CEO of Sport Nova Scotia. “Among them, we have the top female boxer in the country, a 19-year-old who has broken or re-set 40 provincial swimming records, and a young woman from East Preston who competed for Canada in the World Basketball Championships. There are stories of victorious underdogs, the Cape Bretoner who scored the winning goal for Canada to take gold in world championship hockey, and a local club who grew their ringette participation by 162 per cent. There is also a young man from Wallace who is landing top ten finishes in figure skating around the world, the fastest sprinter in the country, and a coach who took Nova Scotia to a first-ever sailing title.”
The RICOH Sport Awards recognize the achievements of Nova Scotia’s elite athletes, teams, coaches, officials and volunteers in amateur sport over the past year.
“Each of these nominees has come through a rigorous selection process and they represent the best in their respective categories, not only locally but regionally, nationally and internationally,” says Ferguson. “They are the types of people who inspire others to get involved in sport, which helps build our sport system and spread the benefits of sport participation across the province. Nova Scotians can be very proud of this group.”
Over 200 nominations were submitted by Provincial Sport Organizations. Finalists were selected based on their best performance of the season, in addition to factors such as the nominee’s sport history, community involvement, obstacles (if any), the field of competition, and so on.
The finalists were announced in nine of the twelve categories. They are:
The RICOH Team of the Year
Canadian Women's C2 200m, 500m - CanoeKayak
Canada Games Men's Basketball Team
Ted Skiffington & Jonathan Reid - Sailing
The RICOH Female Individual Athlete of the Year
Alexandra Duckworth - Snowboarding
Adrienne Power - Athletics
Stephanie Walker - Boxing
The RICOH Male Individual Athlete of the Year
Richard Dalton - CanoeKayak
David Sharpe - Swimming
Mattias Wolter - Athletics
The RICOH Female Team Athlete of the Year
Justine Colley - Basketball
Genevieve Orton - CanoeKayak
Jessica Wong - Hockey
The RICOH Male Team Athlete of the Year
Derek Gaudet - Soccer
John Mattatall - Skating
Andrew Russell - CanoeKayak
The RICOH Coach of the Year
Natasha Burgess - Snowboarding
Tanya Daniels - Athletics
Mike Todd - Sailing
The RICOH Official of the Year
Lou Davis - Softball
Judy Williams - CanoeKayak
Rob Williams - Sailing
Association of the Year
Dartmouth Ringette Association
Special Olympics Nova Scotia
St. Margaret Sailing Club
Corporate Sponsor
Aerobics First - Triathlon Nova Scotia
Bell Aliant - Alpine Ski Nova Scotia
Nautel Limited - Nova Scotia Yachting Association
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 5, 2010, at the World Trade and Convention Centre. Additional categories to be announced on June 5th include RICOH Fair Play, RICOH Sport Makes a Difference and Sport Nova Scotia Chair Awards. Sport Nova Scotia and RICOH will also recognize the Volunteer of the Year from each of the Provincial Sport Organizations.
IKON Office Solutions was the title sponsor of the event for 13 years; this marks the first year the event is presented by RICOH, who acquired IKON late in 2008.
About Ricoh Canada
Ricoh Canada Inc. is a leading provider of document solutions. Ricoh’s fully integrated hardware and software products help businesses share information efficiently and effectively by enabling customers to control the input, management and output of documents.
Ricoh Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh Corporation with its head office located in Toronto, employing over 2,200 employees nation-wide. They are pioneers in the development of computer-networked and digital multifunctional document systems and market leaders in colour and black & white digital imaging systems, facsimile products, printers, scanners, digital duplicators, document management and wide format engineering systems.
With our head office located in Japan, Ricoh employs over 108,000 people worldwide and has realized a steady growth in revenue and profits for almost a decade, generating sales in excess of $20 billion (U.S.) fiscal year 2008. Our history is 73 years old as the leading supplier of office automation equipment.
About Sport Nova Scotia
Sport Nova Scotia is a voice for amateur sport that promotes the benefits of health, personal development and achievement of all participants. Sport Nova Scotia is a non-profit, non-government organization representing over 60 Provincial Sport Organizations and more then 170,000 member Nova Scotians.
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For more information, please contact:
Carolyn Townsend
Director, Communications and Public Relations
902-425-5450 ext. 321
ctownsend@sportnovascotia.ca