The best in Nanaimo sports recognized at 13th annual Achievement Awards
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NANAIMO — The biggest contributions in local sports were recognized at the 13th annual Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards on Friday.
The annual ceremony took place at the Coast Bastion Inn with a number of different sports recognized, and the guest speaker was former winner and local distance runner Erin Burrett.
In total there were 18 awards handed out to athletes, coaches, administrators, and volunteers for their efforts in 2017.
The VIU Mariners men’s soccer team was front and centre capturing the Team of the Year.
Their coach Bill Merriman was selected as the High-Performance Coach of the Year in what it turns out was his final season behind the bench.
Merriman announced he was stepping away from the VIU program in the lead up to Friday’s ceremony.
Most of the winners were chosen from three finalists but there was a group of special awards that were handed out to individuals in the sporting community who went above and beyond.
Don Goodman won the Michael Rhode Memorial Award (long time dedication to sport) for his volunteer work with the Nanaimo White Rapids swim club, and Don Millar was named the Hero in You award winner for his special contribution to sport as a scorekeeper for a number of different teams and sports.
The Steve Smith Memorial Award is given to the to the top athlete in extreme sport and this year that went to BMX racer Ben Leslie.
The award for Sports Story of the Year centred around a local legend and the 50th World Championship Bathtub Race.
Just a day after the celebration of life for Tom Harris, Brandon Leigh posted the fasted time in the 2017 Bathtub Race in a tub sponsored by the Harris Auto Group.
Here’s a run down of the rest of the 2018 Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards
Male Team Athlete of the Year: Brycen Mayoh, VI Raiders (football)
Female Team Athlete of the Year: Veronica Wong, Team BC (baseball)
Male Individual Athlete of the Year: Wyatt Brook, VIU (golf)
Female Individual Athlete of the Year: Rachel Robertson (kettlebell)
Junior Male Team Athlete of the Year: Anders Cederberg, NDSS (basketball)
Female Team Athlete of the Year: Chantelle Lee, Nanaimo Timbermen (lacrosse)
The Junior Male Individual Athlete of the Year: Ethan Katzberg (hammer throw)
Junior Female Individual Athlete of the Year: Amelia Cooper (karate)
Junior Team of the Year: Nanaimo Christian School senior girls’ volleyball team
Partners of the Year: Jeff Webb and Isaac Bevis (beach volleyball)
Masters Athlete of the Year: Dennis Lynch (cross country skiing)
Grassroots Coach of the Year: Joel Smith, NDSS (field lacrosse)
Sport Administrator of the Year: Kurt Nordli (karate)
Official of the Year: O-Lin Metz (soccer)
dan@nanaimonewsnow.com
On twitter: @danmarshall77
