The Greater Victoria Sports Awards, for achievement in 2022, were presented Thursday night at Government House and spanned accomplishments from Beijing to Birmingham.
Hockey player Micah Zandee-Hart, who won gold with Canada at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, was named Greater Victoria female athlete of the year. New York Rangers-prospect goaltender Dylan Garand, who backstopped Canada to 2022 world junior championship gold, was selected junior male athlete of the year.
Riley Pickrell was named male athlete of the year, as chosen by the selection committee. He had a breakthrough pro season in Europe with the Israel Cycling Academy team and won the fourth stage of the U-23 Giro d’Italia before representing Canada in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Diver Renee Batalla picked up the top female junior athlete award for winning senior nationals and making the Canadian Commonwealth Games team at only 15 years old. Hall of Fame golfer Jim Rutledge, who won the 2022 PGA Seniors Championship of Canada for his seventh career title in the event, accepted the Victoria male senior athlete of the year award. Cyclist Heather Simonson received the senior female athlete accolade.
The Alex Nelson Awards for top Indigenous athletes went to national-champion UVic Vikes field hockey player Judy Cristante for women’s and lacrosse player Ben Pawluk for men’s. The B.C. team at the 2022 Canada Summer Games dedicated their gold medal to teammate Pawluk, who was battling cancer, and unable to play in the Games.
There was a tie for team of the year with the UVic Vikes field hockey squad and Camosun Chargers volleyball team, both national champions, named co-winners. The coach of the year award was also a tie and will go to the respective retiring mentors of the Vikes women’s field hockey and Camosun men’s volleyball squads — Lynne Beecroft and Charles Parkinson, both former national-teamers.
Troy Birtwistle from baseball received the Pat Hall Volunteer Award. Boardworks Diving, which produced three athletes for Canadian team to the Commonwealth Games, received the John and Marilyn Bate Award for organization of the year.
The event is a revival of the Greater Victoria Sports Awards banquet which ran from 1968 to 2005. The original awards were discontinued due to cost and logistics following the 2005 ceremony in which NBA MVP Steve Nash was named Victoria male athlete of the year, 2004 Athens Paralympics multi-medallist swimmer Stephanie Dixon top female athlete and future Olympic-medallist swimmer Ryan Cochrane junior athlete of the year.
The awards have been revived by the Greater Victoria Sport Tourism Commission and 94 Forward. Olympic medallist rower Dave Calder and Paralympic medallist wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell were masters of ceremony. All ticket proceeds went to KidSport Greater Victoria.
