Rugby athlete Maggie Banks was announced as the recipient of the W.R. Bennett Award for Athletic Excellence for the 2018 BC Summer Games in Cowichan.

Maggie has shown incredible athletic gifts that are very rare in an athlete of her age.  She was the top try scorer at the 2018 High School Provincial championships leading her Shawnigan Lake School team to win the title.  At the 2018 BC Summer Games she led her Vancouver Island team to the gold medal.

   

But her role as a leader extends off the pitch as well.  Maggie is always a leader with in a group and her peers are drawn to her confidence and ability.  She has contributed to raising funds for cancer research by cutting off her hair and she is a school prefect for her grade 12 year at Shawnigan Lake School.

Maggie has been training with the national team since the age of 15 and has been a standout as her size, speed and power is beyond anyone her age.  Rugby is her passion and her family ties run deep as both of her parents represented Canada in the sport.  Maggie's main goal is to pursue a spot on the National Team for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games for Rugby Sevens as well as plan on the World Series Circuit and the World Cup.