Sport BC celebrated the 54th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards virtually on Thursday, March 25, 2021.The Athlete of the Year Awards recognize the province’s best in amateur sport including athletes, coaches, teams, and officials for outstanding performances in their sport over the 2019 season. Each finalist was nominated by their Provincial or Multi-Sport Organization, High School, College, or University.
The Athlete of the Year Awards, founded by Sport BC, are the longest running sport awards ceremony in Canada and recipients are determined by a Selection Committee from the media and sport sectors in BC. The committee is chaired by Bernie Pascall.
Among the finalists are many whose paths to their tremendous careers in sport brought them to the BC Games or Team BC as athletes, coaches, and officials. There were 19 BC Games and Team BC alumni chosen as finalists with 6 of those bringing home top honours as award winners.
BC Games and Team BC alumni chosen as award recipients:
- College Athlete of the Year Rachel Beauchamp (Douglas College) – Basketball
2010 and 2014 BC Summer Games, 2011 Western Canada Summer Games
- High School Female Athlete of the Year Jasneet Nijjar (Queen Elizabeth) – Athletics
2016 BC Summer Games
- University Athlete of the Year Kiera Van Ryk (University of British Columbia) – Volleyball
2017 Canada Summer Games
- Senior Female Athlete of the Year Rachel Cliff (Vancouver) – Athletics
2009 Canada Summer Games
- Official of the Year Jeff Thomson (Vancouver) – Gymnastics
2002 BC Winter and 2006 BC Winter Games
- Senior Female Athlete of the Year Camryn Rogers (Richmond) – Athletics
2014 BC Summer Games, 2015 Western Canada Summer Games
An additional six awards were presented at the virtual ceremony including the Best of BC, KidSport BC Community Champion, Harry Jerome Comeback, Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award and In Her Footsteps Honourees. Team BC alumna Meghan Hebert was recognized with the Bobbie Steen Foundation Legacy Award for her work breaking down barriers for women and girls in snowboarding. Meghan coached Team BC's snowboard athletes at the 2015 and 2019 Canada Winter Games.
To watch a recording of the 54th Annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards, please visit https://youtu.be/7sPX9iaIMe0. More information about the Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards including the full list of award recipients can be found at https://sportbc.com/athlete-of-the-year-awards-2/.