Athletes, parents and fans of local athletics packed the Rotary Centre for the Arts Wednesday night for the 2016 Community Sports Hero Awards Reception.
Twenty awards were given out to people of all ages, who are involved in all types of sports.
All of the award recipients were nominated by someone in the community and then voted on by the City of Kelowna and Pacific Sport, a non-profit group that promotes sport in the region.
“The evening’s about recognizing those people,” said Brad Duquette, communications lead with Pacific Sport. “All ages, all levels. It’s very open.”
Kelowna’s mayor Colin Basran attended the event and handed out the awards. The first ten went to ‘Sport Hero’ volunteers, followed by nine ‘Athletic Excellence Award’ recipients.
The night was moderated by Pacific Sport executive director Shaunna Taylor and Downtown Kelowna’s Ryan Watters. The crowd was treated to a number of Watter’s sport-themed puns throughout the evening.
The ‘Sport Hero’ category recognized the volunteers that keep athletics as strong as they are in the Okanagan.
Many recipients were cheered on as they walked to the stage to accept their award, to a song they had chosen themselves.
Some song choices elicited laughter from the crowd. Ken Boe, who received an award for his part in growing rugby in the Okanagan, walked down to the song, ‘Mr. Bojangles,’ while Paul Thiessen, awarded for his extensive volleyball coaching career, walked down to Van Halen’s volleyball-appropriate ‘Jump.’
The Athletic Excellence Awards were given to nine active athletes who are participating at a variety of levels: nationally, provincially, collegiately, at world championships and in Iron Man competitions.
Several athletes weren’t at the event, as they were overseas playing the sports they had received the award for.
A final Sport Hosting Award was given to the BC Community Football Association for the organization’s work in raising the region’s reputation for hosting sporting events.
The event was capped off by recognizing the young athletes who will be participating in the BC Winter Games in Penticton at the end of the month.
Wednesday’s award recipients were as follows:
Athletic Excellence Award recipients:
Tekarra Banser – Biathlon
Hannah Bennison – Athletics
Olivia Gran – Figure Skating
Kailin Jones – Volleyball
Riley McLean – Para-swimming
Ryan Moffat – Alpine Skiing
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe – Basketball
Heather Wurtele – Triathlon
Sport Hero Award recipients:
Dan Bernheisel – Basketball
Ken Boe – Rugby
George Curran – Rugby
Scott Jacobsen – Soccer
Ben Macauley – Football
Todd Russell – Baseball
Paul Thiessen – Volleyball
Johnny Vesterinen – Tennis
Mike Walsh – Athletics
Travis Wray – Lacrosse