The Alberta Sport Awards program honours extraordinary Alberta Athletes, Teams, Coaches and Officials. There are five annual awards, U21(Junior) Athlete and Team, 21 and over (Open) Athlete and Team and Coach of the Year. Two biennial award categories are – the Don Watts Coach Developer and Official of the Year Awards will be presented 2022, 2024 and 2026.
2022 alberta sport recognition award Winners
The 2022 Alberta Sport Recognition Awards were presented by Minister Jason Luan to the recipients at the McDougall Center in Calgary on March 31,2023
Since 2002, the Alberta Sport Awards have been presented to honor the extraordinary athletic accomplishments of our high performance Alberta athletes, teams, coaches and officials.
Alberta develops some of the best teams and High Performance athletes in the world as demonstrated by this year’s winners:
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U21 Male Athlete of the Year – Luc Goertzen – Diving
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U21 Female Athlete of the Year – Kaiya Ruiter – Figure Skating
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U21 Team of the Year – Harry Ainlay Titans High School Football Team
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Alberta Male Athlete of the Year – Stefan Daniel – Para Triathlon
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2022 Alberta Female Athlete of the Year – Kelsey Mitchell – Cycling
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Coach of the Year – Larry Steinke – Athletics
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Official of the Year – Kimberly Daniels – Canoe Slalom
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Don Watts Coach Developer Award – Ozzie Sawicki
Congratulations to all our award winners! We look forward to watching you continue to excel on the international stage.
See a complete list of past recipients
AWARDS CRITERIA
A nomination can only be under one criteria
Annual Awards
These awards are open to Alberta male and female athletes meeting the following criteria:
- U21 Female Athlete (born 2002 or later)
- U21 Male Athlete (born 2002 or later)
- 21 years and over - Female Athlete
- 21 years and over - Male Athlete
- Athlete’s primary residence must be in Alberta,
- Athletes, who live temporarily in other locations for education or training purposes and are products of the Alberta sport development system are eligible for nomination. A significant portion (at least five years) of the athlete’s or team’s sport development shall have occurred in Alberta.
- The nominee must have represented Canada internationally in the previous calendar year (2021).
- In the Athlete categories, the individual must have represented Alberta nationally or Canada internationally in the previous calendar year (2021).
These awards are open to Alberta teams meeting the following criteria:
- U21 Team (born 2002 or later)
- 21 years and over -Team
- Athlete’s primary residence must be in Alberta, or the majority of the team’s athletes must reside in Alberta.
- Athletes, or teams, who live temporarily in other locations for education or training purposes and are products of the Alberta sport development system are eligible for nomination. A significant portion (at least five years) of the athlete’s or team’s sport development shall have occurred in Alberta.
- The nominee must have represented Canada internationally in the previous calendar year (2021).
- In the Team categories, the team must have represented Alberta nationally or Canada internationally in the previous calendar year (2021).
This award is open to Alberta coaches meeting the following criteria:
- Actively coached in Alberta for a minimum of five years;
- Consistently contributed to the successful development of Alberta’s young athletes;
- Recognized as a leading coach in his/her sport;
- Coached at provincial, western, national or international competition levels;
- Achieved a minimum of NCCP Level II certification in the old NCCP or equivalent in the current NCCP (Competition - Introduction), if available, in the sport;
- Contributed to coaching by leading or assisting with NCCP clinic facilitation, coaching seminars, provincial development camps, or production of resource materials, etc.; and
- Actively pursued professional development by attending clinics, seminars, etc. to enhance coaching skills.
Bi-Annual Award Categories
These awards will be presented in 2022 based on lifetime achievement. Next awards in this category will be presented in 2024.
This award is open to Alberta National Coaches Certification Program (NCCP) Learning Facilitators/Evaluators meeting the following criteria:
- Trained and/or Certified as a NCCP Learning Facilitator/Evaluator;
- Actively facilitated NCCP workshops in Alberta for a minimum of five years;
- Endorsed by the Provincial Sport Association or Provincial Coaching Representative;
- Consistently contributed to the development of Alberta’s coaches;
- Recognized as a leading Learning Facilitator/Evaluator;
- Contributed to coach training by leading or assisting with NCCP workshops, coach seminars, development camps, development of coaching resources, etc.; and
- Actively participated in professional development by attending clinics, seminars, etc. to enhance Learning Facilitator/Evaluator skills.
This award is open to Alberta officials meeting the following criteria:
- Actively officiated in Alberta for a minimum of five years;
- Endorsed as a leading official by his/her sport association;
- Achieved a high level of certification, as defined by the sport;
- Actively pursued professional development by attending clinics, seminars, etc. to enhance officiating skills;
- Contributed to officiating by leading or assisting with official clinic instruction, seminars, provincial development camps, production of resource materials, etc.; and
- Officiated at provincial, regional, national and/or international level competitions.
Award Nomination Information
SUBMISSION CRITERIA:
Submissions for the 2022 Alberta Sport Awards must include the following:
- All nominations must be eligible by completing the application and providing a complete record of the merits and achievements of the nominee.
- Any organization, association or individual may submit nominations.
- Athlete and Team of the Year nominations, a Provincial Sport Association or National Sport Association contact must be identified in order to verify (if necessary) any information contained in the nomination.
- The Don Watts Coach Developer, and Officiating nominations must have a Provincial Sport Association endorsement (signed by the respective Provincial Sport Association President or his/her designate).
- In order for a nomination to be considered, all sections of the application relevant to the nominee must be completed.
- Incomplete nominations will not be returned.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
1. Performance Summary:
Athlete/Team/Coach of the year Nominations:
- Please provide a summary for 2021 providing a complete list of the following:
- names, dates and locations of events competed in;
- final performance;
- world and national ranking; and
- indicate personal bests, records established, or awards received.
Don Watts Coach Developer Award and Officials Nomination:
- Please provide a summary of accomplishments:
- names, dates and locations of events attended;
- indicate awards received; and
- other significant contributions made to the sport.
2. Reference Letter(s):
In order to strengthen the nomination, please provide one or two detailed reference letters (provided in a separate attachment). The letters must include the following:
- Full name and contact information (email, phone number, organization and location) of the individual providing the reference.
- Please provide a written summary of why the nominee is deserving of the award in their category.
- Athlete, Team and Coach of the Year Award - background information is acceptable, focus your comments on the accomplishments of the nominee in 2021 (1-2 pages max).
- Don Watts and Official Awards, focus your comments on the overall accomplishments of the nominee.
3. Additional Documents
These documents are directly related to the nomination
- Team Rosters - list of team members for team with more than 6 members.
- Additional reference letter if needed.
NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
Award nominees and their nominators will be notified in writing of the selection committee's decision in Fall 2022.
General Inquires: [email protected]