Brantford celebrates youth sports at annual awards
The City of Brantford opened the third Youth Sports Week with a flag raising in Harmony Square, followed shortly thereafter by the 17thth Annual Youth Sport Awards on Saturday 11th March 2023.
Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis was joined by Bill Harding and a number of members of the sports community, as well as council members Michael Sullivan, John Sless and Mandy Samwell as the Brantford Sports Council flag was raised.
Davis spoke about the skills, community, commitment and drive that comes with youth participation in sports, and he also recognized the commitment of those who enable youth sports within the community.
“This week is also about recognizing all of the volunteers who make youth sports possible in our community, and we have awards later this morning recognizing many of those volunteers because youth sports is not possible without them,” Davis said.
Bill Harding, Chairman of Brantford Sports Council, thanked city staff for all their work and support to make this week and events possible. He spoke of the return of physical sport and the role of sport in the city.
“Youth sport is a key part of the social fabric of our community,” Harding said. “Everyone is involved in sport and it’s an important aspect of our lives, it affects everyone.”
After reading the official proclamation, Davis and Harding raised the flag while those in attendance cheered and clapped before proceeding to the awards.
The 17thth The annual Youth Sports Awards were held at the Stedman Community Bookstore in the Research and Academic Building at Wilfried Laurier University and was attended by many local youth, families and volunteers.
Master of Ceremonies Carmine Romano welcomed the participants and opened the ceremony before a country acknowledgment and the national anthem.
“This is a special day because we’re here to celebrate the people who make sport a reality every day in our community, and sometimes you see those people and sometimes you don’t,” he said. “We’re here to pat on the back some of the nominated athletes as well as the coaches who truly are the unsung heroes of what happens every day, every week, every month and every year – the difference they make makes sometimes just no difference not getting enough of a pat on the shoulder. The volunteers, the organizers, the schedulers, the fundraisers, the uniform orderers and the referees who go unnoticed – we just don’t give them enough credit. Today, this is our small but big way of recognizing all the people who make sport possible in Brantford and our community.”
After both Harding and Mayor Davis addressed those in attendance, Romano began the awards ceremony by greeting the presenter of each award and all nominees before announcing the recipient.
Some of the many awards and recipients were as follows:
Hunter Payne won the Kevin Finney Memorial Award for athleticism and dedication in swimming.
The winners of the Phyllis Gretzky Memorial Award for Female Youth Leadership were Cassidy Chapin for Multisport and Marissa Wheeler for Artistic Swimming.
Hunter Ballantyne won the Frank Bricker Memorial Award for Male Youth Leadership in Baseball.
The Dave Levac Award for Outstanding Sports Function was presented to all nominees including: DJ McQueen for his work in ice hockey, Jim Chmiel in basketball, Shannon Scheffel in water sports and Sue Grinton in ice hockey.
Steve Petrella received the John Macklin Memorial Award for Coach of the Year for his work in basketball.
The George Churchill Memorial Award winners for Volunteer of the Year in Sports were: Connie Martin for artistic swimming and Sandra Gage for her work in community hockey.
The Jack Calbeck Memorial Award for Lifetime Sports Sponsorship was presented to all nominees, including Giant Tiger, Cowan Insurance Group and Renway Energy.
The George Jones Memorial Award for Lifelong Volunteer Service to Sport was presented to all nominees including: Rick and Sandy Beedham for volleyball, Suzanne Paulins for water sports and Thom Foster for his work in hockey.
The BCI Junior Boys rugby team won the Jimmy Wilkes Memorial Award for Team of the Year.
At the conclusion of the event, Rick Mannen presented Garrett Riley, a Paralympic ice hockey player, with the Frank Tomlin Memorial Award for Brantford’s Athlete of the Year.
Harding concluded the event by once again thanking City staff and Brantford Sports Council for all their hard work and recognition, and congratulating those who were both nominated and recognized for their excellence.