(www.sportpei.pe.ca) With the 2008 sporting year now over, Sport P.E.I is asking for nominations for its annual awards banquet. The banquet – to be held April 8 2009 at the Rodd Royalty Inn in Charlottetown – will be the 35th banquet hosted by the federation, and will recognize the province’s outstanding amateur athletes and teams from 2008, as well as coaches, officials and volunteers who have made outstanding contributions this past year.
Nominations are welcomed by any member of the public, as well as provincial sports associations, in any of the following categories: administrator of the year; coach of the year; team of the year; official of the year; the masters athlete award; junior male athlete of the year; junior female athlete of the year; male and female intercollegiate athletes of the year; senior female athlete of the year, and senior male athlete of the year. The athlete and team awards should reflect outstanding achievement in 2008, while the official, administrator and coach awards can reflect achievements over a longer period. Junior athletes must be aged 18 or younger on January 1 2009, while to be eligible for the masters award, athletes must be aged 35 or over, or competing in a recognized masters category in their particular sport.
“The Sport PEI awards have become one of the highlights of the sporting year,” said spokesperson Nick Murray, who will be coordinating the nominations before they are passed onto the board for review. “We welcome nominations in all the categories, and we particulalrly urge the public and member associations to give thought to nominating those who volunteer in the coach, official and administrator categories. These people often get overlooked and our awards celebration is a chance to recognize those people who give countless hours to make the sport system better for everybody.”
The deadline for receipt of nominations is Friday, January 16, and forms are available by calling Sport P.E.I at 368-4110 or toll free 1-800-247-6712. They are also available online at www.sportpei.pe.ca