The ADL/Sport PEI Awards for curling were presented tonight at the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside following Curl PEI’s Annual General Meeting.

Peter Gallant won the coach of the year award, with Peter Pidgeon taking official of the year honours.

Peter Gallant

Photo (L-R): Claude LeBlanc, ADL Corporate Sales Manager, Shelly Bradley of Team Birt, accepting on behalf of their coach Peter Gallant, who was out of the province and unable to attend the awards ceremony

Peter Gallant coached the Suzanne Birt rink to a first place finish at the 2013 PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s championship, going on to coach them at the nationals, were they finished just out of the playoffs, and also coached the Christopher Gallant team to a second place finish at the provincial Pepsi Juniors this season. With Peter’s help, the Birt rink qualified for the championship round in all the cashspiels, except one, that they entered this season, finishing as runners-up twice, while the Gallant team won the Fall Fling junior bonspiel in Summerside. Peter also served as the coach of the Brad Gushue rink of St. John’s NL, which includes his son Brett, at the Brier, where they finished fourth, and in other events.

The teams he coaches give him high praise, mentioning his positive energy and attitude, his motivational skills, and also saying that he makes himself available for day to day practices, and noting that he is very knowledgeable, technically and strategically, about the game.

Peter Pidgeon

Photo (L-R): Claude LeBlanc, ADL Corporate Sales Manager, Eric Pidgeon, accepting on behalf of his father, Peter Pidgeon, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony

Peter Pidgeon has recently returned to umpiring after being a noteworthy coach for several years. He  attained his Level 2 officiating certification two seasons ago and has been a great asset to the umpiring community on PEI since that time.

He  is willing to travel to any of the clubs on the Island to help out. This is much appreciated as it can be difficult to find people who can do so.

He  always arrives early so he can ensure that things are ready for the day. He  makes sure he follows the routines which have been established so that all teams know what to expect from the coin toss, to the practice, to the playing of the game.

He took a timer training course to familiarize himself with the new “Thinking Time” concept used this year for the first time.

He proved that he could handle situations where not just knowledge was required, but where patience and tact were also needed. Peter remained calm and didn’t get  upset when faced with problems. He was not afraid to ask for help if and when it was required.

Pidgeon also worked at events in other capacities. He was at the Players’ Championship in Summerside doing statistics. He worked the National Seniors in Summerside this year as an on-ice observer, and did a great job.

Peter  has shown great dedication and commitment to the umpiring community on PEI.