School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador holding annual awards banquet this Friday in St. John�s

School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador will honour its top student-athletes, coaches, administrators and schools this coming Friday night at the annual awards banquet held in conjunction with the association's Annual General Meeting. It is an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and recognize the contributions of many in the school system. The delegates and invited guests will take part in the annual awards banquet scheduled for Friday night at the Royal Canadian Legion, Pleasantville.

The Coach of the Year Award is presented to an individual who has had a very successful year in coaching school sports. Randy Ralph of Carbonear Collegiate is this year�s recipient. Ralph is most known for this accomplishment in the sport of wrestling. His teams have consistently been at or near the top in the province. This past year both his boys and girls teams captured team gold at the School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Championships. He has also successfully coached girl�s soccer and girl�s cross country running and track and field to regional titles this past year.

Scott Bishop from Holy Name of Mary Academy in Lawn and Tony Reardon from St. Catherine's are the runners up for the Coach of The Year.

The Coaching Service Award is presented to a maximum of three individuals who have had a long and successful career in coaching high school sports. This year�s winners for 2006 are Gord Pike from Fatima Academy in St. Brides, Murray Fudge from Smallwood Academy in Gambo and Kevin Pittman, retired from St. Lawrence Academy. Mr. Pike has given 22 years to coaching school sports in the sports of cross country running and basketball. He was responsible for re-introducing the sport of basketball to the school. Despite the small school, his teams have consistently competed against larger schools and have been very successful.

Murray Fudge is a recipient of the Coaching Service Award and also a runner-up for the Honour Award. He has been involved in school sports for 31 years, primarily at Smallwood Academy in Gambo. His successes have come in volleyball and track and field. He has also been involved in coaching at the Canada Games level.

The Honour Award is the highest honour given to teachers within the School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador organization. It is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to school sports over many years. The 2006 Honour Award winner is Kevin Pittman from St. Lawrence. Pittman retired last year from teaching after 32 years of service. He started coaching from the start of his career and continues to coach as a retired teacher. Over the years he has coached basketball, hockey, volleyball, cross country running, badminton and soccer, many times coaching numerous sports the same year. He has had a great deal of success at all levels of competition. In addition to all the coaching he has done, Pittman has also been heavily involved in the administration of school sports, as a convenor, regional director, vice president and president of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador. He is also being awarded the Coaching Service Award for his accomplishments.

Newfoundland Power sponsors the Brother G.I. Moore Student-Athletes of the Year Awards. The winners are presented with a $750 cash scholarship and an Athlete of the Year ring. The runners up are awarded $500 and $250 scholarship respectively, provided by Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

The Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 2006 is Kirsten Harris from Glovertown Academy. Kirsten has been involved in every aspect of her school's athletic program throughout her high school years. She has been a member of Glovertown Academy's badminton, ice hockey, volleyball, cross country running and track and field teams. She has won numerous awards at the regional and provincial levels including individual and team sportsmanship awards.

Victoria Thistle of Bishops College in St. John's and Anne Payne from Menihek High in Labrador City are the runners up for this award.

The Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 2006 is Max Burt from Gander Collegiate. Although involved in softball, basketball and track and field but volleyball is Burt's primary focus. He has been an all star at every major volleyball tournament that he has competed in and helped his team to a successful season. He has been a member of the Newfoundland's Canada Games Volleyball team, and invited to try out for the National Junior Team. In addition, he has volunteered his time coaching and officiating elementary and junior high volleyball and basketball.

Bradley McCarthy from Glovertown Academy and Stephen Singleton from St. Catherine's Academy are the runners-up for this award.

The Student-Athletes of the Year are judged not only on athletic success, but also academic prowess and sportsmanship.

All schools in the province compete for the School of the Year Award in their respective classifications. Schools accumulate points throughout the year based on their participation, hosting success and sportsmanship in School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador's 12 sports. The Schools of the Year for 2006 are Stephenville High in the 4A Division, Menihek High from Labrador City in the 3A Division and Holy Name of Mary in Lawn is the 2A Division winner.

Each region in the province also takes this opportunity to acknowledge the regional contribution of one person from their schools. The following are the Regional Recognition Award winners for 2006: Fred Power, Holy Trinity High, Torbay; Brendan Veitch of Roncalli High, Avondale; Sheldon Stringer of Discovery Collegiate of Bonavista; Wayne Sturge, Lester Pearson of Wesleyville; Jonathan Bennett of King Academy in Harbour Breton; Jim Shave of Baie Verte High; Derek Locke of Templeton Collegiate in Gilliams; Rod Beals of Our Lady of Labrador High in Forteau and Ed Turpin of Mealy Mountain Collegiate, Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

The School Milk Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and Dairy Farmers Association of Newfoundland and Labrador are being honoured by School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador for their tremendous financial contribution. For many years they were corporate sponsors of S.S.N.L. and provided many student-athletes with milk product. They will be receiving the President's Award.

Media contact: Karen Richard, 729-2795

2006 06 01                                  2:20 p.m.