School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador (SSNL) will honour the top student-athletes, coaches and administrators this coming Friday night at the Airport Inn (Comfort Inn Airport) in St. John�s. The Brother G. I. Moore Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Coach of the Year, Coaching Service Award, Honor Award and Regional Recognition Awards will be handed out.

The Brother G. I. Moore Student Athlete of the Year is given annually to a male and female student-athlete who have best exemplified the ideals of sportsmanship and excellence in their high school sports career. The recipients should combine athletic prowess with academic excellence in such a way as to produce those qualities which best portray the objectives of our educational system.

The winner of the Student Athlete Awards receives a $750 scholarship from Newfoundland Power. The runners-up receive a $500 and $250 respectively from Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

The Female Student Athlete of the Year for 2007-08 is Victoria Ralph from Carbonear Collegiate. Throughout her years at Carbonear Collegiate, Ralph has participated on the badminton, ball hockey, basketball, table tennis, soccer, cross country running and wrestling teams, and been a member of seven championship teams. In one year alone, she was selected to represent the province in basketball, soccer and wrestling at the national level. Her greatest success has come in the sport of wrestling, where she has competed at Canada Games and won medals at national championships. In addition, she is very involved in her school and community as student council president, coach and fundraiser. The runners up for Female Student Athlete of the Year are Nikita Blair from Eric G. Lambert School in Churchill Falls and Chelsea Harris from Glovertown Academy.

The runners up for the Male Student Athlete of the Year are Ryan Cashin from Carbonear Collegiate and James Grant from Holy Name of Mary in Lawn. The 2008 Br. G.I. Moore Male Athlete of the Year is Matthew Alexander from Stephenville High.

Matthew Alexander has excelled at many SSNL sports including soccer, slo-pitch, cross country running, basketball, track and field and badminton. He has represented the province at both badminton and soccer at the national level. His number one sport has been badminton. Since he started playing at five years of age, he has had great success winning numerous gold medals at Atlantic Championships. Through his years at Stephenville High, he has helped his teams win provincial gold and silver medals in a variety of sports, captained school teams and has been instrumental in Stephenville�s 4A School of the Year Banners.

The Coach of the Year for SSNL for 2008 is Randy Ralph. Ralph is a science teacher at Carbonear Collegiate and heavily involved in the extra curricular sports program at the school. This past year he coached boys basketball, girls ball hockey, wrestling, cross

country running and girls soccer. He has also convened many regional tournaments in these and other sports, and won regional and provincial titles. At the regional level, his teams have captured gold in girls ball hockey and wrestling, as well as provincial titles in boys and girls wrestling. His wrestlers have had great success at the Atlantic and national levels. The runners- up for this award are Mark Warren from Dorset Collegiate in Pilley�s Island and Rodney Greenham from J.M. Olds Collegiate in Twillingate.

The SSNL Coaching Service Award is given to a coach who has enjoyed a long and successful career as a high school coach. The recipients of the 2008 Coaching Service Award are Bob Dyckson from Gander Collegiate and Bruce Andrews from Exploits Valley High in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Dyckson has been teaching and coaching high school sports at Gander Collegiate for 25 years. He has coached volleyball, track and field and basketball at all levels for male and female in the Gander schools. He has been the convenor of numerous regional and provincial tournaments and athletic director at his school. This past year Dyckson hosted the inaugural High School Curling Championships and because of the work he put into that sport, it is well on its way to becoming a full SSNL sport.

Bruce Andrews from Exploits Valley High has been involved in coaching volleyball in the Grand Falls area since 1979. He has held the position of athletic director for 10 years, hosted five SSNL championships and coached five SSNL championship teams. He has twice been runner-up for the SSNL Coach of the Year. His latest contribution has been the development of a mini-volleyball program in the town for Grade 4 � 6 Students.

The Honor Award is presented to a volunteer within SSNL who has shown a long service to SSNL in a variety of capacities. Terry Burton from Gander is this year�s winner. Burton has been instrumental in the development of basketball in Gander. A coach since 1984, he has coached provincial winning teams in basketball and has also been heavily involved in volleyball, hockey and track and field at both Gander Collegiate and St. Paul�s Junior High.

The runners up for the Honor Award are Derek Tilley from Cape John Collegiate, LaScie and Denis Condon from Mobile Central High.

The Regional Recognition Awards are reserved for each region to honour an individual who has made significant contributions to school sport within their region. The following are the winners for 2008:

• St. John�s Region Chris Druken, St. Kevin�s High, Goulds
• Avalon Region Paula Johnson, Baltimore High, Ferryland
• Avalon West Region Wade Mouland, Discovery Collegiate, Bonavista
• Burin Peninsula Region Jeff Burke, Christ the King School, Rushoon
• Central East Region Don Tibbo, Gander
• Central Region Doug Jackman, Bay d�Espoir Academy, Milltown
• Central West Region Don Huxter, Springdale
• Western Region Roland Peddle, Belanger Memorial, Doyles
• St. Barbe-Labrador Region Dave Hillier, Cloud River Academy, Roddickton
• Northern Region Bill Soper, J.R. Smallwood Middle School, Wabush

All awards will be presented at the Annual Awards Banquet, held Friday night, May 30, at the Airport Inn in St. John�s

For other information, please visit www.schoolsportsnl.ca