Executive Council
Children, Seniors and Social Development
May 18, 2017
Premier Ball Presents Athletic Awards to Province's Top Athletes
Today, the Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, acknowledged and celebrated more than 100 of the province’s top young athletes, representing 30 sports during the 13th annual Premier’s Athletic Awards.
The awards program provides grants ranging from $500 to $1,500 to assist young athletes in offsetting the costs associated with training and competition at the elite level. The amount each athlete receives is dependent on the level of competition in which they are engaged, and their respective accomplishments.
The Team Gushue Awards, valued at $5,000 each, were also presented at today’s event to Jillian Forsey of Kippens (athletics) and Patrick Parfrey of St. John’s (rugby). The Team Gushue Awards were developed in honour of Team Gushue’s gold medal win in curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics. These awards are presented to a male and female athlete who has excelled both athletically and academically and award winners are selected through an application process.
Ms. Forsey is an honours student (pre-medicine) majoring in exercise physiology at West Virginia University, where she competes in track and field. Based on her success at the 2016 Canadian Cross Country Championships, Jillian was named to Team Canada for the 2017 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Cross Country Championships.
Mr. Parfrey is a PhD student in clinical epidemiology at Memorial University. He is a member of Rugby Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team and, in 2016, represented Canada at the Americas Rugby Championship and the Pacific Nations Cup.
For a complete list of recipients of the Premier’s Athletic Awards, please see the backgrounder below.
Quotes
“Athletes from Newfoundland and Labrador continue to excel in sport and, with recent world stage wins, have brought much excitement to the people of the province. The Premier’s Athletic Awards honour our top athletes. The awards encourage and support them in their continued pursuit of excellence and provide financial support to offset the costs of further athletic development. I wish this year’s recipients continued success in their future endeavours.”
Honourable Dwight Ball
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“Personal and team accomplishments of our province’s athletes highlight the importance of our continued investment in sport and recreation. It also demonstrates to our younger, up and coming athletes what can be accomplished through hard work and determination and supports them in living healthy active lives through participation in sport. I congratulate this year’s award winners. Your dedication and commitment inspire all of us to lead active and healthy lifestyles.”
Honourable Sherry Gambin-Walsh
Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development
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Learn more
Athletic Excellence Fund - www.cssd.gov.nl.ca/recreation/financial_assistance/athletic_excellence_fund.html
Healthy Living, Sport and Recreation - www.cssd.gov.nl.ca/
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL 
and @CSSD_GovNL
Media contacts
Michelle Cannizzaro
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960, 725-9231
michellecannizzaro@gov.nl.ca
Krista Dalton
Children, Seniors and Social Development
709-729-3768, 685-6492
kristadalton@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
2017 Premier’s Athletic Awards Recipients
|
Sport |
Name |
Hometown |
|
Athletics |
Josh Hamilton |
St. John’s |
|
|
Evan Knight |
St. John's |
|
|
Eric Knight |
St. John's |
|
|
Chantal Barnes |
St. John's |
|
|
Jillian Forsey |
Kippens |
|
|
Julia Howley |
St. John’s |
|
|
Jennifer Boland |
St. John's |
|
|
Camryn Bonia |
St. John's |
|
|
Erica Hayward |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Daniel Kelloway |
Mount Pearl |
|
Baseball |
Cole Tucker |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Jaclyn Morgan |
St. John's |
|
|
Daniel Hogarth |
Conception Bay South |
|
Basketball |
Sarah Morris |
St. John’s |
|
|
Caleb Sooley |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Hannah Jardine |
St. John's |
|
|
Cole Long |
St. John's |
|
|
Hannah Green |
Flatrock |
|
|
Kelsey Crocker |
St. John's |
|
|
Jason Thompson |
St. John's |
|
|
Nathan Barker |
Massey Drive |
|
|
Brett Warren |
St. John's |
|
Boccia |
Hayley Redmond |
St. John's |
|
Cross Country Skiing |
Makaila Hudson |
Labrador City |
|
|
Noah Taylor |
Conception Bay South |
|
Curling |
Daniel Bruce |
Corner Brook |
|
|
Michelle Taylor |
St. John’s |
|
Cycling |
Ian Coxon |
Gander |
|
Diving |
Jacob Billard |
Logy Bay |
|
Golf |
Blair Bursey |
Gander |
|
|
Andrew Bruce |
Corner Brook |
|
Gymnastics |
Abbey Dolomount |
St. John’s |
|
|
Jirah Hiscock |
St. John’s |
|
|
Jillian Hutchings |
Paradise |
|
|
Michael Drover |
St. John's |
|
|
Lauren Mills |
Paradise |
|
|
Sarah Pace |
St. John’s |
|
|
Megan Skinner |
St. John’s |
|
|
Tanner Vallis |
Massey Drive |
|
Handball |
Leslie Claire Amminson |
St. John's |
|
|
Rahul Asokan |
St. John's |
|
|
Alex Carew |
St. John's |
|
|
Michael Gaulton |
St. John's |
|
Hockey |
Mark Hillier |
Corner Brook |
|
|
Laura Horwood |
Grand Falls - Windsor |
|
|
Jessica Davis |
Conception Bay South |
|
|
Maggie Connors |
St. John's |
|
Karate |
Samantha Au |
Conception Bay South |
|
|
James Thorne |
Paradise |
|
|
Lucas Menard |
Flatrock |
|
|
Christopher Coady |
Flatrock |
|
|
Tyson Besso |
St. John's |
|
|
Christopher Au |
Conception Bay South |
|
|
Matthew Whelan |
St. John’s |
|
Powerlifting |
Julia Collins |
Mount Pearl |
|
Rowing |
Alexander Brandt |
St. John’s |
|
|
Alexandra Hayward |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Kirsten McKay |
St. John’s |
|
|
Lauren Stringer |
St. John’s |
|
|
Michael Thistle |
St. John’s |
|
Rugby |
Patrick Parfrey |
St. John's |
|
|
Saul Bryant |
Portugal Cove-St. Philips |
|
|
Jacob Chow |
St. John’s |
|
|
Madeline Pickard |
St. John’s |
|
|
Emily Powell |
Portugal Cove-St. Philips |
|
Sailing |
Livi Allen |
St. John’s |
|
|
Jesse Hanlon |
Portugal Cove-St. Philips |
|
Shooting |
Samantha Marsh |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Cheryl Hearn |
St. Joseph's |
|
Skating |
Jakiera Rideout |
Conception Bay South |
|
|
Jenna Efford |
Bareneed |
|
|
Hayley Dalton |
Conception Bay South |
|
|
McKenna Mercer |
St. John’s |
|
|
Ashley Morgan |
St. John’s |
|
Soccer |
Jessie Noseworthy |
St. John's |
|
|
Emmanuel Dolo |
St. John’s |
|
|
Nicole Torraville |
St. John's |
|
|
Bethany Hynes |
Paradise |
|
|
Alex Murphy |
St. John’s |
|
|
Sydney Walsh |
St. John’s |
|
|
Meghan Earle |
Mount Pearl |
|
Softball |
Brittany McCarthy |
Jerseyside |
|
|
Mark Stack |
Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove |
|
Swimming |
Abby Simms |
St. John's |
|
|
Charli LeBlanc |
St. John’s |
|
|
Kate Sullivan |
St. John’s |
|
|
Noah Cumby |
St. John's |
|
|
Laura Pittman |
St. John's |
|
|
Veronica Reid |
St. John’s |
|
|
David Haines |
Conception Bay South |
|
Synchronized Swimming |
Mayah Knott |
St. John’s |
|
|
Jennifer Walsh |
St. John’s |
|
Table Tennis |
Sarah Warren |
Roberts Arm |
|
|
Brianna Warren |
Roberts Arm |
|
|
Karlee Warren |
Roberts Arm |
|
|
Michael Hiscock |
Bay Roberts |
|
Taekwondo |
Alexandra Green |
Torbay |
|
Tennis |
Aiden Drover-Mattinen |
Portugal Cove-St. Philips |
|
|
Liam Drover-Mattinen |
Portugal Cove-St. Philips |
|
|
Jasmine Rahman |
St. John's |
|
|
Rogan Betts |
St. John's |
|
Ultimate Frisbee |
Stephen Snow |
St. John’s |
|
Volleyball |
Jill Snow |
St. John’s |
|
|
Emma Hackett |
Clarenville |
|
|
Sarah Dawe |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Catherine Ducey |
Mount Pearl |
|
|
Nicholas Taylor |
Corner Brook |
|
Wheelchair Basketball |
Danielle Arbour |
Goulds |
|
Wrestling |
Jessica Fagan |
Avondale |
|
|
Erik Joy |
Paradise |
|
|
Jamie Lake |
Avondale |
|
|
Dennis Sutton |
St. John’s |
2017 05 18 4:05 p.m.