BC
Water Polo Presents Annual Awards
Vancouver,
B.C. - BC Water Polo hosted its annual awards April 20 in
Vancouver. The awards honour excellence in elite performance,
coaching, officiating, administrating and volunteering.
Meet the
2006 BC Water Polo award recipients: |
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Recipient:
Alex
Sharp
Award:
Female
Bantam Player of the Year
School:
Maple Ridge Secondary
While
technically still a bantam Alex Sharp played on the
Cadet girl's team. She was the youngest player and one
of the strongest. Originally intending to be a field
player Alex sacrificed her desires for the team and went
into goal. Alex has become one of the top young goalies
in the country. |
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Recipient:
Filip Juristovski
Award: Male Bantam
Player of the Year
School: Burnaby Mountain Secondary School
Filip or "Big Fil" as he is called by team mates was
the driving force behind the cadet boy's team. Described by BC
Provincial coach Celso Rojas as 'a humble kid and a really,
really good player' Filip Juristovski is a bright young player
to watch! |
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Recipient:
Monika Eggens
Award: Female Cadet
Player of the Year
School: Pitt Meadows Secondary
When presenting Monika Eggens with the female cadet of the
year BC Provincial Coach Celso Rojas described her as a very
coachable and getting stronger and stronger. "Monika is
the future of the National team in Canada….we are very
proud" he stated. |
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Recipient
Evan Van Niekerk
Award: Male Cadet
Player of the Year
School: Delta Sands Secondary
"Evan is a really, really strong player", Celso
Rojas began when presenting Evan with male cadet player of the
year. "It's nice to have kids like Evan, he can do
whatever he wants he is so strong…he has a great
future." |
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Recipient:
Kelsey Campbell
Award: Female Youth
Player of the Year
School: UBC majoring in
Commerce
Obviously a favourite with Provincial coach Celso Rojas,
Kelsey Campbell accepted Female Youth Player of the Year with
characteristic grace. "Kelsey is always smiling, she is
extremely coachable, and already at the national team level
with the Youth National team". |
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Recipient:
Matt Venner
Award: Male Youth
Player of the Year
School: Earl Marriott Secondary
"We call Matt Venner the animal" said BC Provincial
coach Celso Rojas when presenting Matt with Male Youth player
of the Year. "We call him that because no one can stop
him", Celso continued. Matt Venner was named to the Jr.
National Men's team earlier this year. |
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Recipient:
Thomas Marks
Award: Most Valuable
Male Player
Thomas is a member of the Sr. National Men's team. His Dad,
Eric accepted the award on his behalf and thanked the strong
BC coaching "that has always been of the highest
level".
Thomas Marks is a water polo powerhouse. |
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Recipient:
Carmen Eggens
Award: Most Valuable
Female Player
Carmen is a dominant force on the Jr. National Women's team.
This is the second consecutive year Carmen has been awarded
Most Valuable Female Player. Carmen is centralized with the
Jr. national team in Montreal.
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Recipient:
John Stockdale
Award: Coach
of the Year
Presented by BCWP Executive Director -Kyna Fletcher - John
Stockdale is known in Water Polo Circles as "JC" and
for good reason. John has been a major influence in the Water
Polo in BC and Canada for many years. He has an innate ability
to mold the teams he works with by bringing in technical and
sport detail that they may have otherwise not known. He is
seen as a mentor, leader and director for water polo coaches.
His contributions to coach development are many, including the
new Competency based coaching program. |
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Recipient:
Mike Cox
Award:
Coach of the
Year
Presented by BCWP Executive Director -Kyna Fletcher - Mike Cox
has an unbridled passion for the sport and it is evident at
each practice. He juggles his intense work schedule in cancer
research around practise and tournament schedules. He
participates in both the Surrey Orcas regular season and
winter maintenance programs. He coaches the Earl Marriott High
school team and helps out with the Surrey Sea lions BCSSA
program.
Mike is highly respected by the players and parent.
His established reputation for patience and encouragement with
e young players has brought kids into the sport as well as
kept them in it!!
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Recipient:
Amanda Wade
Award: Administrator
of the Year
Presented by BCWP Executive Director -Kyna Fletcher - Amanda
Wade has made a giant imprint on all who she works with. She
displays excellent management skills and an amazing amount of
patience!! Amanda takes her job seriously and does it with the
utmost amount of care and attention, te hours that she spends
co-ordinating and managing teams is comparable to that of a
full time employee.
We are not sure where she has found the time or energy to
organize, and arrange all intricate details required to run a
program of this size. She has worked tirelessly to support the
coaches, athletes and parents involved in the program, all
with a smile on her face and a positive outlook! |
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Recipient:
Gord
Ruffo
Award: Volunteer of
the Year
Presented by BCWP Executive Director -Kyna Fletcher- Gord
Ruffo has been club president, equipment manager, pool time
coordinator and tournament organizer all within a span of four
years. Gord is without a doubt the heart and soul of the
Surrey Orcas. Meetings are organized, equipment is purchased,
pool time is booked all with a minimum fuss and a maximum
efficiency.
The extra time and effort Gord puts in at every
level of the clubs operations is virtually incalculable. (*
however with Gord's engineering background, he may know how
much time!!)
Gord is a doer - he makes things happen. He does it quietly
without fan fare.
His extra mile has paid huge dividends for waterpolo! |
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Recipient:
Cheryl
Wilson-Stewart
Award: Volunteer of
the Year
Presented by BCWP Executive Director -Kyna Fletcher - Cheryl
Wilson-Stewart has used her background in television and media
to elevate the exposure of Water Polo in BC to a new level. At
this time, Water Polo has received more media coverage in BC
in the last two years than ever before. She has worked
diligently to promote our sport to local and provincial media
outlets. She has engaged such television personalities as
Perry Solkowski so that we have had exposure not just in print
but also on TV. The countless hours put in on behalf of the
athletes and Association are appreciated. |
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Recipient:
Ken
Phillippe
Award:
The Sport BC
Award/THE PRESIDENT'S AWARD
This award was presented to Ken Phillippe -
President of BC Water Polo
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NOTE: The
winners of the athlete categories are based on nominations by
their coaches. The winner is determined based on criteria for
commitment to sport, athlete improvement, sportmanship and
fairplay, contribution to BCWPA, and athlete accomplishments.
Contact:
Cheryl Wilson-Stewart
BC Water Polo PR/Communications
Telephone: 604-737-3148
Email: pr@bcwaterpolo.com
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