Skate Canada members recognized at 2017 Achievement Awards Gala in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ON: This past weekend, Skate Canada celebrated 22 award winners during its annual Achievement Awards Gala and Banquet, part of the 2017 Skate Canada Ice Summit in Ottawa, Ont. Hosted in the nation’s capital in honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary, Skate Canada also celebrated its 130^th anniversary since its inauguration in 1887.

The winners received their awards on Friday night in front of a crowd of over 350 of Canada’s top skating delegates. Winners were presented their awards by the evening’s co-hosts: Olympian and three-time Canadian champion, Josée Chouinard, and renowned figure skating correspondent PJ Kwong.

The Skate Canada Achievement Awards program honours dedicated members of the skating community who have donated their time to help contribute to improving the quality of skating in Canada.

The 2016-2017 recipients were:

• Skate Canada Club and Recreational Coach Award of Excellence
  Stacey Charlton, Sussex FSC, New Brunswick Section
• Skate Canada Competitive Coach/Choreographer Award of Excellence
  Lee Barkell, Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club, Central Ontario Section
• Skate Canada Officials Award of Excellence
  Josie Howard, Skate Regina, Saskatchewan Section
• Skate Canada Event Volunteer Award of Excellence
  France Bisson, CPA Saint-Sébastien, Quebec Section
• Elizabeth Swan Memorial Award
  Kortney Story, Aldergrove FSC, British Columbia/Yukon Section
• Billie Mitchell Award
  Sally Rehorick, Champs International Skating Centre of British Columbia, British Columbia/Yukon Section

Skate Canada also presents a volunteer award to one member of each of the Skate Canada sections. The following exceptional volunteers were awarded the 2016-2017 Skate Canada Section Volunteer Award of Excellence:

• British Columbia/Yukon Section
  Lorraine Mapoles, Mount Boucherie Skating Club
• Alberta/NWT/Nunavut Section
  Krista Sellers, Calalta Figure Skating Club
• Saskatchewan Section
  David Tuffs, Unity Skating Club
• Manitoba Section
  Stan Yee, St. Andrews Skating Club
• Northern Ontario Section
  Felicia Blasky, Border Skating Club of Fort Frances
• Western Ontario Section
  Judi Emery, Ilderton Skating Club
• Central Ontario Section
  Douglas Shelley, Skate Oakville
• Eastern Ontario Section
  Barbara Hough, Prescott Figure Skating Club
• Quebec Section
  Carole Bellerose, CPA Trois Rivières Ouest
• New Brunswick Section
  Kim Macvey, Saint John Skating Club
• Prince Edward Island Section
  Cindy Ramsay, Kensington Area Figure Skating Club
• Nova Scotia Section
  Donald Murray, Dalhousie Kings Figure Skating Club
• Newfoundland and Labrador Section
  Susan Dean, Flying Blades Figure Skating Club

Three additional host section awards were recognized in the CanSkate, STARSkate and CompetitiveSkate athlete areas, as representatives of all section winners across the country in those categories:

• Skate Canada Section CanSkate Athlete Award
  Ben Baldwin, Gloucester Skating Club, Eastern Ontario Section
• Skate Canada Section STARSkate Athlete Award
  Joelle Menard, Winchester Skating Club Inc., Eastern Ontario Section
• Skate Canada Section CompetitiveSkate Athlete Award
  Evan Hopkins, Rideau Skating Club, Eastern Ontario Section

Skate Canada congratulates all award winners, nominees, and countless invaluable volunteers.