At our Junior closing at Elmira on April 17, we presented achievement awards to those young athletes who distinguished themselves over this past curling season, in recognition of their dedication, commitment, sportsmanship, and performance.
This year’s award nominees and the winners are as follows.
The Ken Watson Sportsmanship Award, presented to the player in each age category that exhibits the highest levels of sportsmanship both on and off the ice.
- Little Rock nominees: Emma Penston, Declan Johnson, Jelissa Riel, Leia Wrigglesworth. Winner: Leia Wrigglesworth.
- U15/U18 nominees: Thomas Kraemer, Linden Jorna, William Henry, Larissa Musselman, and Kyle Henry. Winner: William Henry.
The Sandra Schmirler Rookie of the Year Award, presented to the Little Rock and Bantam/Junior player who exhibit the best mastery of the skills of curling in their first year in their specific program.
- Little Rock nominees: Sam Brown, Adelyn Wilk, and Jackson Lowther. Winner: Sam Brown.
The Vera Pezer Most Improved Player award, awarded to the player who in the view of the coaching staff improved their curling skills the most during the past season.
- Little Rock nominees: Emma Penston, Valorie Martin, Lauren Penston, and Brody Runstedler. Winner: Lauren Penston.
- U15/U18 nominees: Larissa Musselman, Linden Jorna, Adam Smith, and Rachel Freure. Winner: Larissa Musselman.
The Russ Howard Most Valuable Player Award, given to the player of each age group who, in the opinion of the coaching staff, is the most valuable to their team or to bonspiel teams that are formed during the season.
- Little Rock nominees: Valorie Martin, Emma Penston, and Cameron Johnson. Winner: Emma Penston.
- U15/U18 nominees: William Henry, Thomas Kraemer, and Linden Jorna. Winner: Linden Jorna.
In addition, at our closing we invited President Paul Fusari to present Trillium Scholarship awards to two deserving winners: Linden Jorna and Cameron Olmsted. We are very pleased to be able to support these two juniors to attend the annual OCA Trillium Curling Camp, to be held at the K-W Granite Club in Waterloo in August.
Our congratulations to all of the winners, and the nominees, on an outstanding season of curling and we look forward to next season – the ice will be back in for the first week of October!