ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Linda Jackson & Gord Fraser
EARL BULLIS APPRECIATION AWARD
Presented to George Gowling, a long-time A.C.T. member and retired Vice President of Sales for CFRA, for his contribution to the A.C.T. Sports Awards Dinner.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Lee Powell
ALPINE SKIING — Alain-Frank Britt Cote, Hull — A consistent top-10 finisher on the North American Ski Trophy Series, Alain-Frank placed sixth in the downhill at the 1994 world junior alpine ski championships in Lake Placid, New York. In Nor-Am super giant slalom races, he scored two sixths and one eighth against some of the best up-and-coming skiers in the world.
ARCHERY — Bruce Malmberg, Ottawa — Ranked second in Canada in the men’s indoor archery compound division, Bruce was a silver medalist in the senior men’s unlimited category at the national indoor championships. He also set a Canadian record in the event.
BALL HOCKEY — Pat McGarry, Gloucester — An outstanding goal tender, Pat won the Ottawa-Carleton Ball Hockey League tier 1 most valuable player awards in both the regular season and playoffs. After permitting only 17 goals in 12 games, earning three shutouts, and taking his Turpin Pontiac team to a second-place finish in the regular season, Pat helped the Voyageurs to their first-ever championship with a 1.5-goals-against average.
BASEBALL — Mike Kusiewicz, Nepean — Drafted in the eighth round of the 1994 Major League Baseball amateur draft, Mike signed a professional contract last August with the National League’s Colorado Rockies. While pitching for Team Canada at the world championships and Ontario’s youth and midget teams at the Canadian championships, he made five impressive appearances. He had 31 strikeouts and no earned runs in 29 innings and posted a 4-1 win-loss record. In six pre-season games with the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians senior team, he notched 17 strikeouts in 20 innings and didn’t allow a run.
BASKETBALL — Stella Ighorewo, Gloucester — When it comes to banging the boards, Stella was the best among all Canadian women playing university basketball this past season. She averaged a nation-leading 12.6 rebounds a game for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and was ninth in scoring with a 19.1 point-a-game average. The Gee-Gees captain had 19 games where she notched a minimum 10 points and 10 rebounds. Her achievements earned her a second straight berth on the Ontario women’s Inter-university Athletic Association all-star-team.
BIATHLON — Lise Meloche, Old Chelsea — In her eighth and final year on Canada’s biathlon ski team, Lise came close to a top 10 finish at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. She finished 18th in the individual race, but if she had hit one more target, she would have been in the top 10. A perfect round of 20 shots would have put the strong cross-country skier in the top five. Her best World Cup result was a 16th in an individual race in Hinton, Alberta.
BOARD SAILING — Caroll-Ann Alie, Gracefield, Quebec — Despite a difficult time at the world championships in Gimli, Manitoba, Carol-Ann proved she was still one of the best on the continent on the Mistral board. Caron-Ann won the CORK and pre-Olympic selection regattas in Kingston, and placed second in San Francisco at the North American championships. She was also third at the Asian championships in Sydney, Australia.
BOBSLEIGH — Sheridon Baptiste, Ottawa — A key member to Chris Lori’s four-man bobsleigh crew, Sheridon celebrated World Cup medals on two occasions. He was part of a silver-medal effort in Calgary and a bronze-medal run in Winterberg. He also finished second in both the two- and four-man events at the Canadian championships. During the 1994 winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, Sheridon finished 11th in the four-man event.
BOWLING (5-PIN) — Bernie Menard, Alexandria — At the Canadian masters 5-pin bowling championship last July in Oshawa, Bernie helped the Ontario team capture the gold medal. His other highlight came when he broke a masters bowling association record at the Rose Festival tournament with a 10-game total of 3,232 pins.
BOWLING (10-PIN) — Tom Clarke, Gloucester— Tom will remember 1994 as a record-breaking season. He established a record for the most 700 three-game series, and also set an Ottawa record for a seasonal average of 208. Tom’s top three-game total was 759. For the second straight year, Tom teamed with Stephen Corriveau to win the city doubled championship.
BOXING — Stephane Ladouceur, Nepean — The Beaver Boxing Club fighter made big strides in 1994 with 18 wins, including 14 by knockout. The highlights of this past season came when Stephane won the Ontario middleweight championship and was named prospect of the year by the Canadian Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame.
BROOMBALL — Bernard Larose, Gloucester — As the final line of defence for the highly successful Embrun Beavers broomball team, Bernie has almost been unbeatable in the nets. In 431 career games over 20 years, Bernie has a goals-against average of less than one – 0.61 to be precise. He is one of the founders of the Embrun Plumbing team and has played on national and world championship teams.
CANOEING — Klari MacAskill, Renfrew — After many years of being on the outside looking in, Klari finally achieved a long-time goal of winning a medal at the world canoe championships in Mexico City. Klari was a member of the Canadian kayak four boat, which won a bronze medal in the 200-metre race. She also was fourth in the K-2 500-metre race, fifth in the K-2 200-metre sprint, and sixth in the K-4 500-metre final.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING — Phil Villeneuve, Sarsfield — Phil brought home four cross-country skiing medals from the Canada Winter Games. He won gold medals in the 10-kilometre classic and the men’s relay, while earning bronze medals in the 10-kilometre freestyle race and the 15-kilometre classic test. He also was named as alternate to Canada’s team for the world nordic ski championships in Thunder Bay.
CURLING — Anne Merklinger, Theresa Breen, Patti McKnight, Audrey Frey — The Rideau Curling Club rink won its second straight Ontario women’s championship and what made it sweeter was it happened here in Ottawa. The gold-medal performance allowed the Merklinger rink to advance to the Canadian championship, where it earned four wins against seven losses for seventh place in Kitchener. Patti was singled out for individual honors, when she won the Effie Hezzelwood Sportsmanship Award.
CYCLING — Linda Jackson, Nepean, and Gord Fraser, Nepean — Linda and Gord had phenomenal breakthrough seasons in 1994. Linda gave up a six-figure salary as vice-president of an investment firm in San Francisco a year ago to dedicate herself to racing. It’s working so far. The national team member won the silver medal in the women’s road race at the Commonwealth Games, placed fifth in the women’s Tour de France, and was third in both the Tour of Redwoods in California and the Tour of New Zealand. Her tour finish included winning the most difficult stage.
Gord was nicknamed “Flash Gordon” by the European media and the French superheats daily l’Equipe called him “the phenomenon of the start of the amateur season.” The whole season would have been more accurate as he scored more than 20 top three finishes, including 10 victories, and was one of the top amateur riders in Europe. Gord’s successful amateur season allowed him to sign a professional contract with the prestigious Motorola team, making him one of the few Canadians to turn pro with a major club.
DIVING — Fernando Henderson, Nepean — Despite battling a long series of injuries in 1994, Fernando was selected the top male diver by Dive Ontario, the provincial sport organization. Fernando scored three top-five results at the Winter national championships in Quebec City, including a silver-medal effort in the 10-metre tower competition. He also was fifth off the tower in the Summer nationals at the Nepean Sportsplex, where he is an assistant coach for the Nepean-Ottawa Diving Club, Fernando was the top diver at the President’s Cup winning the one- and three-metre and tower events.
EQUESTRIAN — Claire Smith, Burritt’s Rapids — Claire was good enough to qualify both Gordon Gibbons and Master Sing for two three-day event competitions. The Canadian Equestrian Federation opted not to send a three-day event team to the recent Pan-Am Games in Argentina. Claire’s best international result was an 11th at the Rolex Kentucky event on Gordon Gibbons.
FENCING — Alexandra Wawryn, Ottawa — At the 1994 world cadet fencing championships in Mexico City, Alexandra had a Canadian best-ever performance in the women’s epee with a 12th-place finish. At only 15, she was named to the national team by winning the Canadian cadet title, and placing third in epee at the national junior championship. Alexandra also attended the world junior championship in Mexico City and finished 19th.
FIELD HOCKEY — Harri Kant, Ottawa — A goalkeeper for Canada’s men’s field hockey team, Harri competed in four of six Nation’s Cup games and helped Ontario win the national men’s championship.
FIGURE SKATING — Jennifer Boyce, Stittsville, and Michel Brunet, Gatineau — The ice dance team from the Minto Skating Club earned their first senior medal at the Canadian figure Skating championships when they placed second in 1994. In competitions leading up to the nationals, Jennifer and Michel won their first international medal by taking a bronze at the Nations Cup, and placing fifth at Skate Canada.
FOOTBALL — Chris Evraire, Gloucester — The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees’ wide receiver and punt/kick returner was at or near the top of many football categories. Chris broke a Canadian Inter-university Athletic Union record for most yards gained by a punt returner in a season, when he dashed for 720 yards and beat the former mark by 70 yards. Named the Gee-Gees’ most valuable player in football, Chris also totalled 1,430 all-purpose yards, which was one of the highest on the CIAU charts. In the Ontario-Quebec Inter-university Football Conference, he was second in pass receptions (32), first in yard average, and second in touchdowns (6).
FREESTYLE SKIING — Darcy Downs, Manotick — One of the few freestyle skiers who has refused to go the way of the specialist, Darcy is one of the best in the world in the combined event, where he competes in ballet, aerials and moguls. On the World Cup circuit, he won gold medals in combined at Lake Placid, New York, and Breckenridge, Colorado, a bronze in Sweden and finished third in the overall standings. At the end of the season, he won the Canadian combined.
HOCKEY — Mike Peca, Ottawa — Mike closed his OHL career in style, averaging more than two points a game and being selected the Ottawa 67’s most outstanding player for 1994. During 55 regular season games, he scored 50 goals and added 63 assists. In 17 playoff games, he contributed seven goals and 22 assists. Mike is currently playing with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
JUDO — James Kendrick, Ottawa — A competitor in the plus 95-kilogram class, the fourth-degree black belt was one of best judokas in the Americas. Not only did he win the Canadian championship, but also he captured the United States open title and placed third at the Pan-American championships.
KARATE — Nicole Poirier, Masson-Angers — One of Canada’s top karate athletes, Nicole was captain of the Canadian team which competed at the world championships in Malaysia. The four-time national karate champion in the plus-53-kilogram class, Nicole captured three gold medals at the Canadian championships in Calgary, and also won gold and silver at the Pan-Am championships in Miami.
KICK BOXING — Mario Cleroux, Gatineau — Mario had a perfect season in the kick boxing ring in 1994, posting five straight victories and improving his career record to 10 wins and two losses. His seasons’ highlight came July 23, when he won the Eastern Canadian welterweight title in Perce, Quebec.
LACROSSE — Sean Steinwald, Ottawa — Named the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League’s most valuable player, Sean was second in goals and fourth in the overall scoring race while playing for the Gloucester Griffins. He also was the eastern team MVP at the junior B all-star game, was the Griffins’ leading scorer and won the Ottawa/Gloucester Sports Club student-athlete award.
LUGE — Jaret Connolly, Gloucester — For the second straight year, Jaret has won the honour as the top athlete in toboggan-like sport. Jaret’s top results came at the start of 1994, when he won the Canadian natural luge title, placed second at the North American natural luge championships and was fifth at the worlds.
MOBILITY IMPAIRED — Chantal Benoit Gloucester — As a member of Canada’s wheelchair basketball team, Chantal helped the red and white win the gold medal at the Gold Cup competition last summer in England. She was the leading scorer for Canada with an 18-point-a-game average. Chantal has played for the national team for a dozen years and competes locally for the Jazz, the Shooters and the Ottawa Royals, which ranked third last year in North America.
ORIENTEERING — Brian Graham, Ottawa — An experienced national team member, Brian proved he’s the best in North America at using a compass and running through the woods. The Ottawa Orienteering Club member dashed to the Canadian and North American titles over a two-day period near Barrie. Besides winning a sprint meet at West Point, New York, Brian also competed in World Cup competitions in Germany and Czech Republic.
RINGETTE — Priscilla Marsh, Gloucester — Priscilla was front and centre while playing for Ontario at the 1994 Canadian ringette championships in Saskatchewan. She earned the most valuable player award for her team in three separate games. At the end of the championship, Priscilla was selected centre on the first all-star team. For the past three years, she has attended numerous tryouts for the provincial team to the Canada Winter Games. Her goal was reached when she played in the Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta, in February.
ROAD RACING — Nancy Morrison, Kanata — Nancy had an outstanding year the roads, winning 12 of 22 races over an eight-month period. She reached the medal podium an incredible 20 times. Her performances allowed her to win the women’s title in the Ontario Timex Series. Some of her victories included the Richmond 10K, the Kingston half marathon, the Xerox 10K and the OAC corporate relay. Nancy also placed third in the National Capital Marathon and was 12th at the Timex Canadian 10K road racing championships.
ROWING — Dan Martin, Ottawa — Dan was regularly called to the medal podium at the Royal Canadian Henley rowing championships, winning a silver in the senior lightweight double sculls, and a pair of bronzes in the senior lightweight single sculls dash and the intermediate lightweight eights. The Ottawa Rowing Club member also did well at the Ontario championships in the senior lightweight class, winning a silver in the double sculls dash, and placing fourth in the single sculls. In a series of invitational regattas in Ontario and Quebec, Dan also won nine gold and two silver medals.
RUGBY —Al Charron, Ottawa — Last years’ A.C.T. Athlete of the Year was selected to play on the British invitational select all-star Barbarian team, which defeated South Africa but lost to France. Al also played for Canada, which defeated the United States and France in test matches. He is currently playing for Canada in a series of games in Fiji.
SHOOTING — Alain Marion, Hull — If one Canadian name is synonymous with the Bisley shooting competition in England, it has to be Alain’s. In 1994, Alain qualified for the Canadian rifle team to the Bisley meet for a 25th time and it was the 15th occasion he has participated as a team member. Last August, he qualified for his 26th Bisley, but has declined his position because of work pressures.
SNOOKER — Kirk Cloutier, Ottawa — Kirk had an outstanding year at the table and established himself as one of the best in Canada. Kirk was the only Ottawa player to win both the Ontario and Canadian titles. By being the national champion, he represented Canada at the world championship in South Africa, where he placed in the top 32.
SOCCER — Charmaine Hooper, Nepean — One of only two players remaining who played in the Canadian national team’s first ever soccer game, Charmaine was named the top women’s player in 1994 by Soccer Canada. A striker and midfielder, she scored six goals in the CONCACAF tournament to help Canada quality for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Sweden. Charmaine, who played in a Japanese women’s league last year, also is Canada’s all-time leading scorer with 18 goals.
SPEED SKATING (Long track) — Ingrid Liepa, Ottawa — For the first time in her international career, Ingrid cracked the top 10 not once, but twice. At the world championships in Butte, Montana, she was eighth in the 3,000 metres and 12th in the 1,500 metres, which helped her finish 10th overall. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, Ingrid skated in three races, finishing 14th in the 3,000 metres and 16th in the 5,000 metres. Her best World Cup result was a 12th in the 1,500 metres.
SPEED SKATING (Short track) — Jonathon Cavar, Nepean — While recovering from a collapsed lung, Jonathon won a silver medal in the men’s 500 metres at the world junior short track speed skating championships in Seoul. He also placed sixth overall at the championships. At the Ontario championships, Jonathon was second overall and was later named to the provincial team.
SWIMMING — Eddie Parenti, Nepean — The national champion in the men’s 200-metre butterfly at the Winternational swim championships, Eddie was a three-time finalist at the Commonwealth Games last August in Victoria. In the individual butterfly races, he placed fifth in the 200-metre race and eighth in the 100-metre race. In the 4×200 metre freestyle relay, he was part of Canada’s fourth-place team.
SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING — Jennifer Morin, Gatineau — Jennifer has established herself as one of the strong up and comers in synchronized swimming. Not only did she win the 12-14 age group title at the Ontario championships, but she also placed second in figures at the Eastern Canadian finals. At the national junior championships, Jennifer was 10th.
SQUASH — Heather Wallace, Ottawa — Although not a stellar year for Heather, she still managed to rank high in the world and at home. On the national circuit, Heather won the Canadian women’s singles title for the eighth straight year and also placed first in the Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia Open championships. On the world scene, she was ranked 14th.
TABLE TENNIS — Geng Lijuan, Ottawa — A former world champion while representing China in the 1980s, Lijuan came close to returning to the world championship medal podium, when she finished fifth in mixed doubles with Toronto’s Johnny Huang. Lijuan, who was 17th in women’s singles at the worlds, was second at the Czech Open tournament and first at the North American and Canadian championships.
TAE KWON DO — Daniel Walker, Kanata— Daniel is starting to become a household name on the national tae kwon do circuit. At only 15, he won the national junior championship in the featherweight division. Daniel also won a pair of bronze medals to earn selection to the Ontario adult team for the Canadian championships.
TENNIS — Eva Januskova, Nepean — For the fourth time running, Eva has been selected as the top local tennis player. Eva continued to be of the strongest juniors in Canada, winning the Corel outdoor girls’ under-16 national singles title and the under-18 girls’ double crown. Eva, currently ranked 19th on Canada’s overall tennis ranking list, also was a finalist in the national girls’ under-18 singles draw.
TOUCH FOOTBALL — Ed Laverty, Ottawa — Ed may be 52, but he has the energy of a 25-year old, playing in the masters, senior and co-ed divisions of the Ottawa-Nepean Touch Football League. Ed, who also is the chief organizer for the league, was quarterback of the Silver Bullets in the senior division and was named league MVP.
TRACK AND FIELD — Leslie Estwick, Gloucester — Leslie was actively involved both on and off the track. By earning a medal in each of three events at the 1994 Canadian track and field championships — second in high jump, and third in both long jump and hurdles — she was the only national team athlete to compete in three Commonwealth Games events. When she’s not training, Leslie is president of the athlete’s council for Athletics Canada and on the board of directors for the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada.
TRIATHLON — Noel Harrington, Ottawa — In his first Hawaii Triathlon and looking only to finish the longest multi-sport race of his life, Noel shocked himself by placing 23rd overall and being the top Canadian. Earlier last year, he represented Canada at the world university triathlon championships, placing 13th overall in France. He also helped Ontario win the team title at the Canadian triathlon championships in Montreal, where he was 14th overall.
ULTRAMARATHON — Andy Jones, Gloucester — Despite problems which forced him to drop out before hitting the finish line at the Canadian and world 100 kilometre championships, Andy had a memorable year. Running against some of the top ultramarathon athletes in North America, he won a 50-mile race in Dallas, Texas, in five hours, 18 minutes, and forty-seven seconds. He also was first in the Sulphur 50-km spring trail run in Dundas, Ontario, in a course record of 3:16:50.
VISUAL IMPAIRED — Rob Christy, Ottawa — A centre for the top men’s Ontario goalball team, Rob played centre and helped the All-Blacks to three medals. He earned gold medals at the Eastern Canadian Championship and the National Capital tournament, where Ontario beat teams from across North America. Rob also picked up a bronze medal at the Canadian championship.
VOLLEYBALL — Rob Janson, Ottawa, and Jay Mooney, Ottawa — In the first tie for the volleyball player of the year since Judy and Suzie Szepesi shared the award in 1979, Rob and Jay were worthy recipients. Captain of the provincial men’s under-19 team, Rob led Ontario to victory in the 1994 Challenge Cup, an upset win over the Cuban national team in Cuba, and a fifth-place finish at an international tournament in Puerto Rico. Jay, who trained with the national men’s team helped Algonquin College Thunder win the division II Ontario title, and a national ranking of No. 6.
WATER POLO — Lila Fraser, Ottawa — Goalkeeper for the national junior women’s water polo team, Lila was a key figure at the 1994 Pan-championships, where Canada won the silver medal and qualified for the inaugural world championships this summer in Ste-Foy, Quebec. The Ottawa Titans’ player also was named the most valuable goalie at the junior and senior national championships as well as the juvenile, junior and senior Ontario championships.
WATER SKIING — Dan Anderson, Greely — Ranked as the No. l slalom water skier in Canada in the men’s 35-44 age group for the second straight year, Dan broke the men’s 3 division slalom record twice in 1994. His list of achievements also includes winning the slalom gold medal at the Eastern Canada championship in Orangeville, Ontario, and the silver medal at the nationals in Edmonton.
WEIGHTLIFTING — Marc Leblanc, Ottawa — Marc made a name for himself at the Ottawa weightlifting championships with a record-setting effort. He won the provincial senior men’s plus-108-kilogram super heavyweight title by breaking two Canadian records and tying another national mark.
WRESTLING — Kevin Stemp, Gloucester — A serious knee injury which required surgery kept Kevin out of action for eight months, but not before he had a strong showing at the Canadian espoir wrestling championships. Kevin placed sixth at the nationals before suffering the season-ending injury. He attends Douglas College in British Columbia and is a member of well-respected Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club.
Algonquin College Thunder men’s basketball team — Algonquin captured the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association men’s basketball regular pennant for the third straight year. In the provincial final tour the Thunder lost in the championship game. Coach Warren Newberry was named “coach of the year” for the second time, and Greg Shirley and Bryon Eburn were chosen as first team all-stars.
Embrun Plumbing Supply Beavers men’s broomball team — For the seventh time in eight years, Embrun won the Canadian men’s elite broomball champion in Lethbridge With a 7 and 0 record after capturing its fourth straight Ontario title. Embrun, which won all 43 games last year, placed four players on the Canadian all-star team, and three on the Ontario all-star side. Coach Willy Montgomery. Assistant Daryl Campbell, Manager Maurice Lemieux. (Just returned from Barrie where they won their eighth Canadian title).