Nominees and award recipients pose for a photo at the 2020 Northwest Albert Sports Excellence Awards. Photo Credit: Shane Clausing

By Shane Clausing

Sport excellence awards

Nominations for 7th annual Northwest Alberta Sport Excellence Awards open January 1

Dec 22, 2020 | 1:56 PM

Nominations for the 7^th annual Northwest Alberta Spot Excellence Awards will be accepted starting on January 1, 2021.

The awards honour volunteers and athletes in northwestern Alberta who strive for success on and off the field of play.

Karna Germsheid, with the Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection, says with all of the challenge’s sports have faced this year, people should recognize those who’ve worked tirelessly to make sport a reality in 2020.

“This year has looked incredibly different for sports. In saying that, sport didn’t stop by any stretch of your imagination. There are still coaches out there coaching, we’ve got athletes out there training.”

“Volunteers have been working hard trying to follow restrictions, working on protocols and making sure everybody’s safe. There’s been lots of upheaval, but there’s been lots to celebrate in 2020 and I think this year more than ever we need to recognize that.”

The awards a person can be nominated for are as follows.

High Performance Awards:

• Female & Male Athlete of the Year
• Team of the Year
• Coach of the Year

Community Awards:

• Developmental Coach of the Year
• Outstanding Official
• Sport Builder
• Unsung Hero
• Community Sportsmanship Award

Nomination forms can be found at the Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection’s website.

Instead of in person, this year’s ceremony will take place virtually because of the COVID-19 restrictions that will likely still be in place by the Alberta government.

According to Germsheid, everyone who is nominated will be recognized.

“We always think about this event as lets celebrate every single nominee because every nominee is outstanding and not just the winners.”

“All nominees are going to be receiving packages so we can engage them to engage with us online, so they can be with their family and celebrate all of the work they’ve put in over the past year.”

More details regarding the virtual ceremony will be announced in the near future.

As for where sports is heading in 2021, Germsheid feels that things will move into a more positive direction.

“In 2021 we are anticipating that things will open up again, whatever that looks like. I think that some of our seasons are going to be shifted to pick up what was missed beforehand. I think there’s going to be a large shifting in behaviours in sports. I think during this time people naturally want to move, so they’re looking for things like buying bikes and those type of outdoor sporting events. I think those things will stick.”

“It’ll be interesting to watch, without a doubt though people will start engaging again. If they loved their sport before, chances are they’ll continue to love it after COVID.”