Media Releases
April 15, 2005
Voth and Burgess Claim Youth Athlete of the Year Honours
Winnipeg – Volleyball player Ashley Voth of Winnipeg and Racquetball player Michael Burgess of Brandon were named Manitoba’s Female and Male Youth Athletes of the Year as Sport Manitoba saluted the province’s best based on their achievements in 2004.
The Brandon Wheat Kings “AAA” Midget Hockey Team was named Manitoba’s Junior Team of the Year.
Also recognized at Sport Manitoba’s “A Night of Champions presented by Awards Canada” was Ron Molinski of Winnipeg (Tenpin Bowling) as the Great-West Life Volunteer of the Year, Julian Ward of Selkirk (Judo) as the Great-West Life Youth Volunteer of the Year, Hector Vergara of Winnipeg (Soccer) as the Official of the Year and Morgan de Pena of Winnipeg (Baseball) as Sport Administrator of the Year.
Shelly Hruska of Winnipeg (Ringette) and Garnet Desjarlais of Winnipeg (Ball Hockey) were named winners of the Tom Longboat Award as Manitoba’s Aboriginal Athletes of the Year.
Sport Manitoba’s award winners were determined from a group of 47 nominees put forward by Provincial Sport Organizations and selected by members of the Manitoba sports media. The Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Council made selection of the Tom Longboat Awards.
For more information, contact:
Barry Moroz
Sport Manitoba Communications
925-5903
Email
Sport Manitoba “A Night of Champions” Award Winners
Ashley Voth (Volleyball) – Female Youth Athlete of the Year
Manitoba volleyball’s female 16 and under player of the year, High School player of the year, MVP at the provincial championships, Western Canadian Open and Western Elite Canadians, captain of the provincial team and Canadian Youth Team member.
Michael Burgess (Racquetball) – Male Youth Athlete of the Year
Double gold medallist at the Canadian Junior Racquetball Championships, ranked number one in 16 and under on the National Junior Team, bronze medallist at the 2004 World Junior Racquetball Championships.
Brandon AAA Midget Wheat Kings (Hockey) – Junior Team of the Year
First team from Manitoba to win the National Midget Hockey Championship.
Ron Molinski (Tenpin Bowling) – Great-West Life Volunteer of the Year
Executive Director of the Provincial and Winnipeg Tenpin Bowling Associations, played an integral role in the merger of the local bowling associations and in Manitoba’s transition towards Canadian Affiliation and Sanctioning.
Julian Ward (Judo) – Great-West Life Youth Volunteer of the Year
Exceptional volunteer for the Selkirk Judo Club devoting countless hours to coaching, fundraising, refereeing and other activities and at 16 is the youngest provincial C referee in Manitoba.
Hector Vergara (Soccer) – Official of the Year
One of only 20 officials from around the world to be selected as an Assistant Referee for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Morgan de Pena (Baseball) – Sport Administrator of the Year
Executive Director of the Manitoba Baseball Association. Oversees organization and growth of events like the Canada Day Classic, one of the premier developmental tournaments in the country and national programs like Hit, Run and Throw and Winter Ball.
Shelly Hruska (Ringette) – Tom Longboat Aboriginal Female Athlete of the Year
Member of Team Canada that won a silver medal at the World Ringette Championships.
Garnet Desjarlais (Ball Hockey) – Tom Longboat Aboriginal Male Athlete of the Year
Manitoba Ball Hockey Association’s Player of the Year who was invited to Team Canada’s selection camp for the 2005 World Championships.
