2011 Ottawa Sports Awards Dinner to honour city’s top athletes Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Algonquin College

(OTTAWA, JAN. 20) -- The 59th edition of the Ottawa Sports Awards Dinner will take place Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Algonquin College, with around 450 guests set to celebrate the city’s best amateur sport performances for 2011.

The award winners for over 60 individual sports and the recipients of lifetime achievement honours including the Mayor’s Cup have been unveiled in advance of the banquet, along with teams recognized for winning a provincial championship or higher, and the club of the year.

Biographies for each of these winners is available through ottawasportsawards.ca .

The male and female major award winners for coach, athlete, and team of the year will be announced the night of the banquet.

The individual sport winners are all nominees for the top athlete honours, while the champion teams are considered for team of the year.

Some of the top candidates for outstanding male athlete are bobsleigh world championships medalist Cody Sorensen, CIS outstanding athlete and Carleton Ravens national basketball champion Tyson Hinz, double Parapan American Games track-and-field medalist Jason Dunkerley, and Peter Garrett, an archery world champion in the 3D division.

For the first time since 2005, Kristina Groves – the legendary long-track speed skater who retired in 2011 – will not receive the female athlete of the year honour.

Many strong female candidates have emerged to be next in line, including under-23 world champion rower Kate Goodfellow, Ontario Scotties champion curler Rachel Homan, Pan American Games silver medalist hammer thrower Sultana Frizell, and soccer player Christina Julien, a starter in Canada’s Pan Am gold medal win.

Numerous national champion teams are in the running for top male team such as: Ottawa Titans 18U water polo, Ottawa Nationals broomball, Carleton Ravens basketball, Carleton Ravens nordic skiing, and the U21 beach volleyball team of Alex Oneid and Rex Fenton.

Top female team candidates include Rachel Homan’s provincial-champion Ottawa Curling Club rink, the Ontario basketball Junior Elite League-champion Ottawa Nationals, the national champion Vanier United ball hockey team, and the W-League soccer finalist Ottawa Fury.

The Mayor’s Cup for outstanding contribution to sport in Ottawa will be presented to Ottawa District Hockey Association executive director Rick Sennott for his 52 years of dedication to the greater community through volunteerism and his career work.

Lifetime achievement honours will also be awarded to Stittsville baseball and hockey guru John Leroux (volunteer or administrator), basketball referee Jim Ward (technical official), alpine skiing coach Don Lyon (coach), and CTV Sports personality Carolyn Waldo (media).

The amateur club of the year honour will be shared by the Ottawa Fury and the Ottawa Lions, who both enjoyed outstanding years in soccer and track-and-field respectively.

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