Sault athlete wins provincial award

NEWS RELEASE

MINISTRY OF TOURISM, CULTURE AND SPORT

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Ontario is recognizing top amateur athletes, para-athletes, coaches, volunteers and sponsors whose outstanding achievements in both national and international arenas have contributed to athletic excellence in 2013.

Winners of the 2013 Ontario Sport Awards -- the highest honour for sport in the province -- include:

• Male Athlete of the Year -- Patrick Chan (figure skating)
• Female Athlete of the Year -- Jessica Klimkait (judo)
• Male Athlete of the Year with a Disability -- Mac Marcoux (para-alpine skiing)
• Female Athlete of the Year with a Disability -- Virginia McLachlan (sprint)
• Team of the Year -Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (figure skating)

Supporting amateur sport is part of the government's plan to work together as One Ontario, to build a successful, vital province where everyone has the opportunity to connect, contribute and achieve their goals.

Quick Facts

• The 2013 Ontario Sport Awards recognize athletic achievement and celebrate the contributions of volunteers, corporate sponsors, sport program developers and sport committee members who support amateur sport.
• Athletes are nominated by their Provincial/ Multi Sport Organization. Finalists and award recipients are chosen by the Sport Awards Selection Committee, a group of former athletes and sport administrators from across Ontario.
• Previous recipients include Heather Moyse (bobsleigh), Patrick Chan (figure skating), Rosannagh MacLennan (gymnastics), Patrick Anderson (wheelchair basketball), Summer Mortimer (para-swimming), Tessa Virtue (figure skating) and Scott Moir (figure skating).
• The province has nearly tripled its support for amateur sport from $8.78 million in 2003 to more than $23 million in 2013-14.
• Ontario will host the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games which will provide an opportunity to showcase the province to an international audience of 250,000 visitors and 10,000 athletes and officials.
• Games and Games-related investments will be a key economic driver in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, creating 26,000 jobs and showcasing Ontario as a great place to visit, invest and do business.

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