Sport BC celebrated the 56th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards on Thursday, March 7, 2024. The event was hosted by CBC’s Scott Russell recognizing the province’s best in amateur sport including athletes, coaches, teams, and officials for outstanding performances in their 2023 sport season. Each finalist was nominated by their Provincial or Multi-Sport Organization, High School, College, or University. The Selection Committee, led by long-serving Chair Bernie Pascall, included a diverse group of highly experienced British Columbia sport leaders and media members.
Two Cycling BC members, Emmy Lan (Comox, BC) received the Junior Female Athlete of the Year award and Mel Pemble (Victoria, BC) received the Athlete with a Disability of the Year award.
Emmy had a monumental year on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup circuit in 2023, winning all but two of seven races in the series and repeating as the overall U21 Enduro World Series Champion. Mel Pemble repeated as the Women’s C3 Omnium champion at the 2023 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and won a silver medal in the C3 Women’s Scratch race and a bronze medal in the Time Trial. She also won silver in the Time Trial and gold in the Individual Pursuit at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile in 2023.
“The 56th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards celebrated sport in our BC at all levels. We were inspired by the sport stories of all of our finalists, the category winners, and the organizations they represent”, shared Sport BC’s President and CEO, Rob Newman. “We are proud to bring the amateur sport community together and thank you guests, sponsors, and friends in sport.”
Sport BC congratulates all the Athlete of the Year Awards’ Recipients:
Athlete with a Disability
Mel Pemble (Victoria, BC) – Para Cycling (Track)
Female Coach of the Year
Jane Gumley (Victoria, BC)
Male Coach of the Year
Dylan Armstrong (Kamloops, BC)
High School Female Athlete of the Year
Keira Pemberton (Langley, BC)
High School Male Athlete of the Year
Nash Semeniuk (Kelowna, BC) – Basketball and Volleyball (Kelowna Secondary)
Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Emmy Lan (Comox, BC) – Cycling
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Nicholas Bennett (Parksville, BC) – Para Swimming
Senior Female Athlete of the Year
Camryn Rogers (Richmond, BC) – Athletics
Senior Male Athlete of the Year
Ethan Katzberg (Nanaimo, BC) – Athletics
Post Secondary Athlete of the Year
Rowan Hamilton (Chilliwack, BC) – Athletics
Team of the Year
Trinity Western University Men’s Volleyball Team
Master Athlete of the Year
Malindi Elmore (Kelowna, BC) – Athletics
Official of the Year
Trevor Walmsley (Vancouver, BC) – Karate
An additional six awards were presented including the Best of BC, KidSport BC Community Champion, Harry Jerome Comeback, Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award and In Her Footsteps Honourees.
Best of BC
Nick Taylor – Golf
KidSport Community Champion
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Harry Jerome Comeback Award
Garrett Rooker – UBC Football
Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award
Joe Higgins – Wheelchair Basketball
BC Women and Sport (formerly) ProMOTION Plus
In Her Footsteps…Celebrating BC Women in Sport
Marni Abbott – BC Wheelchair Basketball
Melissa Soligo – Curling
Bobbie Steen Legacy Foundation Award
Stacy Fournier – Baseball/Softball
Cycling BC congratulates all award recipients & finalists, thanking SportBC & sponsors for hosting the awards.