The Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards reached their milestone 20th year of celebrating outstanding athletes, teams, coaches, officials and volunteers.
The annual awards gala was held Friday, Feb. 21, at the Coast Bastion Hotel.
Nanaimo's Olympic gold-medallist hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg won the evening's final award, Sports Story of the Year, and fellow Olympian, marathon race walker Olivia Lundman, won Partners of the Year with her teammate and coach Evan Dunfee.
Lundman recalled winning Junior Female Individual Athlete of the Year at the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards when she was a teenager.
"At that point I had no idea what the next few years were going to hold, but God brought me on this incredible journey which ended up seeing me compete at the Olympics at age 21," she said.
She said she and Dunfee are grateful for the support they've received over the years.
"We just really want to give back to our community and inspire the next generation," she said.
Nanaimo's other Olympic representative, Abe Avender, who went to Paris as a member of the medical staff with Canada's men's volleyball team, won High-Performance Coach of the Year for his work with that team and with VIU's men's v-ball team, which won the PacWest championship in 2024.
Team of the Year was the VIU Mariners hockey team, which won its first B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League championship in 2024. Gord Nowicki, team president, said the goal has been to make the program and its community impact bigger and better.
"We believe in sports, we believe in this community whole-heartedly and so we're just very proud to be here and representing Nanaimo," he said.
Junior Team of the Year was the Dover Bay Dolphins senior boys' basketball team, which won the AAA provincial championship in 2024.
Winning Female Individual Athlete of the Year was Emily Bugoy, who won her division at the Ironman Canada triathlon as well as two other triathlons, the Vancouver Island Race Series, and a 50-kilometre ultra race in 2024.
"I was super happy just to be nominated to be here," she said. "I didn't discover sports until after the age of 30 so all of this is new and every win, every race, every experience is surprising and exciting. It's been a huge journey."
Male Individual Athlete of the Year was Tyler Ollech, a national champion weightlifter.
In the Team Athlete of the Year categories, the winners were Nanaimo NightOwls slugger Wylie Waters and VIU Mariners soccer MVP Jade Dillabough.
In the Junior Team Athlete of the Year categories, lacrosse player Maddie Palmer and basketball player Frank Linder were honoured, while in Junior Individual Athlete of the Year categories, the winners were gymnast Blake Fudge and runner Rhys Beaudoin.
Masters Athlete of the Year was Pan-Am record-setting swimmer Christina Pendergast.
Grassroots Coach of the Year was Brian Lennox for Wellington Wildcats golf, Sports Administrator of the Year went to Brande Terris who managed the junior B2 Nanaimo Timbermen lacrosse team, and Official of the Year was Jacoby Krassman for lacrosse.
Also, Chantel and Michael Jeromkin were honoured with the Steve Smith Memorial Award for their mountain bike trail-building efforts in memory of their son, Matthew; Greg Scott won the Michael Rhode Memorial Award for his contributions to the trail running community; and Thomas Mayrhofer was presented with the Hero In You Award for his work as one of the founders of the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards.
