2024 Award Winners
Lieutenant-Govenor’s Award: Alysha Corrigan, Rugby
Senior Female Athlete of the Year: Alysha Corrigan, Rugby
Senior Male Athlete of the Year: Mark Arendz, Para-Nordic Ski/Biathlon
Junior Female Athlete of the Year: Vanessa Keefe, Wrestling
Junior Male Athlete of the Year: Cam Squires, Hockey
Intercollegiate Female Athlete of the Year: Abby Hustler, Hockey (St. Lawrence University)
Intercollegiate Male Athlete of the Year: Blake Kingston, Swimming (University of New Brunswick)
True Sport Award: Hannah Taylor, Wrestling
Team of the Year Award (co-winners): U18 Team PEI Field Hockey & U19 Team PEI Flag Football
Coach of the Year Award: Menno Arendz, Para-Nordic Biathlon
Official of the Year Award: Mike Richards, Baseball
Administrator of the Year Award: Lauren Craig, Volleyball
Masters Athlete of the Year: John MacDonald, Powerlifting
President’s Award: Brian Chambers, Basketball/Multi-Sport & Elizabeth MacKay, Figure Skating
Premier’s Award: Field Hockey PEI
Event of the Year Award: 20th Annual Prince Edward Island Marathon
Arendz brothers, Paris Olympians among those honoured at 51st Sport PEI Awards
CHARLOTTETOWN – The 51st PEI Amateur Sport Awards were hosted by Sport PEI on Thursday, December 19th at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall in Charlottetown, honouring the top performers of Island sport in 2024. The winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s (PEI’s top athlete) went to Paris 2024 silver-medal-winning rugby athlete Alysha Corrigan, who also won the Stewart McKelvey Senior Female Athlete of the Year Award.
The Senior Male Athlete award went to para-nordic skier Mark Arendz for a record-breaking seventh time. Arendz went undefeated in his 2023-24 season, winning triple gold at both the World Cup and Para Biathlon World Championships. He was not the only member of his family to be honoured as Mark’s younger brother Menno Arendz, who serves as head coach of the Canadian Para-Biathlon team, was recognized as the winner of the PEI Mutual Insurance Coach of the Year Award.
In the Ladner’s Source for Sports Junior Athlete of the Year category, wrestler Vanessa Keefe won the female award for the third straight year, tying squash athlete Emma Jinks and hockey player Jordan Spence for the most junior athlete titles. Cape Breton Eagles forward Cam Squires won the junior male award, leading his team in scoring and breaking a playoff series franchise record last season.
Abby Hustler of the St. Lawrence University Saints hockey team and Blake Kingston of the University of New Brunswick REDS swim team were recognized as winners of the Synergy Fitness & Nutrition Intercollegiate Athlete of the Year awards. Hustler was a finalist for the Patty Kaz Award as the top NCAA women’s hockey player while leading her team to a national quarter-final appearance. Kingston broke the AUS 10mm breaststroke record twice in 2024 and won two gold, one silver, & one bronze medal at AUS Championships.
Several award winners who had been announced prior to the event were also recognized during the night, including:
CBC PEI Team of the Year co-winners – U18 Field Hockey & U19 Flag Football
For the first time since 2010, the Team category will have co-winners as both the Under-18 provincial Field Hockey team and Under-19 male provincial Flag Football team won bronze medals at their respective national championships. It was the first national medal in PEI’s history for field hockey and fourth for flag football. The field hockey team also produced two players who made the Tournament 11 all-star team (Maggie Mullins and Katie-Grace Noye).
True Sport Award – Hannah Taylor, wrestling
Hannah Taylor made history as PEI’s first-ever Olympic wrestler this summer, fulfilling a goal she set in her early days as a teenage wrestler. Though the 26-year-old finished just shy of the podium, her gracious handling of the painful defeat was as inspiring as any piece of hardware. Alongside her fiance and training partner Ligrit, the nine-time national champion credits taking risks, trying new things, and exploring the art of wrestling for her rise in the sport that she regularly gives back to through organizing fun events for her team, hosting clinics for Island athletes, coaching, and as an outstanding role model.
ADL Masters Athlete of the Year winner – John MacDonald, powerlifting
In October, the 41-year-old traveled to South Africa where he lifted the most weight across all divisions at both the Commonwealth and World Masters Powerlifting Championships, taking gold in his division while earning the 2024 “Champion of Champions” crown. His year also saw wins at the Central Canadian and National Championships, hosted locally in Summerside. MacDonald also serves as a coach to athletes of all ages and capabilities while serving as president of the PEI Powerlifting Association and founder of a busy youth lifting club.
PEI Mutual Insurance Official of the Year – Mike Richards, baseball
In his 8th season as PEI Provincial Umpire Supervisor, Baseball Canada recognized Mike Richard’s abilities selecting him to serve as plate umpire for the twenty-two-and-under men’s national gold medal game as well as their international development pathway program and a finalist for their Umpire of the Year award. President of the PEI Baseball Umpire Association and a nationally certified senior course conductor, the 29-year-old officiated in the Western Canada Baseball League, NC double-A Spring Training, and New Brunswick Senior Men’s League while attending MLB’s elite development camp.
SCORE! Charlottetown Event of the Year – 20th annual Prince Edward Island Marathon
Sold out in all twelve race categories, the 20th Annual Prince Edward Island Marathon was the organization’s largest event to date with just under three thousand total participants coming from all over Canada, the United States, Sand internationally. Unveiling two new awards, organizers of the first PEI marathon Parker Lund and Ken Campbell were honored with the legacy award while Doug MacEachern was selected for the Jim Larkin Volunteer of the Year, named in memory of a long-time board member. The 2024 event had five course records broken, all of which by Island residents and couldn’t have been possible without the thousands of hours put in by 250 local volunteers.
ADL Volunteer Administrator of the Year – Lauren Craig, volleyball
Everything from major travel arrangements to registration to liaisons with parents, coach certification, and social media, Lauren Craig does everything she can off the court to help the success of the Red Mudd Volleyball Club and its approximate 100 members. Volleyball PEI’s volunteer of the year, Lauren helped her club send three teams to nationals and participate with six in the provincial program. While her organizational and research skills are often heralded by fellow organizers, Lauren loves to see others thrive and mentors other team managers as they help their own teams.
Premiers Award (Organization of the Year) – Field Hockey PEI
2024 marked a historic year for Island field hockey, fueled by the advocacy of UPEI head coach Lacey MacLauchlan and manager Barb Carmichael, which led to Atlantic field hockey’s first-ever U Sports Nationals invite. The UPEI Panthers clinched their third-straight league championship and earned national recognition with multiple individual honors. At the national youth level, the U18 team secured PEI’s first-ever medal with a bronze finish, while two Islanders earned all-star spots. U16 captain Ellie Mullins was named Nationals MVP and also represented Canada’s Under-17 team in the Netherlands, alongside coach Lacey, who also assists with Canada’s senior development squad.
President’s Award (Recognizing Outstanding Contributions) – Brian Chambers, basketball/multi-sport
Brian Chambers has made a transformative impact on sports in Prince Edward Island over the past 25 years. Serving on the Sport PEI Board for over two decades, including four years as president, he played a pivotal role in initiatives such as Sport PEI’s transition to the House of Sport, the introduction of the KidSport program, and the creation of the PSO Sport Executive Directors program. Beyond governance, Brian contributed to developing PSO bylaws, policies, and guiding Canada Games secretariats. His lasting legacy is in basketball, where he served on multiple boards and with the UPEI women’s basketball team staff for 23 years, leading them to four AUS championships and securing over $1 million in funding. He founded the Netted Gem high school basketball tournament and chaired numerous national tournaments. Brian also worked with his wife and Ken Dryden to improve concussion protocols in sports, making a significant impact on athlete safety, both in PEI and nationally
President’s Award (Recognizing Outstanding Contributions) – Elizabeth MacKay, figure skating
Elizabeth MacKay’s skating journey began in the 1960s on an outdoor rink in Hunter River, leading her to coaching at just 14. She volunteered six days a week at the Summerside and Tyne Valley Clubs, mentoring younger skaters. While studying at UPEI, she joined the PEI Section Board, helping develop the CanSkate and Can Figureskate programs. After graduation, Elizabeth became a Level 1 coach, teaching in Summerside and Halifax. In 1997, she returned to PEI and rejoined the PEI Section Board in 2000, where she still serves as Skating Programs Chair. On a national level, she contributed to Skate Canada’s Board, serving in multiple roles, including Chair of the Skating Programs Committee. Elizabeth created the Future Champions program and played a key role at events like the Canada Winter Games. She was honored with multiple awards, including the PEI Section Volunteer Award of Excellence in 2013.
For more information, contact:
Mitch Sanderson
Communications & True Sport Lead, Sport PEI
msanderson@sportpei.pe.ca