Numerous athletes and coaches from all sports were recognized Friday evening for their achievements in 2017 during the Celebration of Sport Excellence.

Weight lifter Jeane Lassen and cyclist Zach Bell were also inducted into the Yukon Sport Hall of Fame during the ceremonies held at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.

Lassen and Bell have both represented Canada in international competitions and at the Olympics. While Bell was unable to attend the induction ceremony, he sent a video thanking the territory for its support, particularly his home-town community of Watson Lake.

“These awards recognize the dedication to sport and competition from our athletes,” Minister of Sport John Streicker told the audience. “This is not achieved overnight – the athletes here today have spent years training and preparing and competing – and that is what we are here to recognize this evening.”

Team of the year for 2017 went to the Whitehorse Huskies senior men’s hockey team. The Huskies rocked the Takhini Arena for a week last spring on their way to winning the Coy Cup in the four-team championship tournament. The Coy Cup is awarded to the best double AA senior men’s team in B.C.

The celebrations included annual awards of excellence for 2017 handed out by the Yukon Aborginal Sport Circle.

Achievements over the decades of several Special Olympic athletes were also recognized.

SPORT YUKON AWARDS

• Administrator of the Year:

Dan Poelman - Volleyball & Judo Yukon;

• Coach of the Year:

Ken Binns - Yukon Soccer Association;
– Coached team to a 5th place finish in the B division at the B.C. Summer Games.

• National/ Territorial Female Athlete of the Year:

Hannah Deuling - Cross Country Yukon;

– 2017 Eastern Canadian Championships, placed 2nd in the 3km, 2nd in the 7.5km and 5th in the wave start skate race;

– 2017 Canadian Nationals, placed 4th in the individual start 10 km classic out of 80 skiers.

• National/ Territorial Male Athlete of the Year:

Etienne Geoffroy - Yukon Freestyle Ski;

– Slopestyle Silver Medal & Big Air Bronze at the Canadian Open Tour in Whitehorse;

– Silver Medal at the Canadian Open Tour in Silverstar, BC.

• International Female Athlete of the Year:

Dahria Beatty - Cross Country Yukon;

– 13th in the team sprint at the World Cup and a historic 10th in the women’s relay;

– Finished in the top 20 overall at the U23 World Championships, with 12th, 16th and 19th place finishes.

• International Male Athlete of the Year:

Knute Johnsgaard - Cross Country Yukon;

– Named to the Canadian Senior National U25 Ski Team;

– Competed in 22 World Cups;

– Represented Canada for the first time at the World Senior Championships;

• Team of the Year:

Whitehorse Huskies Senior Men’s Hockey Team;

– Won the Coy Cup, the B.C. AA Hockey Championship, on home ice in April 2017;

– It was the first ever-Coy Cup win for Whitehorse, and the first time since its inception that the Coy Cup had been awarded outside of B.C.

ABORIGINAL SPORT CIRCLE AWARDS

• Aboriginal Athlete of the Year Female: Cassis Lindsay, Swimming

• Aboriginal Athlete of the Year Male: Ethan Davy, Snowboarding

• Aboriginal Coach of the Year Female: Shereen Hill, Swimming

• Aboriginal Coach of the Year Male: Michael Tuton, Hockey

SPECIAL OLYMPIC ATHLETES RECOGNIZED

• Donald George – Cross Country Skiing;

– 1981 World Winter Games.

• Peter Joseph – Cross Country Skiing;

– 1981 World Winter Games.

• Tyler Repka – Floor Hockey;

– 1983 World Summer Games;

– 1991 World Summer Games.

• Kathrine Hall – Figure Skating;

– 1993 World Winter Games

– 1997 World Winter Games.

• Daniel Hall – Cross Country Skiing;

– 1997 World Winter Games;

– 2001 World Winter Games.

• Garry Chaplin – Cross Country Skiing;

– 2005 World Winter Games.

• Owen Munroe – Cross Country Skiing;

– 2009 World Winter Games.

• Michael Sumner – Figure Skating;

– 2013 World Winter Games;

– 2017 World Winter Games.

• Padraig “Darby” McIntyre – Athletics;

– 2015 World Summer Games.

•Ernest Chua – Cross Country Skiing;

– 2017 World Winter Games.

• Tijana McCarthy – Figure Skating;

– 2017 World Winter Games.