The territory’s best in sport will be honoured at a gala tomorrow evening.

Hundreds of Yukon athletes, coaches and officials will gather at the Yukon Convention Centre for the 39th annual Sport Yukon Awards Night. The festivities will begin at 6:30.

As usual, the highlight of the night will be the unveiling of the current crop of major award winners.

This year, 14 athletes have been shortlisted in four major award categories.

This year’s nominees include cross-country skiers, shooters and paddlers, as well as a variety of other star individual athletes.

Nominated for International Male Athlete of the Year are XC skier Knute Johnsgaard, cyclist Zach Bell, shooter John Simmons and soccer star Callum Ryan.

Johnsgaard played a starring role on the national XC ski circuit, while Bell proudly competed for the Yukon at the Commonwealth Games.

Simmons competed at the world championships in pistol shooting, and Ryan became the first soccer player in territorial history to earn a spot with a MLS football academy.

Meanwhile, XC skiers Emily Nishikawa and Dahria Beatty are up for International Female Athlete of the Year honours, as are swimmer Bronwyn Pasloski and wrestler Brittanee Laverdure.

Nishikawa was the first winter Olympian from the Yukon in two decades, while Beatty won five medals, including three golds, at nationals.

Pasloski played a starring role with the Indiana Hoosiers swim team, and Laverdure earned a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Nominees for National/Territorial Male Athlete of the Year are Special Olympics runner Darby McIntyre, whitewater kayaker Pelly Vincent-Braun, freestyle skier Etienne Geoffroy and shooter Nic Rittel.

McIntyre became the first Yukoner in three decades to crack the national World Summer Games roster, while Vincent-Braun made history by becoming the first paddler from the territory to earn a roster spot with the junior national slalom team.

Geoffroy scored multiple gold medals in high-level freestyle ski events across Canada, and Rittel was Canada’s small-bore hunting rifle champion once again this season.

National/Territorial Female Athlete of the Year nominees are XC skier Annah Hanthorn and paddler Jacy Sam.

Hanthorn starred at nationals as a junior, while Sam picked up five medals at the North American Indigenous Games.

Up for Administrator of the Year are Lynda Harlow of the freestyle ski association and Kathleen Wood of Cross Country Yukon.

Harlow played an integral role in helping the ski association secure infrastructure, including an air bag and summer training ramp, while Wood is a longtime volunteer and board member with the territory’s XC ski group.

Special Olympics’ Krista McKinnon will take home Coach of the Year honours for her guidance of athletes at nationals, while the organization’s gold medal-winning soccer squad has been named Team of the Year.

Athletes are nominated for major awards by their respective clubs, said Sport Yukon executive director Tracey Bilsky.

A six-person board executive from Sport Yukon then votes on the nominees to acclaim the winners.

The executive will also nominate major athletes they feel are deserving of the honour.

Alongside the major awards, Bell is expected to make a special program announcement, while Graham Nishikawa will receive a special award for his starring role as a guide for Brian McKeever at the Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Territorial government officials will also present awards of excellence and recognition to Yukon athletes, while local sport governing bodies will hand out awards of distinction to their athletes and volunteers.