Sport Yukon hands out 2020 major awards
Sport Yukon handed out its major awards for 2020 on March 4, recognizing four athletes, a coach, an administrator and a team.
The National/Territorial Female Athlete of the Year is Delia Therriault, an archer who earned a silver medal at the Canadian Indoor Championships and also broke a Canadian record in her category.
The National/Territorial Male Athlete of the Year is Emmett Kapaniuk, another archer. Kapaniuk won gold at both the Canadian Indoor Championships and the Multi-Sites Indoor Championships of the Americas. He also tied a Canadian record for his age category.
The International Female Athlete of the Year is Dahria Beatty, a cross-country skier and Olympian who continues to be one of the best on the FIS World Cup circuit representing Canada.
The International Male Athlete of the Year is Dylan Cozens, a hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres. Cozens won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2020 World Junior Championship and a silver medal as co-captain at the 2021 tournament.
The Coach of the Year is Warren Kapaniuk, an archery coach whose achievements in 2020 included assisting Emmett and Therriault in their strong results and Canadian records.
The Administrator of the Year is Sophia Marnik, the head organizer and chief of results at the biathlon facility. While the 2020 Arctic Winter Games were ultimately cancelled, Marnik oversaw successful AWG trials for both ski and snowshoe biathlon, as well as the Yukon Championships, three Grey Mountain Cup biathlon races and the Grey Mountain Invitational Ski Race. Marnik is also a member of the Biathlon Yukon board.
The Team of the Year is the Yukon North Stars bantam women’s hockey team. Made up of players from Dawson City, Haines Junction, Watson Lake and Whitehorse, the team went 4-1 at the Angels on Ice Hockey Tournament in B.C., winning gold in a shootout – and still making the flight home.
