OTTAWA, ON (December 14, 2016) – Canoe Kayak Canada has recently recognized a group of outstanding coaches for their achievements in the 2016 season.
Edgar Garza wins Club Development Award
Edgar Garza of the Calgary Canoe Club won Canoe Kayak Canada’s Club Development Award for his work in building the sport at the grassroots level.
“Edgar goes way beyond the duty of coaching to accommodate his athletes’ specific needs,” one of his athletes explained in putting forward the nomination. “Edgar will spend hours after practice helping not only the high-performance athletes but the younger developing ones as well. He even goes out to programs that we have at local lakes to find talent and recruit young paddlers.”
Two freestyle coaches receive Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards
Ryan Whetung of Braeside, ON and Louis-Philippe Legaré of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC were both recognized by the Coaching Association of Canada for their contributions in coaching athletes to the podium at the 2015 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships. The Championships were hosted on homewater last September at the Garburator Wave on the Ottawa River in Beachburg, ON.
Ryan Whetung coached Nick Troutman to a bronze medal in the Senior Men’s K1 category while Louis-Philippe Legaré coached Zach Zwanenburg to a bronze in the Men’s C1. Freestyle is an impressive whitewater sport in which athletes are scored for their ability to perform an array of tricks and moves while surfing on a standing wave.
Coach Recognition Award Recipients
A total of 51 Canadian coaches received Canoe Kayak Canada’s Coach Recognition Awards. The awards were presented to coaches whose athletes achieved a gold medal performance at their National Championships or made a National Team during the 2016 season. Fifteen of these coaches received the recognition award for the first time.
*indicates first time winner. The coach’s club/team is noted after their name
Rob Baert (Senobe)
Ian Bardos* (Cheema)
Tamas Buday Jr (Pointe-Claire)
Tamas Buday Sr (Mississauga)
Larry Cain (Burloak)
Chris Chaisson (MicMac)
Andres Carranco (Rideau)
Diana Deek (Rideau)
Mari Ellery (Balmy Beach)
Edgar Garza (Calgary)
Hunter George (Burloak)
Luc Grenier (Lac Beauport)
Andrzej Gronomicz (Saskatoon)
Wade Farquharson (Rideau)
Joel Hazzan (Ottawa River)
Brian Hammer (Pitt Meadows)
Anna Hetzler* (Cheema)
Conrad Hutter* (Rideau)
Kyle Jeffery (Mississauga)
Toshko Kalpakov* (Banook)
Mike Kerrivan (Cheema)
Chris MacPherson (Sack-a-Wa)
Piotr Majewski (Ridge)
Peter Martinek (Balmy Beach)
Adam Mayo (Cascades)
Sean McBeath* (False Creek)
Kevin McIntyre* (Balmy Beach)
Éric Mihalovic* (Pointe-Claire)
Adam Oldershaw (Burloak)
Scott Oldershaw (Burloak)
Mathieu Pelletier (Trois-Rivières)
Jon Pike (Maskwa)
Samuel Raiche (Lachine)
Mike Robinson (Wascana)
Rob Sargant (Burloak)
Helen Savin (Richmond Hill)
Hannah Schmidt* (Ottawa River)
Jerome Seremak (Manitoba)
Michael Thomas* (Pointe-Claire)
Brendan Curson (Canoe Kayak Saskatchewan)
Mike Holroyd (Alberta Slalom)
Louis-Philipe Legare (Valleyfield)
Thea Froehlich* (Alberta Slalom)
Anthony Colin* (Whitewater Ontario)
Kyle Polsfut (Edmonton Whitewater Paddlers)
Keegan Smith (Central Alberta Paddling Excellence)
Brad Cameron (Canoe Polo National Team)
Chaz Cheung* (Canoe Polo National Team)
Darryl O’Brien* (Canoe Polo National Team)
Rick Janigo* (Canoe Polo National Team)
Sieger Roorda* (Canoe Polo National Team)
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. Canoe Kayak Canada has been one of Canada’s top performing summer sports having won an impressive count of 24 Olympic medals. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization which includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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For more information:
Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, Canoe Kayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca