In the spring of 2020, Collingwood celebrated its senior athletes with an online Athletic Banquet due to the pandemic. Last year, there were no sports at all so there was no banquet. Thus, after a two-year hiatus, it was with great joy that our senior coaches got to once again fete their teams and their award winners in proper style.
As usual, the banquet was a mixture of heartfelt speeches and lively banter as coaches spoke about their team's season and the athletes that deserved special recognition. And of course, the odd verbal jab was sent the way of other sports or coaches, which was all in good fun.
The end of the night focused on the some very special awards. There were four athletes who received recognition as Three-Sport Athletes. This is an award that goes to any graduating student who participated in three sports in their Grade 12 year. This year's winners were Presley Bosa (Soccer, Basketball, Rugby), Rio Donovan (Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer), Mo Kelly (Field Hockey, Basketball, Netball), and Isaac Puar (Soccer, Basketball, Rugby). Congratulations to these four wonderful athletes who organized their busy Grade 12 lives so they could represent the school so admirably in all three terms.
Presley Bosa (Soccer, Basketball, Rugby)
Rio Donovan ( Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer)
Mo Kelly (Field Hockey, Basketball, Netball)
Isaac Puar (Soccer, Basketball, Rugby)
Two major athletics trophies were also given out at the Athletic Banquet:
The Jim Burnett Award - The Jim Burnett Award, named after Collingwood's third Headmaster, is awarded to a multi-sport athlete, who is an unsung hero, hard-working and team focused.
The Sekhon Athlete-Scholar Award - For a Senior School student-athlete who best demonstrates character, teamwork, commitment, and intensity in athletic performance while maintaining the highest of academic standards.
Tanner Jackson was the very worthy recipient of the Burnett Award. Tanner was cut from the Grade 9 basketball team, but continued to work hard on his skills and earned a spot on the Junior team the next year. This year, he established himself as a key member of the senior team. He also played both wing and flanker for the senior rugby team. Throughout his years at Collingwood, Tanner has always focused on the team first and making others around him better.
Tanner Jackson - The Jim Burnett Award Winner
This year's Sekhon Award Winner was Tori Punter. Tori was a member of the senior field hockey and basketball teams. Both these teams require an enormous commitment of time and effort. Tori was a leader on both these teams and her coaches appreciated how much she did to make her younger teammates feel welcome. Tori is also an excellent student and a House Captain of Groos House.
Tori Punter - Sekhon Athlete-Scholar Award Winner