The Sports Award (Adult) recognizes exceptional contributions that have furthered the growth, reputation, and/or character of sport through sport administration, coaching, officiating, and participation. Please note the City will seek nominations for the Sports Award (Youth) between January and April 2025.
Nomination Criteria
One award will be presented. Each nomination must include two references. Items that demonstrate their role in sport, such as photographs, media clips, medals, jerseys, and trophies must be included in the nomination.
Nominees must fit one of the following categories:
- significant personal achievement;
- sportsmanship;
- historical contribution/pioneer;
- leadership; and
- novelty/unique contribution to sport.
Award Selection
The City of Port Moody’s Parks and Environment Committee accepts and reviews nominations and makes their recommendation to Council. Council reserves the right to not give awards in one or any of the categories. One winner is presented with an award at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. The winner is also recognized on a permanent plaque at the Recreation Complex. The winner will also have their memorabilia items on display at the Recreation Complex for at least one year.
Sport Award recipients
Matthew Campbell - 2024
Matthew Campbell was honoured for his transformative leadership and pioneering contributions to the Port Moody Soccer Club. As president, Campbell has overseen the growth of the club’s membership to nearly 2,000 players. Under his guidance and dedication, the club introduced innovative programs like adaptive soccer, becoming one of the first in B.C. to offer inclusive opportunities for athletes of all abilities. His efforts have created a welcoming environment where players of all ages and skill levels can thrive. Campbell’s advocacy also propelled the club to earn the Canada National Youth Club License and participate in the BC Soccer Premier League, B.C.’s highest level of youth soccer.
Kate Zubick - 2024
Kate Zubick was celebrated for her exceptional leadership and dedication to sports in Port Moody. Since 2014, Zubick has coached the Draggin’ Divas Dragon Boat team. With her motto, “Yes you can,” she inspires athletes to realize their potential. Zubick has also coached a diverse range of dragon boat and outrigger teams, including visually impaired athletes and breast cancer survivors. She has made a positive impact on Port Moody’s youth during her career as a teacher at both Moody and Eagle Mountain middle schools, where she coached track and field and cross country. A life-long athlete, Zubick has represented Canada in the World Dragon Boat Championships across six countries.
Allen Jones - 2021
Allen Jones was recognized for his contributions as a football coach. For over 20 years, Jones had a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of young Port Moody boys and girls with his enthusiasm and commitment to his community, his school, and the sport of football. Jones started the football programs at Port Moody Junior Secondary in 1970 and Port Moody Senior Secondary in 1973. His commitment to school and community culminated with a provincial championship in 1991 as the head coach of the team at Port Moody Senior Secondary. Jones was, and still is, a legend to many people who grew up in Port Moody. Coaching football in the Tri-Cities from 1965 to 2016, Jones touched countless lives while giving young men and women the opportunity to participate in the game of football. He was a pioneer in breaking down gender barriers, encouraging female participation in the game through initiatives like his Football for Females night school course that ran for over three years in the mid-1970s at Port Moody Senior Secondary.
Sports Award recipients – 2020
Brandon Kirby
Brandon Kirby was honoured for his accomplishments both in the lacrosse box and within the lacrosse community. Kirby played for the Port Moody Thunder Lacrosse Association and was selected to play for the Team BC Box Lacrosse team – this team achieved second place in the 2019 National Tournament. At the age of 12, he was selected to play for the U15 Team BC Field Lacrosse Team at the SandStorm National Tournament; as a result of Kirby’s performance, he was selected for the Evolve World Field Lacrosse team for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In early 2020, he also began refereeing minor box lacrosse. More than just an exceptional athlete, Kirby works hard to support his team and the broader lacrosse community through sportsmanship, teamwork, refereeing, and the mentorship of fellow young athletes.
John Macdonald
John Macdonald was recognized for his accomplishments as a football and rugby player and a coach. Macdonald won a gold medal for rugby at the 1984 BC Summer Games. He also played for the SFU football team from 1984 to 1988, serving as a team captain in his final two seasons. He suited up for the BC Lions in 1989 and 1990 and travelled to Russia to coach football during the 1991 off-season. Although he was offered a spot with the Calgary Stampeders that year, Macdonald returned to SFU to finish his degree and work as an assistant coach. Now a deputy fire chief with Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services, he coaches high school football and minor hockey and volunteers with firefighter charitable programs.
Sharron Tulk
Sharron Tulk was recognized for her leadership as well as her service and commitment to the hockey community. For eight years, Tulk volunteered with the Port Moody Amateur Hockey Association (PMAHA), leading an exceptional team of volunteers as president from 2012 to 2019. Her goals as a leader were to ensure that the PMAHA community is a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible space for athletes, families, and supporters. During her time as president, PMAHA secured partnerships with the Vancouver Canucks Learn to Play and Canadian Tire/Bauer First Shift programs, which ensured that the youngest players had access to free equipment and opportunities for hockey development. These programs also allowed the board to establish a coach-in-training program for U18 players.
Sports Award recipients – 2019
Doug MacDonald
Doug MacDonald was recognized for his achievements in ice hockey. MacDonald was the first Port Moody hockey player to make it into the National Hockey League. He was drafted in 1989 by the Buffalo Sabres, and played 11 games with the team between 1992 and 1995. Since 2014, he’s worked as a scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jeff Gombar
Jeff Gombar was recognized for his achievements as a lacrosse player and coach. In 1988, Gombar was a first-round draft pick of the Coquitlam Adanacs and played 13 seasons with various teams in the Western Lacrosse Association. As a member of Team Canada, Gombar competed at world championships in Manchester (1994), Baltimore (1998), and Perth (2002), winning one bronze and two silver medals. He has been a head coach for Simon Fraser University and an assistant coach for Team Canada. Gombar was an assistant head coach for Team Canada’s 2006 Men’s Field Lacrosse Team, inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame after defeating the United States to win their first world title in 28 years
Katrina Voss
Katrina Voss was recognized for her achievements in alpine skiing. In 2016, competing in the BC Provincial Open Series Under 16 races, Voss earned two silver medals and one bronze. That same year, she won a pair of gold medals in the dual slalom and the single pole slalom race during the Zone Finals at Mount Washington. Voss now competes in FIS (International Ski Federation) events in downhill, slalom, giant slalom, and super giant slalom (super-G).
Sports Award recipients – 2018
Brian Kenny
Brian Kenny was recognized for his contributions to dragon boating in Port Moody and his work with the Coquitlam Crunch Diversity Challenge. He has volunteered with the Nothin' Dragon Masters team since 2007, coaching both seniors and youth. Kenny became the president of the Nothin' Dragon Masters in 2013. In 2016, the Nothin' Dragon Masters became the new co-benefactors, hosts, and organizers of the Coquitlam Crunch Diversity Challenge. This annual event raises money for the Community Diversity Fund, which provides grants to Tri-Cities individuals, non-profit organizations, or community groups working to remove barriers for groups of people identified by the community as being socially or financially marginali
Paul Slaymaker and Penny Plamondon
Paul Slaymaker and Penny Plamondon were recognized for their contribution to the community as owners of the Runners' Den in Newport Village. Slaymaker and Plamondon opened the shop to support runners, hikers, and walkers in the Tri-Cities. They lead groups of runners and walkers through training for a variety of distances, from short (five kilometres) to long (marathons). The Runners' Den is all about community, hosting athletic events, offering support to schools, and participating in fundraisers. Plamondon is a Top 10 Ironman athlete, as well as an accomplished marathoner and ultra marathoner. Slaymaker, who is also a marathoner and ultra marathoner, represented Canada at the 100 Kilometre World Championships.
Sport Award recipients – 2017
Julia Budd
Julia Budd was recognized for her athletic achievements as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist (MMA), and for her work as an instructor at the Gibson Mixed Martial Arts School in Port Moody. Budd is currently the number three ranked 145-pound female MMA fighter in the world. She teaches self-defence and mixed martial arts to men, women, and children, and is an inspiration to athletes of all ages.
Johnny Millin
Johnny Millin was recognized for his contribution to the community as a coach, vice president, league coordinator, and volunteer for the Port Moody Soccer Club. Millin started volunteering and coaching when his children were young, and continues to coach and mentor young athletes even though his own children have graduated from the program. For three years in a row, he was instrumental in helping the Boys Under 17 Metro Select League team make it to the Provincial Championships. Millin is a highly-respected member of the BC soccer community.
Sport Award recipients – 2016
Rich Chambers
Rich Chambers' name is synonymous with basketball in British Columbia. For the last 40 years, he has been helping young basketball players build their skills and confidence, both on and off the court. Chambers has coached high school boys' teams to two Provincial Triple-A championships, and the 2016 U15 provincial girls' team to second place at the national championships. Chambers also has several years of university coaching experience, serving as head coach of the UBC men's team, assistant coach of the SFU men's team and the UBC women's and head coach of the University of Victoria women's team. Since 2002, Chambers has been involved with Team Canada, and for the last six years, he has served as head coach of the junior national's team. Chambers has won numerous coaching awards, including BC High School Coach of the Year (in 1985 and 2003), and he is a 2013 inductee into the Basketball BC Hall of Fame. He is currently a head coach for the Centre for Performance with Basketball BC. Locally, Chambers coached at Moody Junior Secondary from 1972 to 1974, and is currently co-running (with Tony Scott and Don Van Os) the True North Basketball Club, which provides development opportunities for Tri-City players aged 9-17.
Perry Solkowski
Perry Solkowski is an award-winning sports broadcaster and public speaker whose focus on amateur sport has had a significant impact on thousands of kids throughout the Tri-Cities and the Lower Mainland. More than 15 years ago, Solkowski started “Perry's Prospects,” his unique look at children involved in sports. This popular television segment told heartwarming stories about children giving their all, making friends, and learning valuable life skills through sport. Solkowski has watched some of his prospects turn into Olympians as part of his broadcasting duties during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London. Solkowski has been a KidSport ambassador for the past 17 years. Through his work with KidSport, Solkowski has hosted more than 400 underprivileged children at two separate super-camps, giving children a day to remember at BC Place and the Richmond Olympic Oval. Solkowski shares KidSport's vision that all kids should have the chance to play organized sports. Closer to home, Solkowski coached his daughter's Port Moody soccer team for five years, and then moved on to coach a boys' team for two years. He also spent three years coaching Tri-City girls' basketball through the Steve Nash Youth Basketball Program.
Sports Award recipients – 2015
Wayne Norton
Wayne Norton, also known as “Mr. Port Moody”, grew up and attended school in Port Moody Centre. He and his family have lived on Port Moody's North Shore since 1966. An athletic scholarship took Norton to Spokane's Whitworth College where he was scouted by the New York Yankees. He played for AA and AAA teams including the Vancouver Mounties AAA baseball team owned by Nat Bailey.
Norton transitioned from player to administrator and manager. He was technical director of Baseball BC from the early 1970s into the 80s. During that time, he oversaw the development of training manuals and was national senior team coach, manager, and executive. He managed Team Canada at the 1975 Pan American Games. Wayne created the junior national team and in 1986, along with Pat Gillick, founded the National Baseball Institute.
He has worked as a scout with the Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, and since 2000, with the Seattle Mariners. Twice he was named Canadian Scout of the Year by the Canadian Baseball Network (1998 and 2013) and was the Mariners' International Scout of the Year in 2007. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Geraldine Donnelly
Geraldine Donnelly, better known as Geri, is a pioneer of Canadian women's soccer. Born in London, England she played street soccer with local boys before her family moved to Port Moody, when she was eight.
Donnelly played youth soccer for Port Moody, at a time when girls' soccer here was in its infancy, before moving onto the Canadian National Team and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Geri was an original member of Canada's women's national soccer team back in 1986. She scored the first two goals in program history, a 2:1 victory over USA on July 9, 1986. She participated in two FIFA Women's World Cups (Sweden 1995 and USA 1999) and won one CONCACAF Championship (1998). She also won Canadian Player of the Year honours in 1996 and 1999. Geri made a total of 71 appearances for the national team, “retiring” in 1999 as Canada's all-time leader in appearances.
She ended her playing career in 2009 after guiding Surrey United to six consecutive provincial titles. Donnelly was named to Canada's all- time women's team in 2012 and was selected as a member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014 and was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jay Prentice
Jay Prentice has lived in Port Moody with his family since he was five years old and graduated from Heritage Woods Secondary School. From an early age Jay has always enjoyed and excelled in athletics. He has participated as a Special Olympics athlete since 2007. He began in the Special Olympics playing baseball and now participates in various Winter and Summer Games sports including speed skating, snowshoeing, swimming, basketball, fitness, soccer and track & field.
Jay has represented BC, as well as received medals, at both the Canadian National, Summer and Winter games, in addition he has also received several medals at the BC Games. In Jay's first year of speed skating he qualified for the BC Winter Games, his exceptional results lead him to the 2012 Canadian Winter games in St. Albert, Alberta where he won Bronze, Silver and Gold in 3 Speed Skating events. Jay is an extraordinary athlete and became the fastest male in BC in the 100m and 200m, qualifying him to go to the 2014 Canadian National Summer games where he won Bronze in the 400m event.
Sports Award recipients – 2014
Ryan Johansen
Ryan Johansen grew up in Port Moody playing for the Port Moody Minor Hockey association. He competed from the double-A level through to bantam, and won a peewee provincial championship with the club.
After his first WHL season with the Portland Winterhawks, Johansen was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2013-2014 season, he had a breakout year, scoring 33 goals and 30 assists for a career high of 63 points. He is the third Blue Jacket in franchise history to post 30+ goals in one season. Internationally, Johansen won a silver medal at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team.
Jamie Constable
Jamie Constable is a long time resident of Port Moody and has been involved with many sports as a volunteer. More specifically, she has been involved with Port Moody Lacrosse for well over 20 years.
Even though her children have graduated from minor lacrosse, Constable's commitment to volunteering continues. She has generously dedicated her to time in a number of roles, including the game and practice scheduler, treasurer, equipment manager, fundraising coordinator, tournament coordinator and special event & photo day coordinator. Participants know she's the “go to person” within the association on a wide range of information.
Bob Favelle
Bob Favelle has been involved with Port Moody Soccer for over 16 years as a coach, mentor, and advocate. His long term vision for the club and the sport make him a well-respected member of the soccer community.
Youth who graduate to an adult level of play have already benefitted from Favelle's vision. He has created an adult soccer program that has grown to over 10 teams of male and female players.
In 2006, he organized the Hollywood United Soccer Club vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Alumni fundraising celebrity soccer match. The event proceeds were used to purchase the bleachers that overlook Trasolini Field behind the Recreation Complex.
Port Moody Secondary – Cheer Team
The Port Moody Secondary Cheer program began in 1994 under the guidance of teacher Liz Gigante. The 2002 Port Moody Blues Cheerleading team was the first Canadian squad to win the USA Nationals, held in Anaheim, California.
Following the first USA National win, the 2003 team won the PCA Canadian Nationals, held in Toronto. In 2004, the team headed back to Anaheim for another USA Nationals win.
This elite group has also won a number of regional competitions in the Pacific Northwest each year.
Coaches:
- Gigante Ulrich, Elizabeth - Coach
- Powell, Kristy - Assistant Coach
- Rittinger, Cloe Jade - Captain
- Wong, Cassie - Co-Captain
Team members:
- Allard, Dan
- Boechler, Courtney
- Brooks, Victoria
- Chalmers, Lara
- Choi, Jessica
- Hird, Heather
- Jay, Brian
- Leblond, Jenelle
- Linden, Alicia
- Majlath, Kristine
- Matheson, Marsha
- McConnell, Heather
- Morrison, Carolyn
- Nagy, Jesse
- Naldoza, Kristine
- Ono, Jayme
- Panwar, Jaya
- Sorochan, Casey
- Stewart, Fallon
- Taylor, Sophie
- Terry, Jenna
- Terry, Shauna
- Wong, Ella
- Woodley, Clarissa
Tracy Wilson
Tracy Wilson is an Olympian, Canadian Hall of Fame inductee and Order of Canada recipient. She also grew up skating in Port Moody with the Inlet Skating Club.
Wilson and partner Rob McCall dominated ice dancing in Canada, winning seven National Championships between 1982 and 1988. Beginning in 1986, the pair also took home three consecutive bronze medals at the World Championships. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics, Wilson and McCall were the first Canadian ice dance team to win a medal, capturing bronze in front of a home crowd. Wilson has been a figure skating analyst during the winter Olympics for both CBS and NBC since 1992.