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Top teams, coaches, athletes, volunteers recognized Sport Oakville recently held its sixth annual Sport Recognition Awards to honour and celebrate the excellence, perseverance and dedication of Oakville's athletes, teams, coaches and volunteers in the areas of sport development, performance and contribution to the community. More than 250 awards were handed out during the event, which took place at Operating Engineers' Banquet Hall on Speers Road. Following are bios of award winners from seven Sport Oakville member associations. Bios of the other winners appeared in the Wednesday, Oct. 23 edition of the Oakville Beaver. Oakville Crusaders Rugby Club · Athlete award: Aidan O'Brien O'Brien's hard work, dedication and talent was rewarded this season with his selection to the Rugby Canada team. He is a great example to younger players of what can happen when Crusaders coaches and players work hard together. · Volunteer award: Graham Bridges Bridges has coached Crusaders under-16 boys' teams for the past 15 years. During this time, he has built the program into one of the strongest in the province, producing countless athletes that have gone on to represent Ontario and even Canada. Bridges also helps recruit many international touring teams to play and stay in Oakville. · Coach award: Keith Ekron Thanks in large part to Ekron, the Crusaders' junior rugby program is the largest of its kind in Canada, if not North America. This year, Ekron guided his U14 Lancers boys' team to a second straight undefeated season and provincial title. Ekron stresses organization, dedication to hard work, fitness and fair play. · Team award: Crusaders U14 Lancers Not the largest or fastest U14 boys' rugby team in the province, the Lancers succeeded through dedication, hard work, talent and strong coaching. The club went undefeated to win the provincial championship, and 15 of its players went on to represent Oakville at the provincial level. Oakville Little League · Team award: Oakville 12U Whitecaps Formed in early May as part of the Oakville Little League's all-star program, the Whitecaps practised intensely all summer with an eye towards qualifying for the Little League World Series. The team won the District 1 Major title and reached the final of the provincial championships before falling to the East Nepean Eagles. · Volunteer award: Lina Mooney Mooney has managed the league's concessions at Cornwall Park since 2006. During that time, she has spent countless hours serving players, parents and friends of the league during games and tournaments, all with a smiling face. A recent testimonial from one of the league's youngest players suggested that Mooney serves up better hot dogs than the ones served at Detroit's Comerica Park. Oakville Minor Baseball Association · Coach award: Dave Beaton A dedicated OMBA coach and mentor for the past five years, Beaton's quiet demeanour and coaching abilities have allowed many of his players to vastly improve and advance to higher levels. This past season, he coached a peewee house league team to a regular-season title and also served as an assistant coach on his son's rep team. · Team award: Minor rookieball AAA Oakville A's Coached by Tony Busseri, the team of seven- and eightyear-olds went 20-4 in Central Ontario play last season. They also won the COBA and Ontario AAA playoff championships. Recent recipients of Sport Oakville's Sport Recognition Awards included Oakville Speed Skating Club members (pictured left to right) Tiago Santos (athlete award), Emma O'Donnell (coach award), Brenda Sweeney (volunteer award) and Nicole Vrazinovski (athlete award). | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog 29 | Thursday, October 31, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association · Team award: Oakville Hawks peewee 1 The peewee 1 Hawks enjoyed an excellent regular season, won a tournament in Brampton and reached the league finals in Orangeville, then earned provincial silver. Seven members of the team -- six players and an assistant coach -- were named to the Ontario box lacrosse squad. · Coach award: Derek Enross `Coach Tiny', as Enross is affectionately known, exemplifies the spirit of Oakville lacrosse. Youngsters have thrived under his tutelage in both box and field lacrosse. · Volunteer award: Brent Harwood Harwood has been integral in the growth and development of the Oakville Lady Hawks girls' lacrosse program. In addition to his duties as vice-president, he also sets up and takes down nets, lines fields and even coaches. Oakville Speed Skating Club · Athlete award: Nicole Vrazinovski Vrazinovski set provincial records in the 200-metre, 400m and 500m distances to easily win the girls' 10-yearold division championship at last year's provincials, held in Oakville. She is widely recognized as one of the top upand-coming short-track speed skaters in Ontario. · Athlete award: Tiago Santos Santos has been at the top of all age divisions he's competed in throughout his speed-skating years. Last year at provincials, he dominated the 11-year-old boys' division, setting Ontario records in the four distances he raced. · Coach award: Emma O'Donnell Despite first starting speed skating at the age of 17, O'Donnell developed into one of the club's elite skaters, going on to compete at the provincial and national levels. While attending Western University in London, she continued to travel back and forth to Oakville to coach the club's adult program. O'Donnell also assists with the youngest skaters, many of whom look up to her as a role model. · Volunteer award: Brenda Sweeney Sweeney took on the monumental task of being a meet co-ordinator for last year's provincial championships in Oakville. She oversaw at least 10 different committees to ensure the meet ran smoothly, and was successful in promoting and collecting much-needed sponsorships for the event. Many participants commented that the meet was the best they had ever attended in Ontario. Oakville Thunder Volleyball Club · Coach award: Louie Foresto Foresto is one of the club's longest-standing volunteers. Currently a coach of the Oakville Thunder 17-under Blue team, he is passionate about the sport and is greatly involved in developing athletes from a young age. Skate Oakville · Team award: Oakville Edge juvenile synchronized skating team The juveniles are Oakville's most accomplished synchronized skating team ever. At last year's Winterfest meet, the 17-member squad posted the best-ever showing for an Oakville Edge team, finishing second. The team went on to finish first at regionals. · Coach award: Peggy Ward Ward rarely takes time off and never slows down, showing extreme commitment to her students. She is currently working on obtaining her NCCP Level 3 coaching accreditation, which requires hard work and dedication in addition to her daily coaching requirements. · Volunteer award: Amber Dinda In addition to skating on the Oakville Edge's adult team, Dinda has also served on the club's board of directors for the past five years and is the club's test chair and publicity chair. She also issues press releases to keep local media outlets aware of skaters' accomplishments and major club events. · Volunteer award: Kim Theobald A former skater with the club, Theobald now oversees the bookkeeping and financial affairs of the organization. She also volunteers many hours assisting with club events and was integral in planning of the club's 75th anniversary celebration last year. In conjunction with the Historical Society, Theobald helped create a display showcase at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex that shows the club's transformation over the decades.