CALGARY (U SPORTS) – Arielle Roy-Petitclerc, a soccer player from the Laval Rouge et Or, and Philippe Maillet, a hockey player from the UNB Varsity Reds, are the BLG Award winners as U SPORTS Female and Male Athletes of the Year for the 2016-17 season.
Official BLG Awards website: www.blg.com/blgawards
U SPORTS website: http://en.usports.ca/blg_awards/index
The recipients of the 25th annual BLG Awards were announced Monday night at the Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary. The awards show will air nationally May 17 at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 360.
The winners were once again selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit Board established for the purpose of administering the BLG Awards and protecting the integrity of the selection process. For the third straight year, the general public was also invited to vote online (votes that didn't count towards the official result) and nearly 23,000 votes were cast over 11 days.
"On behalf of BLG and the Canadian Athletic Foundation trustees, I would like to congratulate Arielle Roy-Petitclerc and Philippe Maillet, the winners of the 25th anniversary of the BLG Awards," said Doug Mitchell, national co-chair of BLG. "The eight student-athletes who were nominated are all outstanding in their sport. I congratulate all the nominees for their great accomplishments."
"BLG is proud to support U SPORTS' top athletes and to be the founding sponsor of the annual BLG Awards for the last 25 years," said Sean Weir, BLG's national managing partner and CEO. "Excelling in sports requires unwavering commitment and a strong team ethic. That's what sports and business have in common – the kind of leadership where, to succeed, the needs of the team are put ahead of the individual."
"The BLG Awards represent the highest honour for our student-athletes. This year's national nominees are not only exceptional athletes, they are also tremendous ambassadors for the entire U SPORTS membership," said Graham Brown, chief executive officer of U SPORTS. "On behalf of U SPORTS, congratulations to Arielle and Philippe and I wish to extend our sincere appreciation to our long-standing partners at BLG for their ongoing support and belief in university sport in Canada."
Petitclerc, a native of St. Nicolas, Que., in her fourth year of U SPORTS eligibility, captured the Jim Thompson Trophy, presented annually to the female winner. She becomes just the second BLG Award recipient from Laval, joining volleyball player Marylène Laplante (2006).
Maillet, who finished his fourth year of U SPORTS eligibility, returns home with the Doug Mitchell Trophy. The Terrebonne, Que., native is also only the second BLG Award winner from UNB, following in the footsteps of current Varsity Reds associate coach and former men's hockey player Rob Hennigar, who earned the program's inaugural award in 2008.
The other female finalists for this season were StFX X-Women hockey player Sarah Bujold of Riverview, N.B., Queen's Gaels cross country runner Claire Sumner of Calgary, and UBC Thunderbirds volleyball player Danielle Brisebois of Caledon, Ont.
The other male nominees were Laval Rouge et Or football player Mathieu Betts of Montreal, York Lions soccer player Jonathan Lao of Unionville, Ont., and Trinity Western Spartans volleyball player Ryan Sclater of Port Coquitlam, B.C.