By Mark Squibb / June 29, 2023
The Mount Pearl Sports Alliance last week held it’s annual Sports Hall of Fame and Athletic Awards ceremony and recognized a number of athletes and other prominent members of the sporting community.
Campia Gymnastics and Mount Pearl Soccer were big winners, and took home five prizes between them.
The Official of the Year Award was presented to Shannon Tobin of Mount Pearl Soccer. Tobin is a Provincial level referee and Director of Referees with Mount Pearl Soccer. Last season Tobin refereed nearly 200 weekend games for U7, U9 and U11 Metro League tournaments, while also refereeing U7 to U13 games Monday to Thursday.
Phillip Molloy of Mount Pearl Soccer was named Coach of The Year. Molloy holds a National "C" Coach’s License, and this past season coached with the U11 Tier 1 Girls, acting as Assistant Coach for the U17 Boys (finishing 1st in the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association’s Premiere Youth League) and as Head Coach of the U13 Girls A Team. He was also selected to coach as a part of the Vancouver Whitecaps Soccer Camp.
President of Campia Gymnastics Anna Dominic received the Peter Halliday Memorial Award for the Executive of the Year. Dominic set new goals for the organization, established new fundraising committees, reviewed and ratified Campia’s recreational handbook, reviewed and established new guidelines for strategic planning, attended meetings and conferences, spearheaded social events, and much, much more.
The Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year awards both went to Campia Gymnastics members.
Jillian Hutchings, the Female Athlete of the Year, placed in a number of competitions this past year. At the 2022 Dream Big Provincial Invitational she placed first on vault, second on bars, third on beam, second on floor and second all around. At the Atlantic tournament she placed second on vault, first on bars, second on beam, second on floor, and first all around; and at Canadian Championships qualifiers, she placed twenty-seventh on vault, thirteenth on bars, eighth on beam, twenty-third on floor, and fifteenth all around, qualifying for finals, where she placed twentieth on vault, fourteenth on bars, fourteenth on beam, twenty-fourth on floor, and twenty-second all around.
Michael Drover, the Male Athlete of the Year, this past year placed first on pommel horse in the Senior High-Performance category at both the Dream Big Invitational and Provincial Championships. He placed ninth at National Gymnastics Canada’s Technical Trials, and fifteenth at the Canadian Championships.
The Team of The Year is the Open Starlites Synchro Skating team. The team, which is member-led rather than coach-led, won gold in the 2022 synchro skating nationals in Calgary, Alberta, making them the first synchronized skating team from the province to earn a medal at the national level.
Mount Pearl Soccer Association (MPSA) member Craig Dyer was accorded the Dave Holloway Memorial Award Adult Volunteer with Youth Award. Dyer is a full-time MPSA volunteer, and spends his time coordinating tournaments, organizing fundraisers, attending meetings, taking photographs, and cheering on from the sidelines.
Two members of the Mount Pearl sports community were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Olympic gold medalist, World Champion, and five-time Brier champ Brad Gushue is no stranger to accolades, and his induction into the Hall of Fame was just the latest. Recognized as one of the best curlers in Canadian history, you may be surprised to learn that Gushue was also a competitive golfer in his youth. Gushue won the NL Junior Golf Championship consecutively from 1996 to 1999 and won two NL School Championships with the O’Donel Patriots golf team. He also won the Men’s Provincial Amateur Championship in 1999 and was a member of Golf Canada’s High-Performance Junior program.
Long-time referee Derm Bishop was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bishop’s referee career began in 1976 and spanned more than 35 years. During that time, he officiated more than 5,000 games, from novice thru to All-Star. He served eight years with the Referees Association, including a time as President. He was also instrumental in helping establish the referees mentorship program. He has earned a number of accolades over the years and was inducted into the Mount Pearl Minor Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.
