Falon McLoughlan was awarded the Junior Female Athlete of the Year.
By Mark Squibb
A number of Mount Pearl athletes were recognized at the Sport NL 2024 Annual Awards banquet held earlier this month.
Volleyball player Falon McLoughlan was awarded the Junior Female Athlete of the Year. At just 14, Falon joined Team Canada’s Deaf Women’s Volleyball Team as the team’s youngest athlete. The team won a silver medal at the Pan-American Games in Canoas, Brazil. The win qualified her for the Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan, in November 2025. McLoughlan is also a swimmer and volunteers her time teaching other athletes with disabilities how to swim. McLoughlan was also a finalist for Female Athlete of the Year and named one of the top four junior female volleyball players in the province by the Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Association. In 2024 she received the Premier’s Athletic Award and the Inaugural Award of Excellence from St. Peter’s Junior High.
Former Mount Pearl Marlin Chris Weeks was named the Senior Male Athlete of the Year. Weeks, now a Memorial University Sea-Hawk, has had a phenomenal 2024. He set seven provincial records, both in short and long-course events, including the 50m free, 100m free, and 50m fly, and qualified for the University National Championships, becoming the only Memorial swimmer to do so. He broke three Atlantic University Sport (AUS) records at the Kemp-Fry Invitational and at the AUS Championships claimed four individual gold medals and was named AUS Male Swimmer of the Year. Weeks represented Canada at the U Sports Swimming National Championships, winning gold in the 50 fly and silver in the 100 freestyle and also qualified for the 2025 FISU World University Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Trials. At the Memorial University Sea-Hawks Athletic Awards, Weeks won the Male Athlete of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and the John Drinkwater Trophy for MVP in swimming.
Mount Pearl Marlins and Memorial University Sea-Hawk coach Christopher Roberts was awarded Male Coach of the Year. In 2024, athletes coached by Roberts, including Weeks, set 15 provincial records. Roberts led the Memorial University SeaHawks to third place in the AUS, with the male relay team breaking all three provincial relay records. Many athletes coached by Roberts have qualified for prestigious tournaments, including five of his swimmers who have qualified for the Ontario Junior International meet, the most from any Newfoundland and Labrador team.
