Gee-Gees celebrated at the Ottawa Sports Awards
Members of the uOttawa community will be honoured at the 69th Annual Ottawa Sports Awards, including outstanding teams and individuals.
The Gee-Gees artistic swimming and women's rugby teams earned recognition for their success on the national level in 2021.
In artistic swimming, uOttawa won the varsity team gold medal at the Canadian University Artistic Swimming League national championship, which was held virtually. The women's rugby team continued its streak of national championship podium finishes by earning the U SPORTS silver medal in 2021.
Several uOttawa students and alumni were recognized as the City's top performer in their sport for 2021.
Emelia Dermott is a four-time Canadian champion in boxing and a fourth-year Human Kinetics student. In 2021 she was selected to represent Ontario at the Boxing Canada talent identification camps.
Toshka Besharah-Hrebacka is a second-year student in Biomedical Science who captured gold medals in the 200m and 500m kayak races at the 2021 Canadian U18 Championships. Besharah-Hrebacka followed that up with a bronze medal performance in the 200m and a fifth place finish in the 500m at the U18 World Championships. A member of the Rideau Canoe Club, she was named to Canada's 2022 sprint world cup team.
Lisa Weagle was selected as Ottawa's top curler for 2021. The uOttawa alumna (Arts '08) was named an all-star at the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts after shooting a tournament-best ninety per cent. With Team Jones, Weagle won the 2021 Olympic Qualifier, earning the right to represent Canada at her second Olympic Games.
In addition, long-time Gee-Gees badminton head coach Dominic Soong receives a Lifetime Achievement Award for coaching. Soong most recently coached the Gee-Gees during first decade of the 2000s and has been an impactful coach in the Ottawa community for over 30 years, as well as contributing to the growth of the game across Canada.
