BCSS Dave Gifford Memorial Scholarship

Dave Gifford was a BCSS Director from 1988-90, and received the BCSS Honour Award in 1992. He was a teacher and Administrator in Vancouver, and died in 1992. In his honour, this scholarship is for one male and one female student who truly excels as a student-athlete.

Dave Gifford Memorial Scholarship (2 x $1500) will be awarded to the top male and female student-athlete in the Province.

Applicants must have completed in at least 2 BCSS approved sports during their grade 12 year.

Owen Luchies – St. Andres Regional School

Sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Track & Field, Soccer
Sports Accolades: Grade 8 Basketball MVP, Grade 10 Top Junior Basketball Scorer, Grade 10 Vancouver Island Basketball MVP, Grade 12 Vancouver Island All-City 1st Team Basketball, Grade 12 Top Basketball
Scorer, Grade 12 Vancouver Island All-Star 1st Team Basketball, Grade 12 Vancouver Island All-Star 1st Team Volleyball
Academic Accolades: Straight A’s
Owen has positioned himself as a hard-working leader on his high school sports teams, putting everything he has into his team both on-and-off the field and court. He regularly volunteers as a mentor for baseball players in his community, as he plays for the Victoria Eagles in the BC Premier Baseball League and with the Victoria Harbourcats club. As captain of the basketball team and assistant captain of the volleyball team, Owen has developed a camaraderie that spans both age and athletic ability. He chooses to always behave as a role model, using both wins and losses as motivation to further his own and his team’s performance and bond. A prime example of Owen’s drive and tenacity is his soccer season: he started as a bench player, and though they lost the Island Championship, ultimately performed as a starting striker to bring home the Provincial Championship.

Christina Peet Williams – Chilliwack Secondary

Sports: Cross Country, Track & Field, Soccer
Sports Accolades: Female Athlete of the Year, Big Block Sports Award, Female Cross Country Runner of the Year, 5 Provincial Championship Medals, 2 National Championship Medals, Track & Field Championship Aggregate Winner
Academic Accolades: Grade 11 “A” Honour Roll, Grade 12 “A” Honour Roll
Christina is highly motivated and tenacious in all aspects of her life. She is an accomplished athlete, holding multiple provincial and national championship medals and the role of cross country team captain. Not only does she excel in athletics, but also in academics and community support. She volunteers regularly at her local food bank and soup kitchen, lends a hand to a non-profit thrift store, and participates in slough restoration and garbage pickup. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Christina has stepped up in her home life, taking care of domestic responsibilities, and maintaining her punctuality thanks to her trusty bicycle. Christina looks forward to moving out for university to continue
her independence.

Congratulations to the Scholarship recipients.
We wish them the best of luck in their future academic and athletic endeavors, and thank them for their contributions to high school sports.

2022 -23 Scholarship Information and application will be available in January 2023

BC School Sports is happy to announce the BC Dairy Association Scholarship for student-athletes who plan to attend accredited postsecondary institutions. Recipients have exemplified school spirit, practice a healthy lifestyle, and engage with their community.

Maya Dawe – Langley Fundamental Secondary

Sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Cross Country, Track & Field, Soccer
Sports Accolades: Female Athlete of the Year, Volleyball Fraser Valley Finals All-Star, Team BC U15 and U16, School Volleyball Team MVP
Academic Accolades: LFMSS Top Student Award for Geography 12, Service Above Self Student Youth in Leadership Accreditation Maya is the definition of a model student-athlete, demonstrating athletic leadership in volleyball and basketball, while maintaining a strong academic standing all throughout high school. Both in and out
of school, she is heavily involved in various communities. She has received the Female Athlete of the Year Award 4 years in a row, been deemed as MVP of her school volleyball and basketball team, All-star at the Fraser Valley Volleyball Finals, and offered a position on Team BC U15 and U16 for volleyball. Maya also dedicates a lot of her time to coaching the junior girls and boys volleyball team and West Coast Volleyball Club, volunteering as a referee, helping students thrive through tutoring, and even created a collaborative poetry-sharing platform.

Lucas Woelders – Langley Christian

Sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Track & Field
Sports Accolades: 5x All-Star recipient, Top 5 Volleyball Male student athletes in the province
Academic Accolades: “A” Honour Roll
Lucas is an all-star in sports and the community. Not only is he a 5x All-Star recipient for basketball and volleyball and recognized as one of the top . Volleyball Male student-athletes in the province by USport Volleyball, but he’s also an active member of the community. He is Captain of the senior volleyball team, volunteers as a referee and events coordinator for Volleyball BC events and is a coach/mentor for grassroots programming and Fraser Valley Volleyball Club. His leadership extends beyond athletics as he is part of his school coffee shop leadership team and is a grade 3 Sunday school teacher. Lucas plans to continue his athletic journey in post-secondary as a member of the UBC Okanagan Men’s Volleyball team

Kate Brooks – Claremont Secondary

Sports: Basketball, Aquatics, Cross Country, Badminton, Track & Field
Sports Accolades: Senior Girls Island Basketball Championship All-Star, Top 8 finish at Senior Girls Provincial Basketball Championship, Island Cross Country Championship competitor, provincial swim relay competitor
Academic Accolades: Principal’s List
Kate is a prime example of an all-around student-athlete who excels both on and off the court. She was recognized as All-Star and top 8 finish at the senior girls basketball championship, all while maintaining
a 4.0 GPA throughout high school. She demonstrates strong leadership skills as the Co-Captain of her school’s senior girls basketball team and Captain of the cross country team. Kate is also an active
member of the community, volunteering her time at Keep Girls in Sport, as an assistant coach for the Warriors Basketball Club, and an executive on the grad committee.

William McGauchie -NorKam Secondary

Sports: Basketball, Volleyball
Sports Accolades: Most Inspiring Player, Fulton Cup MVP, CougarClassic Winner
Academic Accolades: Honour Roll, Principal’s List
William is a versatile multi-sport athlete, balancing multiple sports throughout high school, while keeping up his academics and finding time to give back to his community. He was given the title of Most
Inspiring Player and demonstrates this by being Captain of the basketball team and assistant coach for grade 10 basketball. Within the community, he volunteers as a coach for the Sun Peaks Ski Club, is an
active member of the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance, volunteers for the Kamloops Food Bank, and does fundraising for children in Haiti through the Hike program. William will be furthering his education in the field of kinesiology and sport science.

We wish them the best of luck in their future academic and athletic endeavors.

CIOS is a program developed by the Coaching Association of Canada and the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations to give teacher-coaches and community volunteers the special skill-set they need to coach effectively in the school environment. CIOS also provides three PD points to maintain NCCP certification.

Additionally, CIOS educates teachers, coaches and volunteers about OFSAA! Online courses are available in both english and french.

Please contact Erik Espinola at erik@ofsaa.on.ca or (416) 426-7438.

Welcome back!

All full and part-time staff at OFSAA extend good luck wishes to all students, teachers and staff as we take on the 2022-23 school year!

OFSAA would like to welcome two new full-time staff members and a part-time staff person.

OFSAA welcomed Erik Espinola as assistant director in August. Erik most recently served as executive director for Boxing Ontario and he has also served as events coordinator for Ontario Soccer. His knowledge of sport and strong commitment to serving membership will be valued by school sport volunteers across the province. The native of Etobicoke, Ontario attended Dante Alighieri Academy before earning his Sport Management Advanced Diploma from Humber College.

In his role, Erik will oversee the OFSAA HUB, the 3 Year Calendar, and boys’ sports.

Nicole Clarke came on board as OFSAA assistant director in late spring and she is looking forward to her first full school year on our staff. Prior to joining OFSAA, Nicole was a long-term occasional teacher at Fort Frances High School in the Rainy River District School Board where she coached girls’ hockey and boys’ basketball. Nicole is a native of Lindsay, Ontario and attended Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute before completing her Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology and Bachelor of Education at Lakehead University.

Among other duties, she will work with the Committee for Girls’ Activities and will be responsible for all girls’ sports in addition to snowboarding.

Brian Poste joined our team this summer as OFSAA’s new part-time sport coordinator. Brian was one of the longest-standing association representatives and a valuable CBA member and strong contributor on various OFSAA committees. He just recently retired from North Hastings High School in Bancroft, Ontario after 30 years of teaching math, computers and drama, among other courses.

Brian will be heavily involved with OFSAA baseball, wrestling, curling and boys’ golf. His passion for school sport and student-athlete growth makes him a welcome addition to the OFSAA office.

We are excited to have Brian, Erik and Nicole on our OFSAA team as we work towards an exciting year of school sports under the leadership of new Executive Director Shamus Bourdon!

Doug Gellatly retired in July after 16 years in the role of executive director at OFSAA. We wish Doug and his family great health and happiness in retirement and we thank him for his dedication and passion for school sport.

Longtime OFSAA staff member Brian Riddell stepped down this summer from his sport coordinator role with us. He was a tremendous influence on student-athletes, teacher-coaches and officials during his tenure with OFSAA.

OFSAA extends a sincere thank you to outgoing WOSSAA Association Representative Michele Van Bargen. We value her many years of dedication and guidance to school athletics in Ontario and we’ll miss her contributions and experience on Executive Council. Congratulations on your retirement from teaching in Strathroy, Michele!

In case you missed it – we are pleased to announce that OFSAA Girls’ Slo-Pitch will debut in 2023! This festival will take place in London on June 12 and 13 under the direction of Convenor Viviane Rouleau of École Secondaire Catholique Notre-Dame (Woodstock, ON).

Have a safe and fun year ahead inside and outside the classroom in 2022-23 everyone!