Celebrating the best in Canada’s Sport Tourism Industry
Feb 4, 2021, OTTAWA, ON: Postponed from March 2020, the 24 finalists for the 2020 Sport Tourism Canada PRESTIGE Awards will be honoured during a one-hour webcast planned for later in February. Originally scheduled to take place during Sport Events Congress 2020, the postponement of that event due to COVID-19 also pushed out the announcement of the recipients.
Representing a wide cross-section of the country’s sport tourism industry, the finalists, in eight different categories, are being recognized for events, organizations, sponsors and volunteers across the country – from Victoria in British Columbia to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.
The PRESTIGE (Program Recognizing Exceptional Sport Tourism Initiatives, Games & Events) Awards, now in their 14th year, have honoured exceptional sport events, people and organizations since they began in 2007.
Olympian, World Cup medallist and CBC Broadcaster Kelly VanderBeek will host the online PRESTIGE Awards, presented by Saskatoon Sports Tourism. The webcast will also be part of the on-demand content for the upcoming Sport Events Congress April 7-9, 2021.
“We have a rich history of sport tourism in Canada, and the 2020 PRESTIGE finalist once again illustrate the breadth and depth of our industry,” said Rick Traer, CEO, Sport Tourism Canada. “The 24 finalists represent both summer and winter sports, held in smaller communities and major urban centres. We look forward to honouring all of our PRESTIGE finalists in this new online presentation.”
2020 PRESTIGE AWARDS FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)
Canadian Sport Event of the Year Award (Group A: budget greater than $1 million) presented by Québec Destination affaires
- 2019 Canada Winter Games, (Red Deer, Alta.)
- 2019 Memorial Cup, (Halifax, N.S.)
- 2019 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™ (Regina, Sask.)
Canadian Sport Event of the Year Award (Group B: budget less than $1 million)
presented by Québec Destination affaires
- 2019 Canadian Ultimate Championships, (Edmonton, Alta.)
- Durham Region 2019 Ontario Parasport Games, (Durham Region, Ont.)
- The Royal Canadian Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships, (Cape Breton, N.S.)
International Sport Event of the Year Award (Group A: budget greater than $2 million) presented by CBC Sports
- 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, (Vancouver & Victoria, B.C.)
- Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, (Montréal & Québec, Qué.)
- Prince George 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, (Prince George, B.C.)
International Sport Event of the Year Award (Group B: budget less than $2 million) presented by CBC Sports
- 2019 World Junior Curling Championships, (Liverpool, N.S.)
- Basketball Week (FIBA 3X3 Challenger & FIBA 3X3 Women’s Series), (Edmonton, Alta.)
- ISU World Junior Short Track Championships, (Montréal, Qué)
Canadian Sport Event Sponsorship Initiative of the Year Award presented by Adup Display
- BMO Bank of Montreal (Vancouver Marathon)
- Canada Life (Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada)
- Tamarack Developments Corporation (Ottawa Race Weekend)
Sport Event Volunteer of the Year Award presented by WestJet
- Brian Hetherington (2019 World Triathlon Series), (Edmonton, Alta.)
- Denis Perrault (Hockey Day in Canada | Western Canada Summer Games | CCA Rodeo | World U-17 Hockey Challenge), (Swift Current, Sask.)
- Lyn Radford (2019 Canada Winter Games), (Red Deer, Alta.)
Sport Event Legacy of the Year Award presented by ConnectOnCampus
- 2019 Canada Winter Games, (Red Deer, Alta.)
- 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, (Monte-Sainte-Anne, Qué.)
- Durham Region 2019 Ontario Parasport Games
Sport Tourism Rising Star of the Year Award presented by Sport Durham
- Taunya Geelhoed, Assistant Manager, Sport Hosting Vancouver, (Vancouver, B.C.)
- Pam Lacroix, Manager, Richmond Sport Hosting, (Richmond, B.C.)
- Cindy Medynski, Event Attraction Manager, Edmonton Events, (Edmonton, Alta.)
About the PRESTIGE Awards
PRESTIGE Awards are Sport Tourism Canada’s marquis Program Recognizing Exceptional Sport Tourism Initiatives, Games & Events. Now in its 14th year, this annual award program shines a spotlight on the dynamic Canadians, places and events that are building our nation’s growing sport tourism industry.
About Sport Tourism Canada
Sport Tourism Canada (STC) is a non-governmental, member-based, capacity building organization that promotes sport tourism as a grassroots economic development initiative at the community level. STC services over 500 members across Canada, including 130 municipalities, 300 national and provincial sport, multi-sport and major games organizations and a variety of other sport and tourism industry partners. Sport tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry in Canada with over $6.8 billion in annual spending by domestic and international visitors.
