Celebrating Excellence: U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Awards set to honour outstanding student-athletes

For former Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, the Honourable Lois Mitchell, one of the most important qualities she has seen in student-athletes nominated for the annual U SPORTS Doug and Lois Mitchell Awards for athlete of the year is adaptability.

“They know how to overcome all of the adversity,” said the Honourable Lois Mitchell.

The 2024 awards ceremony is set to take place on Monday, June 10th in Calgary. There, two of the eight nominees across each of the four national conferences will be honoured with the yearly award. 

This year, female nominees for the award include Jayda Veinot (University of New Brunswick, Basketball), Audrey Leduc (Université Laval, Track & Field), Sara Rohr (Brock Badgers, Volleyball), and Katalin Tolnai (University of British Columbia, Soccer). Male nominees include Austen Keating (University of New Brunswick, Hockey), Jonathan Sénécal (Université de Montreal, Football), Max Davies (Guelph Gryphons, Track & Field/Cross Country), and Isaac Heslinga (University of Alberta, Volleyball). 

This May, her Honour attended the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic trials held at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto. A couple of former athlete of the year award winners Kelsey Wog (University of Manitoba, 2020) and Kylie Masse (University of Toronto, 2016) were present, qualifying for the upcoming Paris Olympics starting in July. Five more former U SPORTS athletes were named to the Canadian Olympic roster by Swimming Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee. This included former university swimmers Blake Tierney (University of British Columbia), Rebecca Smith (University of Calgary), Yuri Kisil (University of British Columbia), Emma O’Croinin (University of British Columbia) and Ingrid Wilm (University of British Columbia). 

The 2023 U SPORTS Male Athlete of the Year, Gabe Mastromatteo, was just short of making the Paris roster after representing Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s just a few seconds that can make a difference, whether you make it to the Olympics or not,”  said Mitchell. 

“That’s not easy. There’s a lot of pressure on them.”

Her Honour met Mastromatteo after presenting the U SPORTS male Athlete of the Year award in May of 2023 and the two have been in touch ever since. She says she sensed sharp instincts from the Varsity Blues swimmer after getting to know him better.

“There is a clarity and a confidence about Gabe that shines through,” she said. 

Mitchell has met numerous recipients of the yearly awards for the past few years, and according to her, though drive and determination are clearly visible among the students, she has found one thing is constant: athletes are being handed uncomfortable situations personally and athletically that they must work through to be successful. 

“I do feel that the quality of adaptability — that no matter what situation comes your way — there is an important ability to be able to get over anything that happens to you. How can you overcome?”

This year’s nominees for the Doug and Lois Mitchell awards have manifested excellence on and off the field of play this season. Maintaining a high-level of success as a student-athlete in U SPORTS often comes with numerous challenges. There can be physical, mental, or personal battles that student-athletes must go through that tends to build a sense of determination and grit. 

“Life throws different curves at you all the time and what you gotta do is make the best of what’s thrown at you,” said Mitchell.

For 2024 nominee Veinot, a tendon condition in both legs was a consistent obstacle in her basketball journey for the past seven years.

“In my first few years, it impacted me less, just a lot of athletic therapy and ice,” said Veinot.

“But as I got into my later years, having chronic pain became more challenging to navigate mentally and physically.” 

The UNB star says she also needed to navigate balancing life both on the court and in the classroom. After transferring from Saint Mary’s to Acadia in her first year of undergraduate studies, she was on the move again to UNB for her Masters of Applied Heath Services Research. 

“When I transferred [in the 2017-2018 season], I was ineligible, which I found really challenging,” she said. 

“But also adapting into a new program, with new teammates and coaches was challenging. I loved my time there, but it was a struggle for me personally transitioning into that program.”

Veinot’s injuries were going to stay with her for the rest of her basketball career. Accepting that she wouldn’t be playing pain-free basketball changed the mentality of what was thrown her way at the beginning of her university basketball career.

“I had to find a way to live with it,” she said.  

Veinot made the best of the situation in her final year of U SPORTS eligibility, finishing at 21.3 points per game (third in U SPORTS) across the country during the regular season. This may not have occurred if not for the dedication she had for the game.

“I had almost decided to retire before this past season,” said Veinot.

“I would have regretted leaving any of those years on the table. Pushing through and deciding to play this year is the reason I had this past season. Although I never had pain-free basketball, I took every opportunity I had to play.”

Brock Badgers women’s volleyball setter and Female Athlete of the Year nominee Rohr also struggled with injuries during her U SPORTS career.

“I suffered an ankle sprain in my first year that put me out for eight games,” said Rohr. 

“Then over the years I was dealing with some knee pains. This past season I had a partial shoulder dislocation.”

Similar to Veinot, Rohr always had some physical pain out on the court but was determined to battle through even when she didn’t feel like she was at full strength. 

“I had to keep reminding myself to push hard and that it would all be worth it.”

Ultimately, the Grimsby-native led the Badgers to their third-straight OUA championship this past season. She also led the conference in assists per set during the regular season at 10.96. 

Rohr found the people around her to be supportive through any setbacks she faced. This included navigating the emotions that came with injuries and complications throughout her U SPORTS tenure.  

“I spoke with a sports psychologist on ways to overcome what I was feeling,” said Rohr. 

“My teammates were huge supports throughout. They are constantly people I can go to and get whatever support I need.”

For Guelph Gryphons track star Max Davies, one of the biggest struggles came from believing in the success he was able to achieve. It wasn’t until this past U SPORTS season that things changed. 

“I would put so much pressure on myself to perform and I would think about everything that could go wrong if I didn’t,” said Davies.  

This past season, Davies broke two U SPORTS track national records. He won gold in both the men’s 1000m with a time of 2:21.00 and 1500m with a time of 3:44.00. Davies credits much of his season’s success to consistency.

“All the consistent training I was getting gave me much more confidence going into each race,” he said. 

“I always knew what shape I was in and had a good idea on how I would run.”

The Toronto product felt that knowing his fitness level allowed him to focus on the task at hand and in turn, gain confidence. 

“I used this extra confidence I had to calm my mind down before each race and just focus on the goal I would have, with a lot of help from my family, coach, and teammates,” said Davies. 

“The biggest thing is just believing in yourself.”

As the Doug and Lois Mitchell Awards approach, the anticipation builds to celebrate some of the best Canadian university athletes of the 2023-2024 season. One male and female nominee will receive the U SPORTS Athlete of the Year honours. 

“There are so many wonderful stories to be heard and told,” said Mitchell.

“We’re grateful for the wonderful opportunity that U SPORTS presents to us that we can have these awards in Calgary.”

Watch to see who will win the Lois and Doug Mitchell U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Awards in Calgary live at 8pm ET on CBC Gem.