Football Canada Announces Community Awards Winners

First Year Winners are Champions of Football from Across Canada

As part of their #SupportTheSport campaign, Football Canada, in partnership with Quest Awards, is pleased to announce the winners of their inaugural Community Recognition Awards. The awards recognize individuals and organizations from across the country that have made powerful impacts in their communities through their passion for football.

The Volunteer of the Year is Melissa Roth of Calgary, Alberta. Melissa is the Director and Head Therapist of the Calgary Bantam Football Association (CBFA). Taking on a leadership role early in the pandemic, she put together a return to play manual that was approved by Alberta Health Services, and adopted by Atom, Peewee, and Bantam leagues. Melissa’s commitment to safe return to play was pivotal to the success of football in Calgary during the challenging 2020 season.

The ‘Builder’ Award went to Ryan Bliznikas of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Ryan is the Vice President of the Thunder Bay Minor Football Association (TBMFA), an organization with which he has been involved for many years. He has been instrumental in bringing learning, coaching, and playing opportunities to teams in Thunder Bay through his extensive networking with other provinces and organizations. It could be said that Ryan saved the 2020 season by introducing flag football in the spring, which resulted in a record number of participants, and notably, a record number of first-time female players.

The Organization of the Year is Saskatoon Minor Football (SMF), of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After the football season was cancelled for high school students, SMF created a season for them. In addition, they were able to organize and execute a two-month fall season for all player age groups. SMF has long been a mainstay of the amateur football community in Saskatoon, but their leadership in 2020 saved the season for many young athletes, who may not have had one otherwise.

The Community MVP is Isaac Pepin of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec. Isaac, a high school student at Seminaire Saint-Francois, has been leading the charge in Quebec to get kids playing team sports again. When games and practices were cancelled due to Covid-19 at the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year, Isaac began petitioning the provincial government to develop a plan that would allow students to return to play.  He has been arguing that kids need sport in their lives for many reasons, including improving mental and physical health, and enabling young athletes to continue developing their skills.

Individuals and organizations are critical to the success of football in Canada. In addition to the leadership demonstrated by this year’s award winners, good programs rely on many committed volunteers doing many different jobs. Football Canada is honoured to work with devoted, innovative people across the country.

“We are particularly honoured to present these awards to those who have led football in Canada through the uncharted territory of the Pandemic,” added Football Canada president Jim Mullin. All of our community award winners have demonstrated outstanding perseverance during the most challenging time we’ve faced as a community and sport.”