Innisfail High School honoured the best in sports, including its top athletes during the annual athletic awards ceremony.
The event was held on June 10 at Innisfail High School in an assembly with fellow students, parents and teachers in attendance.
“The athletic awards recognizes all the teams that participated throughout the year and recognizes players for their dedication and hard work,” said school official Karen Fagan.
The athletic awards also recognize the most valuable player, most improved player and the heart and hustle award for each team. In addition, there are awards for athlete of the year for a boy and girl from grades 9 through 12, Fagan noted.
Awards are given out to every sports team at the school, including those that compete in basketball, badminton, soccer, volleyball, golf, football, cross-country running and track and field.
This year, several athletes also went on to provincials and competed in badminton and track.
“There's a lot of extra effort (needed to excel in athletics). It's above and beyond the school work that they're already doing,” explained Fagan. “They're putting in extra time, they work very hard at this and they've all done very well again. These students work very hard to represent the school,” she added.
Unlike previous years where a banquet was held during an evening event, this year the school decided to host the awards ceremony during the day in a school assembly format.
“We've had banquets in the past, but found that with spring sports we miss a lot of the athletes because they're away competing in a sport activity,” she said. “So we tried it in the afternoon this year, hoping for a better turnout.
“It was also nice to have the other students there (in the afternoon event) to recognize them as well.”
Along with the athletes and teams, coaches were also recognized for their contributions.
“The coaches speak about their team and the year. It's nice to recognize all the coaches and the volunteer time that they give,” said Fagan, noting that the entire school can be proud of their athletes.
“It's wonderful to congratulate them, thank them and appreciate them for all their hard work and extra effort that they put in every year.”
Karen Fagan
"They're putting in extra time, they work very hard at this and they've all done very well again. These students work very hard to represent the school."
