Canada West Athletes of the Year

Canada West has a rich history of outstanding student-athlete success. The conference Athletes of the Year move on annually as the Canada West nominees for the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards (formerly the Howard Mackie Awards and Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) Awards), which are awarded annually to the top male and female athlete in U SPORTS.

The female winner receives the Jim Thompson Trophy, while the male winner receives the Doug Mitchell Trophy.

Each of the 56 U SPORTS universities select a male and female athlete as a nominee. Each conference - Atlantic Canada, Canada West, Ontario and Québec - then select both a female, and male conference nominee. These eight nominees are then considered for the BLG Awards based on their athletic accomplishment, outstanding sportsmanship and demonstrated leadership. The Canadian Athletic Foundation – a non-profit board established to administer the Awards – serves to protect the integrity of the selection process, and select winners.

Selection Criteria

The eight nominees are selected based on the following criteria:

• Must have participated in a U SPORTS sport for two years (including the current year of nomination)
• Must be in a course of study leading to their first undergraduate degree or graduate program (minimum second year);
• Must be the university's Athlete of the Year or runner-up; and
• Cannot be a previous BLG Award winner

All-Time Canada West Athletes of the Year / Lt. Gov. Award Nominees