Celebrating the one year anniversary of a tremendous 2015 Canada Winter Games, the Canada Games Council (CGC) has announced that Frédéric Lemoine of Trois-Rivières, Quebec and Sam Renooy of Oakbank, Manitoba are the recipients of the 2015 Roland Michener Canada Games Award.
“The Canada Games Council would like to congratulate both Frédéric and Sam for exemplifying the ideals of the Roland Michener Award,” says Tom Quinn, Canada Games Council Chairman. “Their performances at the 2015 Canada Winter Games were impressive and we look forward to seeing them progress towards becoming future national and international champions.”
Lemoine, a talented target shooter, won a silver medal in Individual Air Rifle and a bronze medal in Team Male Air Rifle for Team Quebec. What made Lemoine stand out was his tenacious work-ethic and relentless drive to master his craft. During the Games, he often organized shooting practices with other team members outside of the regular practice times. He also showed great leadership in assisting and working with younger teammates to improve their overall technique.
Lemoine is also well-known for his remarkable poise during competition. This was evidenced during the Canada Games qualifiers when despite a major rifle failure, he stayed calm and confident and finished the event by using a vice grip as a lever. Overcoming this setback, he came in first among the other rifle shooter, securing his birth to the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
“I am very proud to have been selected as the recipient of this award, as I work very hard to help younger athletes and improve my own performances,” says Lemoine. “The Canada Games were very meaningful for me. I gained valuable experience and learned a lot about the opportunities that are available to me through sport. It was the greatest experience of my life.”
Sam Renooy was an integral member of Manitoba’s gold medal winning Ringette team. From the time she was unanimously selected as team Captain by both the players and coaching staff, Renooy led her team to an astonishing showing at the 2015 Canada Winter Games. During the Games, she was undoubtedly one of the strongest defenders and was rewarded with not only a Gold Medal, but also an invitation to Ringette Canada’s U21 Team Canada training program.
Sam was selected as captain of the team because she displays tremendous leadership on and off the ice. Her physical training, technical practice and game effort are second to none. In addition, she always makes it a priority to actively interact with her teammates and coaching staff.
“I am blown away to have been selected as the female recipient for the 2015 Roland Michener award; it is such an incredible honour,” says Renooy. “The 2015 Canada Winter Games and the year with my team leading up to it was truly the best and one of my most memorable ringette experiences.”
The Roland Michener Canada Games Award was created in February 1992 to recognize the valuable contribution that the late Right Honourable Roland Michener made to Canada, in particular to sport and physical activity in Canada. The Roland Michener Award is awarded following each edition of the Canada Games to two outstanding Canada Games athletes, one male and one female, who exemplify strong leadership skills on and off the playing field, combined with an ongoing commitment to scholastic and athletic excellence. Each winner also receives a grant worth $2,000 to help with their training and living expenses.
