November 06, 2016 (Milton, ON) – Close to 150 people gathered for the 17th annual OCA Celebration and Awards held at the Teatro Conference & Event Centre in Milton, ON on Saturday, Nov. 5. As guests shared a glass many of the province’s talented riders received annual awards to honour their performances this season.

Brendan Arnold, OCA HP Head Coach, was MC for the evening and entertained the packed banquet hall while guests and delegates enjoyed a fabulous sit-down dinner as proud parents and fans applauded the award winners

Top riders in attendance included Annie Foreman-Mackey, Derek Zandstra, Paralympian Shelley Gautier and Masters World Champ Krzysztof Kurzawinsk.

Foreman-Mackey, who won both the Track Athlete of the Year and Road Female Athlete of the Year awards, gave a keynote talk with questions from guests. She spoke about her career and balancing both disciplines, mentioning multi-decorated Tara Whitten as someone she looked up to while climbing the ladder of success. Foreman-Mackey won bronze in the women’s Individual Pursuit at her Track Worlds debut this year, along with winning the 2016 Elite Women’s national road title.

Shelley Gautier’s Olympic success was also recognized with a short video presentation. Alain Francq from the Waterloo Cycling Club received the prestigious President’s Award for his longstanding contributions to the sport.

A silent auction included a Rio 2016 Olympic jersey signed by some of our Canadian Olympians while a series of raffle prizes put smiles on many faces with all monies raised ($1,300) supporting OCA youth cycling initiatives.

2016 Annual OCA Cycling Celebration – Award Winners

MTB Contributor of the Year
Jeff Kerton

Road Co-Contributors of the Year
Chantal Thompson and Edward Sitarski

MTB Organizer of the Year
Substance Projects Inc. – Dan Marshall

Road Organizer of the Year
Bike Race Ottawa – Doug Corner, Peter Tregunno and Geoff Brown

Tim DaSilva BMX Athlete of the Year
Amelia Walsh

Mountain Bike Male Athlete of the Year
Derek Zandstra

Track Athlete of the Year
Annie Foreman-Mackey

Cyclo-cross Athlete of the Year
Ruby West

Mountain Bike Female Athlete of the Year
Emily Batty

Road Male Athlete of the Year
Benjamin Perry

Road Female Athlete of the Year
Annie Foreman-Mackey

President’s Award Recipient
Alain Francq