Paradise athletes named provincial winners

By Mark Squibb

A number of Paradise athletes received top honours at the Sport Newfoundland and Labrador 2024 Provincial Annual Awards held this month.
Para sport athlete Gavin Baggs tied with track-and-field star Sawyer LeBlanc for Junior Male Athlete of the Year honours. Baggs scored the game-winning shootout goal that sent his team to the Para Hockey National Championships. The team went go on to win silver. Baggs also made his first international para hockey appearance and scored a goal in his debut with Team Canada. A multi-sport athlete, Baggs also earned silver in the 1500 metres at the Track National Championships and gold at the high school championships and provincial championships and earned multiple swimming medals at the East Coast Championships and the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games.
The Paradise Girls U15 soccer team was named the Youth Female Team of the Year.
The girls had a stellar 2024 season, capturing their first-ever Girls U15 Premier Youth League title and finished the regular season with an 11 and four record. The team also represented the province at the Toyota National Championships in Quinte West, Ontario, and finished seventh overall. The team was also named the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association’s 2024 Youth Team of the Year.