Ward Gosse remembered at Bay Roberts Athletic Awards
Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour (left) and Special Olympian of the Year Cameron Stead (right) Left to right are Bay Roberts Recreation Committee member Angela Norman; MHA Pam Parsons; Senior Female Athlete of the Year Mya Gallant Left to right are Bay Roberts Recreation Committee member Angela Norman; Junior Female Athlete of the Year Maggie Callahan; Bay Roberts councillor Frank Deering Left to right are Bay Roberts Recreation Committee member Chris Dale; Junior Male Athlete of the Year Nathan Hodder; Bay Roberts councillor Dean Franey Left to right are Bay Roberts Recreation Committee member Chris Dale; Senior Male Athlete of the Year Lucas Kippenhuck; Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour Sports Volunteer of the Year Susann Fifield (left) and Bay Roberts councillor Silas Badcock (right) Ward Gosse Hall of Fame Athlete Category inductees pose with Ward Gosse’s family members
By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Olivia Bradbury
She’s a dancer and swimmer, and now Maggie Callahan is also Bay Roberts’ Junior Female Athlete of the Year.
Callahan was among a list of skilled and talented athletes honoured during the town’s Athlete of the Year Awards held this month at the Wilbur Sparks Complex Clubhouse.
The event, which also included Hall of Fame inductions, was emceed by Bay Roberts Director of Recreation Eddie Russell.
The first award of the night was Senior Female Athlete of the Year. It had two nominees: hockey, softball, and soccer player Mya Gallant and and softball player Morgan Osborne.
The award went to Gallant, who served as captain on various teams and was also the first female from Bay Roberts to play senior soccer at a national level.
The nominees for Senior Male Athlete of the Year included softball player Lucas Kippenhuck, swimmer Austin Morgan, and soccer, basketball, and hockey player Blake Dawson.
The award went to Kippenhuck, who played in the St. John’s U23 Intermediate Fast Pitch League, despite being only 17 years old, and was ranked the third top hitter, second in stolen bases, hits, and runs scored, and first in walks.
Junior Female Athlete of the Year Callahan edged out runner, dancer, and skater Rylee King. Callahan medaled at dancing and swimming competitions, including a gold in breaststroke at the Gander swim meet. She is on a team at Creative Edge Dance Studio and is also member of the Bay Robert Sea Lions.
The nominees for Junior Male Athlete of the Year were swimming, soccer, hockey, and ball hockey player Jacob Efford, soccer, hockey, and golf player Nathan Hodder, and swimmer, hockey and ball hockey player Sam Morrissey.
The award went to Hodder, who in addition to his accomplishments in soccer and hockey, was accepted last winter into Golf NL’s high-performance program. He has won first place at various golf tournaments and was the U13 Golf NL Provincial Champion.
The CBN Lightning U15 Girls Soccer Team was named Team of the Year. It consists of 20 girls aged 13 to 15. Despite a difficult season facing tough opponents, the girls preserved and were named Tier 2 champions at the Provincial Girls U15 Mega Tournament in August. The coaching staff was proud of the respect and sportsmanship the girls exhibited.
The Sports Volunteer of the Year award went to Susann Fifield, who is in her fifth year serving as the Bay Robert’s Minor Hockey Association’s secretary. Fifield co-created the Rovers Elite Junior Coaching Program, which has 30 junior coaches.
This was the first year for the Special Olympian of the Year. It went to Cameron Stead, who won gold in bocce ball at the provincial Special Olympics in Gander, and represented Team NL at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Games in Alberta. The youngest athlete representing Newfoundland at the Games, Stead ultimately brought home a silver medal in bocce ball.
The Hall of Fame inductions began with the builder category, named for Kevin and Langdon Critch. This year’s inductees were the founding members of the Bay Roberts Minor Hockey Association, including Bill Mercer, Claude Barrett, Ed Russell, Corb Newman, Dave Roach and Dave Thompson.
Three athletes — Edsel Roach, Clare Quinlan, and Derek Mercer —were inducted into the newly named Ward Gosse Memorial Hall of Fame. Roach played various sports, most prominently hockey. Quinlan was likewise a multi-sport athlete who excelled in softball, badminton, field hockey, and basketball. Mercer had achievements in hockey, badminton, softball, squash, and rowing.