Community Sport Heroes recognized in Penticton

Three South Okanagan residents were recognized with Community Sport Hero Awards last week.

Legendary triathlon announcer Steve King, archery instructor and sport advocate Mary Ostermeier and long-serving figure skating volunteer Diane Nielsen were honoured with plaques for exemplifying what the Community Sport Hero Awards program is about — recognizing coaches, officials, mentors and administrators who have dedicated themselves to amateur sport at the community level.

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Known as the voice of triathlon, King has announced races all over the world for major TV networks.

“World Championships, Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games and so many other major events have benefited from having Steve’s amazing ability to recall race splits, stats and athlete bios. Some might say he is the Ron MacLean of triathlon,” said KidSport B.C. manager Thea Culley.

King founded the Penticton Pounders Running Club and was involved in organizing the first Peach Classic Triathlon. That event recently celebrated its 35th anniversary and is one of the longest-running triathlons in the country. He was also one of the first volunteer organizers of the international ultra triathlon, which later became known as Ironman. King is also an accomplished triathlete himself, completing 206 Ironman Canada events and is one of the few Canadians to complete the 135-mile Death Valley Race.

For over 30 years Ostermeier has been the face of archery in the community as an instructor at the local level to the junior provincial program and has provided programs in the First Nations community.

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“She has also been a fixture as a coach, official or volunteer at more than 10 B.C. Games. Like many sport volunteers, Mary contributes full-time hours to her club in a variety of capacities even though she will tell you she is retired. Her love of the sport is evident to all who have had the pleasure of working alongside her over the years. As is often the case with incredible volunteers, she has done all this work virtually unsung for these past many years and at long last it is receiving some much deserved recognition for her volunteer commitment,” said Culley.

Nielsen, who currently sits on the B.C./Yukon board of directors for Skate Canada in the Athlete’s Trust chair has raised in excess of $100,000 for athletes. She has previous held the role of chairman of the board and was the figure skating chair for the Penticton 2016 B.C Winter Games.

“For more than 45 years Dianne has been an intricate part of the figure skating community, not only in Penticton but also with the B.C./Yukon section of Skate Canada …. this speaks once again to her passion and commitment to the athletes in her sport,” said Culley.

In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of B.C. Games, Sport B.C., KidSport B.C. and B.C. Games have partnered in delivery of the 2018 edition of the Community Sport Hero awards. Volunteers will be recognized in six past B.C. Games host communities. The Penticton awards and celebration evening was held last Thursday at the Penticton Lakeside Resort.