Ottawa Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement winners Chénard, Loucks, Sherratt & Takahashis, and who could have been Ottawa’s 2020 athlete of the year…

The Ottawa sports community’s major annual celebration of local amateur sport usually takes place the last week of January each year, but COVID-19 wiped out the Ottawa Sports Awards banquet along with most athletic competition in 2020.

The OSA did select winners for its Lifetime Achievement Awards though, giving out honours to soccer referee Carol Anne Chénard, figure skating coach Eric Loucks, wrestling volunteer Dean Sherratt, and the Takahashi family famous for martial arts.

Organizers do still hope to recognize this group of Lifetime honourees in-person when public health conditions permit, but on the week they would have normally been toasted, the Ottawa Sports Pages provides a closer look at each of the winners in these stories:

‘Shoe Guy’ Dean Sherratt honoured for lifetime of work building wrestling in Ottawa

FIFA referee Carol Anne Chénard follows mother Sandra as Ottawa Sports Awards Lifetime honouree

Down 2 members lost in 2020, Takahashi family receives Mayor’s Cup for outstanding contribution to sport in Ottawa

Eric Loucks earns Lifetime Achievement Award as he hits 50 years as Minto Skating Club coach

Out of respect for those who were unable to compete in 2020, the Ottawa Sports Awards decided not to present the individual, team or major awards it usually doles out across over 60 sports.

Though yes, it is absolutely completely unfair, the Ottawa Sports Pages thought it would nonetheless be fun to think about who could have been the male and female athlete, team and coach of the year.

Those picks are included in the Jan. 30 edition of the Saturday Sports Pages newsletter, which you can sign up to receive by entering your e-mail below.

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