The faces of two new athletes will soon be gracing the walls of Genesis Place Recreation Centre.
During its regular meeting on Nov. 21, Airdrie City council officially endorsed a pair of nominations for the municipality’s 2022 Elite Athlete Awards, recognizing accomplished athletes in the community for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The program was called off for two years during the height of the pandemic but returned earlier this year, when the City called on residents to nominate first-class athletes in the community to recognize their “exceptional status” in their field of sport.
Following the nomination process, selected athletes are honoured with a displayed photo and plaque on the wall at Genesis Place Recreation Centre and at an informal award ceremony.
According to Kim Harris, community developer with the City, the 2022 Airdrie Elite Athlete Awards aim to recognize local athletes who are leading the way in athletic excellence. The program was first introduced about 10 years ago.
“The Elite Athlete program gives us an opportunity to recognize their accomplishments,” she said. “We wanted to recognize them much like other municipalities do and so we did research, benchmarking and made a policy around the elite athletes.”
At the Nov. 21 meeting, council endorsed administration’s recommendation to recognize and award Chad Anheliger and Sienna MacDonald as the 2022 Airdrie Elite Athletes. According to Harris, both athletes met the criteria outlined by the Community Service Advisory Board, which matches the criteria other municipalities have implemented, including residency within and contributions to their community.
“It’s one thing just to be an athlete, but it’s another thing if you pass on some of that talent either through coaching or volunteering throughout the community,” Harris said.
Elite Athletes must also have reached an exceptional level of athletic achievement at a sanctioned national or international competition, set national or international records, or achieved national or international titles while competing.
Harris said Anheliger is a longstanding Airdrie resident and has recently reached the pinnacle of his athletic career in mixed martial arts, competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
“After being invited to compete in Dana White’s Contender Series, Chad won his MMA fight and earned a multi-fight contract with the UFC,” Harris said during the meeting.
She added the martial artist, who coaches MMA from his own Airdrie-based training facility, has since made his UFC debut in February of this year and won his first UFC fight thereafter.
“Excitingly and memorably, Chad has won 10 fights in a row and is a great example of hard work, perseverance, and determination,” Harris said. “This past year, Chad reached the top level of international success competing in the UFC and is one of the best in the world in his sport.”
MacDonald, the second nominee, attended George MacDougall High School from Grade 9 to 12 and during that time, began her career in track and field.
Originally a gymnast, basketball, and soccer player, MacDonald was approached by a local coach during her Grade 11 year, who asked if she’d be interested in trying track and field.
The decision to switch sports paid off, as MacDonald went on to rack up an impressive haul of medals and accolades in the coming years at the provincial, national, and post-secondary level. Last June, she accomplished a career highlight by winning the heptathlon at the senior women’s national track and field championships in Langley, B.C.
Currently, MacDonald is a University of Calgary Dinos track athlete who has won medals at the Canada West level. She also assists as a coach for the George MacDougall basketball and track and field teams, as well as Calgary’s Red Jackets Premier basketball team.
“She is a hardworking, humble lady and we hope you endorse this deserving young lady as Airdrie’s Elite Athlete,” Harris said.
Following Harris’ presentation of the Elite Athlete nominees during the meeting, she advised the community development team will work with communications personnel to acknowledge the 2022 nominee recipients and to promote applications for next year.
“Thank you for your time and support towards acknowledging some of Airdrie’s finest,” she said. “Based on your recommendation and the availability of the athletes, we hope to have a public celebration of these athletes early next year.”
Mayor Peter Brown joked that anybody who votes against Anheliger may have to go toe-to-toe with him in the ring.
“I’ve seen him fight – I can tell you that man is going to make some history in the UFC,” Brown said.
Kolson said she doesn’t want to go a round with Anheliger, but added MacDonald is an exceptional athlete.
“I’ve seen what she can do even before she became an adult – just absolutely an amazing athlete representing our city all over the world,” Kolson said.
Nominations for the Elite Athlete Award are open all year round. For more information on the program, visit airdrie.ca/eliteathlete
