The Ontario Games are a program of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and are delivered by the Sport Alliance Ontario in collaboration with host communities. The 2012 Ontario Summer Games are a partnership of the City of Toronto, The Toronto Sports Council, and Tourism Toronto will be hosted in Toronto the week of August 16-19.
Each sport has been asked to nominate an athlete ambassador for their respective sport. The Ontario Ball Hockey Association is proud to announce Mr. Andrew Shaw and Ms. Britni Smith as the Ontario Summer Games Athlete Ambassadors for the sport of Ball Hockey.
The OBHA Athlete Ambassadors are athletes that have experienced the power of sport, and its ability to build essential life skills such as self-esteem, discipline, fair play, respect and teamwork. Both of the Athlete Ambassadors continue to participate in our great game at the local level of competition.
A little about both ambassadors:
Andrew is a native of Belleville Ontario and has participated in Ball Hockey since he was four years old. His first appearance in the Provincials was on the Belleville Tyke Team. He has participated on some team every year since then. Andrew has received numerous awards from every level of Ball Hockey. At the provincial level he has won the Male Minor Athlete of the Year, at the National level he has won top scorer, tournament MVP, and All Star honours. At the world level he has been awarded numerous awards from Top Scorer, Top forward, Tournament MVP and has been named to the All Star Team, however his most prestigious award in Ball Hockey came in late 2010 when he was named International Street & Ball Hockey Player of the Year 2010.
Andrew is also an accomplished Ice Hockey Player. Coming from Quinte, a small AAA centre Andrew was drafted in the late rounds not expecting to see play in the OHL, but determination saw Andrew make the Niagara Ice Dogs as a seventeen year old where he made an immediate impact. In September 2010 he was traded to the Owen Sound Attack where he became an integral part of the OHL Champions. He was awarded the OHL (Dickies) Hardest Working Player of the Year. He took that effort into the Memorial Cup where he was the top scorer of the Tournament and was all so named to the All Star Team. With his accomplishments in the 2010/11 year he was drafted to the Chicago Blackhawks in his third year of eligibility in the 5th round 139th overall. In August he so impressed the Hawks organization he signed an AHL contract for the 2011/12 season. Andrews hard work in the AHL gained him an entry level contract with the Blackhawks in 2011 where he was called up to play in the NHL. Andrew is still playing with the Hawks at this time and hopes to remain there as a 20 year old rookie.
Britni, a native of Port Perry, Ontario, was named the Minor Female Provincial Player of the Year in 2005. She was a gold medalist at Provincials with the Oshawa Stampede in 2007 and 2008 and with the Toronto Shamrocks in 2011. At the 2011 National Championships in Brampton, ON, Britni competed for the Oshawa Stampede earning a silver medal and was named Most Valuable Defense of the Tournament. In 2007, Britni competed for Team Canada at the World Championships in Germany earning a gold medal and was named to the All-Star Team. In 2011, Britni competed once again for Team Canada in Slovakia where they earned a silver medal and completed the year winning the Ontario Ball Hockey Association Female Athlete of the Year Award.
She is also an accomplished ice hockey player who was a member of the Ontario Gold Medal winning team at the U18 Nationals in Salmon Arm, BC in 2006. She played her university hockey at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. During her four years with St. Lawrence Saints, Britni was named to the ECAC All Rookie Team (06/07), ECAC Second All- Star Team (08/09, 09/10), a Top-10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award (09/10), and earned a spot on the ECAC All-Academic Team in all four years. Britni was also a member of the U22 Team Canada National Team from 2006-2010 where she captured three gold medals and one silver at the MLP Cup in Germany. After graduating from St. Lawrence University with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Sports and Exercise Science Britni was drafted third overall in the Canadian Womens Hockey League (CWHL) draft to the Toronto Furies. During her first season with the Furies, Britni was named the CWHL Rookie of the Year. Britni is currently a member of the Toronto Furies hoping to capture the Clarkson Cup in her second season in the CWHL.