The annual Dale Swanson Distinguished Athlete Award recognizes athletes’ work ethic and their personal values of perseverance and integrity.

An athlete who represents the Academy does so not only through their skiing ability, but correspondingly through their leader- and mentorship, volunteerism, and giving back to their communities while on or off the snow.

The winners of our second Dale Swanson Distinguished Athlete Award are Katherine Stewart-Jones and Sonjaa Schmidt, for having perseverance and integrity in their pursuit of their xc skiing goals, and attaining significant personal growth, 

Katherine Stewart-Jones

Katherine Stewart-Jones:

“I am so honoured to be a recipient of the Dale Swanson award. The contribution of the Dale Swanson award will help with the payment of my team fees for the upcoming season with the Academy. Being a part of the Academy is really important to me because of the awesome training partners as well as the great coaching and support that are necessary for my continued development. Thank you to Dale as well as everyone else involved with the award, it means a lot! “

Sonjaa Schmidt:

“I am truly honoured to receive this grant. I’ve always loved representing this team and being part of such an amazing culture!”

Sonjaa Schmidt

This initiative is supported through Nordiq Canada’s Club Donations Program.
If you would like to support the Dale Swanson Distinguished Athlete award, please go to Club Donations and choose ‘Alberta World Cup Society – Dale Swanson Fund’. Contributions of $25 and more are eligible for a tax refund.