Redeemer badminton star, Owen Kurvits, has been named the OCAA Male Badminton Player of the Year. Kurvits was presented with the award this morning at the OCAA Badminton Championship at Georgian College. With the nod, Kurvits becomes the first ever male athlete in the history of the OCAA to be named the Player of the Year three consecutive times.
Kurvits was also named CCAA All-Canadian and is nominated for the CCAA National Badminton Player of the Year award. This is Owen’s 3rd consecutive CCAA All-Canadian award as well.
It was another dominant season for the 3-time winner, finishing the season with an incredible 26-1 record in men’s singles competition. He was a finalist at the St. Clair open, won the Fanshawe Invitational, won the Humber Cup, and finished 8-0 at the OCAA West Regional Championship.
Redeemer’s Director of Athletics, Dave Mantel, was not surprised by Owen’s most recent recognition.
“No one should be surprised by this award”, commented Mantel. “Owen has earned the respect of everyone in OCAA Badminton a hundred times over. The fact that he has won three consecutive [Player of the Year Awards] is a testament to his elite level commitment to continually improve. He has done everything the right way, without shortcuts, and deserves to be considered one of the greatest athletes in OCAA history. A great end to a stellar career.”
Kurvits now moves on to compete for an OCAA Provincial Championship with the hopes of advancing to his 4th straight CCAA National Championship.
Play gets underway at Georgian on Friday afternoon. The Badminton Championship website can be found here.