House, Daly named Sport NL award finalists

Ultimate NL president Nick House has been named a finalist for Sport NL’s Executive of the Year Award.

Erin Daly, captain of Young Guns in Mile Zero Ultimate (MZU) and a player on Regiment, is a finalist for Senior Female Athlete of the Year.

The Sport NL awards recognize athletic achievement and volunteer impact in nine award categories. The winners are typically announced in a gala event each year, which will not be going ahead this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s the first time that any athlete or volunteer has been a finalist for a Sport NL award specifically for the sport of ultimate.

“I’m honoured to be a finalist for this award and thrilled that Sport NL has recognized how impactful Ultimate NL’s achievements have been over the past year,” House said. “It’s a privilege to be part of an organization with such a dedicated and passionate group of volunteers.”

House has been instrumental in the successful launch of ultimate as a Foundation Sport with School Sports NL (SSNL). In its inaugural 2018-2019 season, the number of high schools playing ultimate across the province nearly tripled with 27 schools now taking part. In 2019, he also initiated a Discs for Schools program, with support from Veterinary Specialty Centre of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ultimate Canada, that has resulted in free discs being distributed to 42 schools to date.

House has been president of Ultimate NL for three years and is also president of the Men’s Avalon Ultimate League (MAUL). He’s a founding member of two competitive club teams (MUTT and Regiment) that regularly compete at the national level, and founded the province’s most successful single-day tournament, the Salmon Cove Sands Beach Ultimate Tournament. 

Daly won a silver medal with Ontario’s SOUP at the Canadian Mixed Ultimate Championships in 2019, where she led all female-matching players in points per game in the tournament. She was also the first athlete from the province to compete at the USA Ultimate National Championships, finishing in the top 10 for goals in the 2019 tournament. 

“I’m honoured to be named a finalist for this award, and especially to be considered among such inspiring and formidable athletes as Maria Htee and Catherine Barrett,” she says. “I could not have accomplished all that I have if it were not for the support and dedication of my teammates.”

Daly also earned a spot on two national teams in 2019: the Canadian national mixed and women’s masters teams for the World Ultimate and Guts and World Masters Ultimate Championships in 2020.

She has three times been named the Senior Female Athlete of the Year by Ultimate NL.

For more information including biographies of all the award finalists, click here.