2012-13 AUS Swimming Student-Athlete Community Service Awards Announced

(CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I) - At the 2013 Subway AUS swimming championship banquet held Thursday evening at the Rodd Royalty Hotel in Charlottetown, UNB’s Monica MacDonald and Dalhousie’s Kit Moran were named the female and male recipients of the AUS student-athlete community service awards in the sport of swimming, respectively.

The Atlantic University Sport student-athlete and community service awards recognize achievement in athletics, academics and community involvement.

The remainder of the AUS swimming major awards (swimmer of the year, rookie of the year and coach of the year) take performances from the national championship into account and will decided following the CIS championship later this month in Calgary.

Pierre Lafontaine, currently the CEO of Swimming Canada and the incoming chief executive officer of CIS, the national governing body of university sport, was the guest speaker at this year’s banquet.

“I’m personally very excited to have Pierre as our event’s guest speaker,” said Bill Calhoun, UPEI swimming head coach. “He’s an electrifying speaker who sends everyone away feeling motivated and prepared for challenges to come.”

During his tenure as CEO and national coach, Lafontaine led the Swimming Canada to consistent podium performances at major international games including three swimming medals at the recent Olympics. He is set to officially start in the CIS CEO position on March 1.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD (Female): Monica MacDonald, UNB

The 2012-13 recipient of the AUS female student-athlete community service award is UNB's Monica MacDonald.

Monica, a native of Fredericton, N.B., is a fourth-year Kinesiology student who gives of her own time to help others. Within the UNB community, she is a member of the Kin Society, secretary of the Varsity Reds Athletes Council, and is a co-captain of the UNB women’s swim team.

MacDonald also volunteers with the "Heads Up with the Reds" program where student-athletes visit local area schools and talk to children each year about Respect, Esteem, Dedication and Strategy. She also participates in the school's "Read with the Reds" program, where athletes read to over 1,000 kindergarten children each year.

Outside of her UNB volunteer activities, Monica travelled to Costa Rica in the spring as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and in the spring and summer she was also a volunteer coach with the Fredericton Special Olympics Swim Team. 

She currently helps with the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in the Pediatric Unit of the Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Centre and the Physiotherapy Unit of the DECH.

A University of New Brunswick Dean’s List Honours Student, Monica is an Academic all-Canadian who maintains a 4.2 GPA.

"Monica is a positive role model for everyone around her,” said UNB head coach Robin Ferdinand. “She has the ability to balance athletics, academics and is also generous with her time to volunteer for worthy projects. She is very deserving of the Community Service Award.”

MacDonald becomes just the third recipient of this award. UPEI's Kaylynne Parkes was named the inaugural recipient in 2010-11 and UNB’s Kaitlyn Young took home the award last year.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD (Male): Kit Moran, Dalhousie

Kit Moran of the Dalhousie Tigers is the 2012-13 AUS male student-athlete community service award recipient.

Moran, a fifth-year student from Prince George, B.C., is a four-time Academic all-Canadian and a member of Dalhousie University’s Dean’s List for maintaining a GPA above a 3.7.

The Tigers captain is one of the current Dalhousie record holders in the 400m medley relay and has qualified for the CIS championship annually.

He volunteers as a member of the Tigers Varsity Council, recently led his team’s “Movember” fundraising campaign and he also participates annually in fundraising for the Kidney Bowlathon in Halifax.

After a successful five years with the Tigers, Kit plans to graduate from Dalhousie’s Environmental Science program this spring.

Dalhousie’s Bryan Fumerton was named the inaugural recipient of this award last year.

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The 2013 Subway AUS swimming championships are being hosted by the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, February 8-10 and will be webcast live at www.AUStv.ca.

Live results from each event will be available at http://results.teamunify.com/cancb/ with the full results posted at the conclusion of each day at www.atlanticuniversitysport.com.

The 2013 CIS swimming championships will be hosted by the University of Calgary, February 21-23, 2013. For more information, visit: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/swim/index.