Sophie de Goede was named Sport BC’s 2025 Senior Female Athlete of the Year with Shalaya Valenzuela named I-SPARC Female Athlete of the Year at the 58^th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards.

De Goede, who was named 2025 World Rugby Player of the Year after returning from injury to lead Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team to a Rugby World Cup silver medal, beat tough competition in the prestigious category.

The Rugby Canada Senior Women’s Vice-Captain, and former captain, is a Castaway Wanderers and BC Bears alumni and is currently playing for Saracens in the PWR Women’s Premier League.

Valenzuela became the first Indigenous athlete to win an Olympic medal in Rugby 7s for Canada in 2024, and is a fixture of the current Senior Women’s 7s Squad. The Abbotsford RFC and BC Bears alumni recently coached Team BC Gold U18 Girls to gold medal success at the 2026 VSI, with the Final taking place at BC Place amongst the HSBC SVNS Vancouver.

“Congratulations to all the finalists of the 2025 Athlete of the Year Awards. This is the moment we celebrate your positive contribution to sport and community,” says Anne Kang, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “Your commitment inspires those around you and demonstrates the importance of sport in bringing people together to build a stronger, more inclusive future for everyone.”

“The 58th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards celebrated sport in BC at all levels. We were inspired by the sport stories of all our finalists, winners, and the organizations they represent”, shared Sport BC’s President and CEO, Rob Newman. “We are proud to bring the amateur sport community together and thank our guests, sponsors, and friends in sport. I would like to personally thank the Province of B.C. and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport for being the lead supporter of the event.”

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