World Rugby’s Female Player of the Year, Canada National Team Vice Captain and BC Bear alumni Sophie de Goede has been nominated as a Finalist for Female Athlete of the Year at the 58^th Sport BC Annual Athlete of the Year Awards.

Sport BC has officially announced the finalists to be recognized and celebrated at the upcoming 58^th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards taking place on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

The event, to be hosted by CBC’s Scott Russell, recognizes the province’s best in amateur sport including athletes, coaches, teams, and officials for outstanding performances in their sport in the 2025 season.  Each finalist was nominated by their Provincial or Multi-Sport Organization and the Selection Committee, led by long-serving Chair Bernie Pascall, included a diverse group of highly experienced British Columbia amateur sport leaders and media members.

Sophie had a phenomenal year. After recovering from a serious knee injury that kept her sidelined for over a year, she returned to lead Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team to an impressive silver-medal finish at the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.

After showcasing her skills with two Player of the Match performances during the tournament, De Goede and Canada eventually fell to the hosts and fully-professionalised outfit, England, in a sold-out Rugby World Cup Final at London’s Twickenham Stadium.

A talented multi-sport athlete, Victoria’s De Goede has become a permanent fixture within the Canadian National team and English Premiership Women’s Rugby team, Saracens. She captained Canada at the delayed 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup

She graduated Oak Bay High in 2017 and came through the ranks at Castaway Wanderers RFC, before representing BC at provincial level in both Rugby 7s and XVs.

A Queen’s alumni, she also led the University to its first ever U SPORTS Women’s Rugby National Championship in 2021-22 and was named U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year that year.

The full list of Finalists can be found here.