Female Athlete of the Year Award

Award Criteria

• Awarded to the female athlete (amateur or professional) who brought the greatest amount of recognition to Kelowna. 
• Include Provincial, National and World Ranking if applicable.
• Selections are based on the nominee's achievements for the year 2019.
• Past information (awards and achievements) may be included, but should be primarily regarding the current award year.
• Finalist selections are based solely on the information in the completed nomination package.

2018 Female Athlete of the Year Award Recipient

Kelsey Serwa

We all held our breath, watching as Kelsey Serwa raced for gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics and when she won, an audible cheer rippled through the city, all the way up to Big White, where it all began.

One of Canada’s most decorated and successful ski-cross athletes, Kelsey has won almost every title up for grabs including 19 World Cup podium finishes, Olympic Gold and Silver Medals, World Champion, 2-time X-Games Gold Medalist, 2-time National Champion, and 2-time South American Champion.

Kelsey is the only Triple Crown winner, encompassing victories at the Olympics, World Championships and X-Games. She is also the only ski cross athlete in the world to win multiple Olympic medals.

Kelsey is a 3rd year Human Kinetics student at UBC Okanagan and took off as soon as exams ended in December, to continue racing in the World Cup circuit. Along with her dedication to the sport, Kelsey is a highly regarded mentor to younger athletes at both the local and international level and has been a keynote speaker at many events including Ted-X.

Four years ago, Kelsey created the KSER Scholarship Fund to help assist other student athletes in School District 23. She has raised over $200,000 for this initiative and to date, more than $13,000 has been handed out in scholarships to help local athletes pursue their passion for sport while continuing their education.