(July 29, 2022) – Nominations are now being accepted for the Tom Longboat Awards, which recognize Indigenous athletes for their outstanding contributions to sport in Canada.

The Tom Longboat Award is the longest standing, and one of the most prestigious, awards for Indigenous athletes in the country. The Awards are named in recognition of the athletic career of Tom Longboat, a member of the Onondaga Nation (Six Nations of the Grand River). Longboat became one of the best long-distance runners of the early 1900s, winning the 1907 Boston Marathon in record-setting time and going nearly undefeated in his amateur running career. He is considered one of Canada’s greatest athletes of the 20th century and is one of a select group of athletes in Canadian sport history to have a major award named in their honour. In 1998, Maclean’s Magazine referred to Longboat as “arguably Canada’s premier athlete of all time.”

As a program of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the Tom Longboat Awards provide a forum for acknowledging the growth and strength of the Indigenous sport movement in Canada and its tremendous impact on the sport development from community level participation to elite level competition. The Awards include a male and female category.

The nomination period for the awards is June 1, 2021 to Sept. 31, 2022. Applicants  must complete a nomination package (located at the bottom of this page) and submit it to the Aboriginal Sport Circle on or before the application deadline of Aug.2 6, 2022 at 11:59 pm E.S.T. (Ottawa).

Eligibility

The Awards typically honour the accomplishments of an athlete within a given program year (June 1, 2021 to Aug. 31, 2022).

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible as nominees:

Applicants must be of Aboriginal descent (inclusive of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis).

▪ Applicants must be active within the nomination period.

▪ Applicants must demonstrate sportsmanship, fair play and ethics in sport

Nominations

Applicants are to complete a Nomination Form and provide a supporting narrative. The National Selection Working Group will use this information to determine the male and female recipients.

Nominations must include supporting narratives documenting how the nominee displays the following qualities:

1. Shows a personal commitment to his/her athletic development

▪ Identify general training regiment that nominee has maintained and cite improvements from training.

2. Demonstrates a positive image as it relates to his/her role as an Aboriginal athlete

▪ Provide examples or testimonials of how the nominee’s conduct reflects the principles of fair play and sportsmanship as it specifically relates to the sport, officials, and the opposition.

▪ Provide three written testimonials from coaches, parents, and community as to the nominee’s positive image within the community.

3. Demonstrates a commitment to a holistic lifestyle by maintaining a balanced physical, mental, cultural, and spiritual outlook

▪ Provide up to three testimonials from coaches, parents, and community.

4. Personal achievements

▪ List any athletic awards or levels of achievement that the nominee has received (proof of achievements is requested).

All nomination packages will be forward directly to the Aboriginal Sport Circle, where a National Selection Working Group will determine the national recipients for the male and female category. The national selection will be announced by Sept. 29, 2022 in preparation for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which takes place on Oct. 2, 2022 in Toronto, Ont.

For full details, and to download a copy of the nomination form, click here. Or to complete the online application click here English: https://aboriginalsportcircle.wufoo.com/forms/zoy26h809n62j4/ French: https://aboriginalsportcircle.wufoo.com/forms/zcmqfcr02n0ejs/