KELOWNA, B.C. – After winning the first Canada West Championship in UBC Okanagan history, the UBCO Heat men's golf team has been named a finalist for the Bryan Couling Memorial Award for Athletic Team of the Year to be presented at the 50^th annual Civic & Community Awards.
 
The Heat join the Okanagan FC U15 boys soccer team and the Okanagan Mission Sr. Girls volleyball team as finalists for the award, which recognizes the top Kelowna-based sports team in 2024.
 
UBCO's men's golf team enjoyed a strong 2024 season which began with their second-ever appearance at the Canadian University/College Championship in June.  Competing in a 20-team field, the Heat posted their best-ever result at the event, finishing in sixth place after shooting 63-over par 1215.
 
Then-rookie golfer Ryan Gillis was one of the Heat's top performers, finishing in 13^th place while Andrew Rouble tied for 23^rd in the individual standings.
 
Returning to action in September once school resumed, the Heat competed in a pair of NCAA events, the True North Classic and the Western Washington Invitational, where they finished in fifth and sixth place respectively. Rouble and Gillis both posted Top 10 individual finishes at the True North Classic while Rouble was fifth at the Western Washington Invitational.
 
Everything came together for the team at the Canada West Championship in early October. The Heat jumped out to a seven-shot lead after the opening round of the event, combining to shoot 15-under par. Gillis found himself in the lead after a sparkling eight-under par 64 while rookie Thomas Lemay sat second at five-under par.
 
UBCO kept the pedal down in round two as they shot nine-under par to win by a landslide, finishing 17 shots ahead of second-place UBC while Gillis, Lemay and Rouble swept the individual podium, finishing at nine-under par, seven-under par and four-under par respectively.
 
One other finalist at this year's Civic & Community Awards has ties to the Heat as incoming men's volleyball recruit and soon-to-be Kelowna Secondary alum Dominic Sodaro is a finalist of the Augie Ciancone Memorial Award for Young Male Athlete of the Year.
 
This year's awards gala will be hosted on Thursday, May 8 at the Delta Grand hotel. In addition to celebrating this year's finalists and winners, the evening will honour the awards' 50-year history in our community. Gala tickets are available for purchase online at theatre.kelowna.ca.  
 
For more information about the Civic & Community Awards and to read all of the finalists bios, visit kelowna.ca/civicawards.