Surrey curler Tyler Tardi came away with more than a bronze medal from the recently completed B.C. Winter Games in Mission last month.
The Tardi rink - Tyler Tardi skip, Nicholas Umbach third, Scottie Kryski second and Joshua Desrosiers lead - lost in the semifinal round and ended up with the bronze.
At the end of the Games, however, Tardi was honoured as the recipient of the prestigious W.R. Bennett Award for Athletic Excellence.
He was chosen above all other male competitors in all sports for the award. The award was named in honour of the former Premier of British Columbia, William Bennett, who was instrumental in starting the BC Summer and BC Winter Games program in 1978.
The recipient is selected from nominations submitted by Provincial Sport Organizations included in the Games. Nominees are considered on the basis of their past sport performances in the sport they are competing at the Games, their performance at the Games, their sport ambition and future potential, and demonstrated leadership both on and off the field of play.
In addition to winning a trophy, Tardi will receive a $2,500 bursary designed to recognize and support his ongoing development in sport or education.