VICTORIA - Two key figures in the University of Victoria women's rowing program have been named recipients of the 2025 Greater Victoria Sports Awards, with head coach Jane Gumley and standout athlete Sai Sai Faubert earning recognition for their achievements in 2024.

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Gumley has been named Coach of the Year, presented by RunSport, after leading the Vikes women's rowing team to its third consecutive Canadian University Rowing Championship (CURC) title. She also secured her fourth straight Canadian University Rowing Coach of the Year award, remaining the only female coach to receive the honour. Under her leadership, UVic claimed two gold and four silver medals at nationals, with a victory in the lightweight 4+ event sealing the championship.

Faubert has been named Female University Athlete of the Year, presented by Speed Mechanics, after a dominant season in which she won two gold medals at the CURCs where she earned Female Athlete of the Year. A key member of all three championship-winning crews since 2022, she captured gold in the lightweight single (1x) and played a pivotal role in the Vikes' winning lightweight 4+, the final event that secured the team's title.

Gumley and Faubert will be honoured at the Greater Victoria Sports Awards ceremony on February 27 at Government House.

Originally held from 1968 to 2006, the awards were revived to celebrate the region's top athletes, coaches, and contributors. The first awards for 1967 took place in April 1968 at the Empress Hotel, thanks to the efforts of the former Daily Colonist and Times Colonist reporter Gorde Hunter, along with the Kiwanis Club of Saanich and the Victoria Sports Council.

To learn more about the event's history, along with previous award winners, videos and newspaper articles of the day, please visit gvsa.ca.