...viaSport and the Government of B.C. recognize that bullying in any form cannot be tolerated by anyone in sport at any level – athletes, parents, coaches and officials.

A sport environment in which participants - athletes, coaches, volunteers, and officials - are exposed to negative experiences such as bullying can be harmful and cause individuals to quit.

55% of BC sports organizations surveyed know of athletes who have dropped out of #sport because of bullying. 

That’s why viaSport and the Government of B.C. have launched a new #ERASEbullying initiative for every provincial and local sport organization, and all B.C. citizens.

Click HERE or on the image above to take the online Erase Bullying in Sport pledge. 

On February 22, 2017, provincial sport organizations will celebrate the Province’s first Declaration of Commitment to erase bullying in sport across B.C.

Learn more about this initiative and how you can get involved as an organization or individual at www.viaSport.ca./erasebullying

Sammamish, Wash. - Sahalee Country Club and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) are pleased to announce the return of the Sahalee Players Championship on July 5-7, 2017.

The championship took a hiatus in 2016 while the club hosted the 2016 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, won by Brooke Henderson in a playoff with Lydia Ko.

Quebec's Hugo Bernard Was The Low Canadian For Team Canada At The South American Amateur - Image Credit Golf Canada/ Graig Abel

Golf Canada

PILAR COUNTY, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard saved his strongest play for Sunday’s final round of action at the South American Amateur, carding a 5-under par 67 to jump into a three-way tie for seventh place.

Bernard, a Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., native, recorded six birdies at the Martindale Country Club en route to finishing as the low Canadian at 6-under par. The 22-year-old trailed men’s champion Paul Chaplet of Costa Rica, who secured a two-stroke victory at 14-under par.

Abbotsford, BC's Adam Hadwin Followed His Record-Setting 59 In The 3rd Round To Stand-Alone 2nd Place Finish At The PGA TOUR's CareerBuilder Challenge In La Quinta

Golf Canada / PGA Tour Communications

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford won the fittingly named CareerBuilder Challenge on Sunday for his first PGA TOUR title, following three straight birdies with a closing par for a one-stroke victory.

Swafford shot a 5-under 67 on the Stadium Course at PGA West to finish the three-course, pro-am event at 20-under 268. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C.,came back with a 70 after his third-round 59 to finish second.

The Canucks Autism Network (CAN) provides year-round, high- quality sports, recreational, arts, and social programs for individuals and families living with autism, while increasing awareness and providing training in communities across British Columbia.

The Canucks Autism Network team consists of a diverse group of trained staff, experienced support workers and dedicated volunteers who administer programs for families and individuals living with autism in our province.

The 2017 Qualifying Tournament will take place at five sites in 2017 Including Crown Isle On Vancouver Island - Image Credit (Chuck Russell/PGA TOUR)

How and when to sign up for this year's Q-Schools

The application for the 2017 Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournament will be open to the public on January 19th at 12 p.m. ET.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE APPLICATION

You may access more information about the format, entry fees, field size, eligiblity and more at the above link prior to 12 p.m. ET on January 19th.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS:

• The application will be available online only
• Payment can be made by VISA or MasterCard only
• The application will go live at 12 p.m. ET

NOTE: Applicant may only play one site. Once applicant is assigned a site, it may not be changed. Sites will be assigned in the order the applications are received.

Should an applicant withdraw within one week of their assigned competition, a processing fee of $1000 will be assessed. Should they withdraw prior to one week of their assigned competition, a processing fee of $250 will be assessed.

No refunds will be issued to contestants after they have started play in the Qualifying Tournament. Contestants who withdraw during the round may be subject to disciplinary action.

Full refunds will be offered to those who withdraw while on the alternate list.

Jared du Toit of Kimberley has been nominated for the Sport BC Senior Male Athlete of The Year Award.

Du Toit, who had an outstanding 2016 season, has been the number one ranked amateur male golfer in Canada for over 44 weeks straight as well as being ranked as high as number 23 in the world, will find out on March 8th, 2017 during the awards ceremony dinner being held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, whether he will be adding another honour to his name.

Abbotsford Pro Adam Hadwin Is Set To Return To PGA TOUR After Fruitful Fall Season 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Personally and professionally, Adam Hadwin figures 2017 is going to be a great year. The former seems a given, as Hadwin will marry his fiancee, Jessica Dawn, in a late March ceremony in the Arizona desert. But Hadwin is also expecting 2017 to be a significant year on the golf course.

Now in his third year as a PGA TOUR regular, the 29-year-old Abbotsford pro is adamant that he is ready to win on golf’s biggest stage.

Chilliwack's Brad Clapp (L) With Some Of His 'Cow-orkers' - Image Courtesy Brad Clapp & Betsy (R)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

You’ve probably heard all about the glamorous life of a professional golfer, right? The big pay-cheques, the courtesy cars, the five-star hotels.

Well, Brad Clapp would like to welcome you to his world.

Clapp, a regular and past winner on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit, is spending the winter working on a dairy farm. And man, will he have some stories to tell on the driving range when the Mackenzie Tour tees off its 2017 season this spring.

Kimberley, British Columbia's Jared du Toit begins his 44th consecutive week as the Number one ranked Men's Amateur in Canada this week. He is ably joined in the Men's Top 10 Amateur rankings in the country by Victoria's Lawren Rowe at no. 4,  Richmond's Chris Crisologo at no. 6 and Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver in 10th spot, giving BC 4 of the top 10 places in the country.

On the Women's Amateur side, Naomi Ko of Victoria continues to hold down the number two ranking in the country with Surrey's Michelle Kim at no. 5 and Vancouver's Sophie Liu jumping up 3 spots to no. 7 on the list.

BC's top pros are also prominent holding down 4 of the top 10 men's spots and 3 of the top 10 in the women's standings.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ward Stouffer, who spent more than 20 years as head professional and director of golf at Fairwinds Golf Club in Nanoose Bay, passed away Thursday, January 5th. He was 56.

Friends and playing competitors remember Stouffer, who stood about 6-feet, 8 inches, as a gentle giant with a heart of gold who hit the ball a mile.

Naomi Ko of Victoria has been nominated for the Sport BC Senior Female Athlete of The Year Award.

Ko, who had an outstanding 2016 season with 2 significant victories to go along with medallist honours in two other high profile events, is the number two ranked amateur female golfer in Canada and will find out on March 8th, 2017 during the awards ceremony dinner being held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, whether she will be adding another honour to her name.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada Players of The Year. From Top L-R Clockwise: Brooke Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes, Jared du Toit And Naomi Ko. Image Courtesy GJAC

For Immediate Release

TORONTO – Brooke Henderson won twice on the LPGA Tour in 2016, and before the year ended, she added two more honours to her ever-growing trophy case.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) is proud to announce Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes, Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit, and Naomi Ko of Victoria, BC as the 2016 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country. Henderson’s two-win season was also named the Canadian Golf Story of the Year.

Canada's Players Of The Year From L-R: Mary Parsons, Maddie Szeryk, Jared du Toit And A.J. Ewart - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

Team Canada athletes Maddie Szeryk and Jared du Toit finished first in the women’s and men’s National Order of Merits, respectively, to claim honours as the top amateur athlete in each division and be named Canada’s 2016 Players of the Year.

On the Junior Order of Merits, two-time Development Squad athlete A.J. Ewart captured the boys’ title, while Development Squad rookie Mary Parsons took home the honours for the girls.

“We’re pleased to recognize the outstanding accomplishments that these athletes have worked so hard to achieve through this past season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer.

Dear Golf Clubs,

BC Golf has a great opportunity for your members. We are hosting a Community Golf Coach Course, January 13th - 15th at the Musqueam Community Centre.

Two days will be at the Musqueam Community Centre with one day at the BC Sport Conference, registration included in the course.

If you would like to pass this information on to your members there is a poster attached that can be emailed or printed. If you choose to email, the registration link is active on the poster. Registration is now open on the BC Golf website.

 Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit Saw His Fine Play All Year, Including A Top 10 At The RBC Canadian Open, Boost Him In The WAGR To 29th In The World - Image Credit Mike du Toit

Courtesy Golf Canada

PLEASE NOTE: This is the final Weekly Top 10 for 2016. The next Weekly Top 10 will be published January 11th, 2017.

Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit was the number one ranked Canadian Amateur Male golfer for all but five weeks of 2016 and moved up an incredible 973 places in the Wordl Amateur Golf Rankings to finish the year ranked at No. 29 in the world.

Making the biggest leap up the WAGR was Victoria's Lawren Roweas his play for the the University of Victoria Vikes vaulted him 1,207 places to become Canada's number 4 ranked amateur. 

By Dan Pino/ Golf Canada

Lighthouse has been selected as the firm to lead the CEO search

Chief Sport Officer Jeff Thompson has been appointed as interim CEO effective January 9, 2017

With the recent announcement that CEO Scott Simmons will be leaving the organization, Golf Canada’s Board of Directors is engaged in the process to search for a new CEO.

Golf Canada wishes to take an inclusive and comprehensive approach with this CEO search. The process will involve garnering input from key stakeholders in the golf industry to design the optimal CEO profile.

Proposals were sought from executive recruitment firms that expressed interest in participating in the search for Golf Canada’s new CEO.

Image Credit Enrique Berardi/PGA TOUR -  Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brian Decker/ Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada

A late rally by the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada fell short on Saturday at Tierra del Sol Resort and Golf, giving PGA TOUR Latinoamérica victory in the first-ever Aruba Cup.

Though the Mackenzie Tour put together a valiant charge, winning five of the first seven singles matches of the day, it wasn’t enough to overcome a daunting 8.5-1.5 deficit, with Latinoamérica prevailing by a 13-7 final score over the three-day match play competition between the two Tours.

(Image credit - Chuck Russell/Golf Canada)

Courtesy Adam Helmer/ Golf Canada

Golf Canada’s second installment of the Tournament Administration and Referees’ School (TARS) will be held at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport in Richmond, B.C., from April 27th to 30th.

New for 2017, they are extending the invitation to all certified level 2 rules officials and PGA of Canada professionals!

The objective of the Tournament Administration and Referees’ School is to get championship volunteers and staff members from key golf associations/clubs in Canada assembled to discuss important topics related to tournament administration and competitions.