The Syl Apps Athlete of the Year Award, began in 1998 and is awarded by the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...

to Ontario's Athlete of the Year. It is named in for

Syl Apps Charles Joseph Sylvanus Apps (January 18, 1915 – December 24, 1998), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948, an Olympic pole vaulter and a Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in ...

, an Olympic and Commonwealth Games pole vaulter and Captain of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

in the 1940s. The award is made based on voting by Ontario-based sports writers, broadcasters and personalities who have covered sports in Ontario for at least 10 years, as well as members of the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors and the Hall's Advisory Board. The award is for outstanding and memorable contributions to Ontario sports during the previous calendar year. Athletes may be eligible for the award if they are Ontario-born or Ontario-based.

Online Voting

In 2015, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame started to poll the public of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to vote

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

for the next Syl Apps Athlete of the Year award recipient. In its first year,

Brooke Henderson Brooke Mackenzie Henderson (born 10 September 1997) is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Henderson was named the Canadian Press female athlete of the year for 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won her first Women's major golf championship ...

was selected by the voters of Ontario as the athlete that best deserved the honour. She received an overwhelming majority of the votes, beating out professional and amateur athletes including

Kyle Lowry Kyle Terrell Lowry (born March 25, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A six-time All-Star, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016 and won an NBA c ...

Milos Raonic Milos Raonic ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...

, and Russell Martin. In 2016, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame recognized

Brad Sinopoli Bradley Sinopoli (born April 14, 1988) is a former Canadian football wide receiver who played for nine years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally a quarterback with the Calgary Stampeders before being converted to wide receive ...

, a

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who was playing for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, as the Syl Apps Athlete of the Year. The online public vote to determine the award recipient concluded on March 31, 2016 with Sinopoli edging out other top professional competitors such as

Andre De Grasse Andre De Grasse (born 10 November 1994) is a Canadian Sprint (running), sprinter. A seven-time Olympic medallist, De Grasse is the 2020 Olympic champion in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres, 200 m, and also won the ...

and Kadeisha Buchanan to win. He received nearly 30% of total votes cast.

Winners

;Key * * = Voted by the Ontario public in online poll

References

{{reflist Canadian sports trophies and awards Sport in Ontario Ontario awards Most valuable player awards Awards established in 1998 1998 establishments in Ontario