Awards

2024 EDSUA Umpire Awards

Fastpitch Umpire of the Year - Denise Koropeski

Brian Smith FP umpire of the year: This award recognizes an umpire who has represented the EDUSA with distinction, locally, provincially, nationally or internationally, during the past season.  Denise was new to our zone but jumped in and worked really hard. 

She donated time to improve herself by working three umpire games in preparation for the U19 Women’s Canadian Championship. She also helped me mentor some younger officials. She is dedicated to getting better.

Congratulations to Denise Koropeski, the recipient of this year’s FP Umpire of the Year award. 

Slo-pitch Umpire of the Year - Alan Johnston

This award recognizes the umpire who has represented the EDUSA with distinction, either locally, nationally or internationally, during the past season.

This umpire began his career in 1994 in Yellowknife, NWT, and then took a lengthy Leave of Absence while helping to raise their three children. He returned to umpiring in 2016. This year’s recipient participated in the Worth Western Series Events, Softball Alberta’s Provincial Championships in Leduc, and Softball Canada’s Canadian Championships in Leduc, where he achieved his Level IV. 

He has served on the EDSUA’s board as VP of Slo-Pitch for the past two years. He also officiates soccer, ice hockey, and floor hockey (Special Olympics Alberta/Canada). Congratulations to Alan Johnston, who is this year’s SP Umpire of the Year recipient.  He previously won this award in 2017.  He was also awarded the ASUA’s SP Umpire of the Year in 2023. 

Most Improved Umpire - Tammy Fraser

This award recognizes the umpire who has shown the most improvement over the past season.  This umpire worked games with Junior High, SAMSPA as well as several tournaments.  We received positive feedback from several teams in the SAMSPA League about her movement on diamond and her approachability. 

She demonstrates a strong desire to improve, is very open to feedback, sent me multiple emails throughout the year asking good questions and showed she is a quick learner in adapting her game.   One example is her plate mechanics - very good. She even organized an official evaluation on her own with Larry Desjardins completing the evaluation. 

She is focused on and gunning for provincials in 2025. We are excited about where her career will take her. She has been known to wear a neck fan when the weather gets heated. Congratulations to Tammy Fraser on being named Most Improved SP Umpire of the Year.

Ras Award - Mark Gough

The award is named in honour of Laurie Rasmussen, who was President and Past-President for many years. The award is given to someone who has done a lot for the association over the years, going above and beyond and giving back to both the association and the provincial program.  This year’s recipient is one of only a few umpires who have attained their level V and WBSC certifications in SP and FP, and he is also a certified instructor, evaluator, and mentor. He has attended multiple Provincial, Western and Canadian Championships. He has helped develop the careers of many past and present umpires and has been influential in the development of Alan Johnston. Congratulations to Mark Gough for being named the Ras Award winner.