Mark Williment is the recipient of the Roughrider Recognition Award. (Northern Lights School Division/Facebook)
northern football

Williment receives Roughrider Recognition Award for bringing football to northern Saskatchewan

Nov 4, 2019 | 2:03 PM

All the hard work Mark Williment has put into the Northern Saskatchewan Football League (NSFL) hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Williment, who is a superintendent of education for the Northern Lights School Division, travelled to Regina Nov. 2 where he received a Roughrider Recognition Award alongside two coaches from Saskatchewan. The award is meant to recognize individuals for their contribution to promoting and developing football, as well as honour them for giving their time and talents to the sport. Williment received the award during the pre-game between the Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos, and a small video of the recipients was played during the initial warm-up.

“I accepted that award on behalf of the coaches, all the volunteers and parents who make football come alive in northern Saskatchewan,” he said. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done, and I’m proud of the people who I work with. The coaches are really the ones who do all the hard work day in and day out working with kids and travelling.”

The Roughrider Recognition Award has been presented annually to two or three people every year since 1982. It’s sponsored by the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club and Football Saskatchewan.

The NSFL recently completed its seventh season and has grown to include hundreds of athletes in the region. Throughout the years, the school division invested heavily to launch the program and purchase sets of equipment and enhancements to several football fields.

“Not many people can say they started with a sport right from the very beginning and we’re privileged to be able to do that and enjoy the development of players, officials and coaches,” Williment said. “We go forward a few steps and sometimes we go back a few steps, but we’re all going in the same direction. We’re happy with what we’ve done.”

Williment also noted he doesn’t know who nominated him for the award, but suspects it was someone with Football Saskatchewan or Saskatchewan Roughriders because of their strong partnership. In the past, Williment received a similar award for his dedication to the sport through Football Saskatchewan.

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno

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