Estevan Sharks water polo club president Melanie Dzeryk was honoured with the Sask Water Polo Volunteer of the Year Award during a banquet in Regina on June 19.
Dzeryk was recognized for her contribution to the growth of the club in the past year.
The club grew 35 per cent from the previous year, which is the largest growth the Sharks have seen since the club started in 1990.
Dzeryk said the new programs that they initiated for this past season was a big contributor to the increase in numbers.
“We added two new programs, we did a mini atom (division) for the six to eight-year-olds and an adult program on Thursday nights, and those two groups alone I think boost our numbers,”
Also before the sport started last fall, Dzeryk said the club did lots of advertising, and hosted a free event where youth can learn about the sport.
Dzeryk said she was surprised to win the award because she has only been with the water polo program for two years and has only been president for one.
“I was quite honoured and shocked when they said my name because I wasn’t even expecting to get the award and when they said my name ... I was surprised."
She also added the previous winners of the award have been with their organizations for many years and she just joined the Sharks water polo club.
The Sharks grew more than any club across Saskatchewan and Dzeryk said that was the key factor when the Sask Water Polo executive board chose the winner.
Dzeryk believes the club will continue to grow as they will be doing the same programs they did last year.
Also, on June 20 members of the Sharks competed in the summer provincial tournament, which was a small competition that took place in Regina.
The Sharks had members from their bantam and atom teams compete in the tournament. The bantam team won gold, and the atom team earned bronze.
