A White Rock-raised sitting wheelchair athlete has won a Sport BC award.

Announced at its 57th annual Athlete of the Year Awards on Thursday (March 6), the awards recognize the province鈥檚 best in amateur sport including athletes, coaches, teams, and officials for outstanding performances in their 2024 sport season.

Danielle Ellis, who was raised in White Rock and attended Semiahmoo Secondary, won in the Female Athlete with a Disability category.

Ellis, who helped lead Team Canada to its first-ever Paralympic medal in sitting volleyball in Paris last September, said she felt honoured just to be nominated.

"There are so many amazing athletes in the province and I am so proud to have been a finalist this year. Being named the winner of the Sport BC Award was truly amazing," she told Peace Arch News in an email Sunday (March 9).

"I hope that it shows young athletes with disabilities that there is a space for them in sports and that they can reach their goals is they work hard."

Ellis was less than two months old when doctors had to amputate her right leg below the knee, due to a diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of either soft tissue, connective tissue or bone.

Sport BC's president and CEO Rob Newman thanked the provincial government for its support in a release.

鈥淭he 57th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards celebrated sport in BC at all levels. We were inspired by the sport stories of all of our finalists, the category winners, and the organizations they represent," he said.

鈥淲e are proud to bring the amateur sport community together and thank our guests, sponsors, and friends in sport."