Established in 1951, the Tom Longboat Award is given yearly to Indigenous athletes to recognize their athletic excellence and outstanding contributions to sport in Canada. The award is named after Tom Longboat, a long-distance runner from the Onondaga of the Haudenosaunee, who won the Boston Marathon in 1907. The first National award winner and first winner from British Columbia was Frederick Baker, from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, for his accomplishments in boxing, basketball, gymnastics, lacrosse and track and field. Since 1951 athletes from British Columbia have won 15 national awards and 31 regional awards. The award now includes a female and male category and is overseen by the Aboriginal Sport Circle, which is a non-for-profit organization that supports the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples across the country. In 2024, the Aboriginal Sport Circle revived the tradition of awarding the regional Tom Longboat Award as a precursor to the national award. At the inaugural National Indigenous Sports Gala, which took place on the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation in Ottawa, Ontario, the British Columbia regional winners Eli McLaughlin and Justina Di Stasio were awarded the Tom Longboat Award as Canada’s top male and female Indigenous athletes.

Growing up in Surrey and playing minor lacrosse for the Delta Islanders and Coquitlam Adanacs, Eli’s success in 2023-24 has been a result of his hard work and dedication to the sport over the last 25 years. After being selected fourth in the 2014 National Lacrosse League draft by the Colorado Mammoth, 2024 marks his 9^th season with the team. During his time with the Mammoth, Eli led the team to the 2023 NLL Western Championships and helped them reach the NLL finals against the Buffalo Bandits. In 2023-24 Eli led the team in points (93), goals (43), and assists (50) which earned him the John Grant Jr. Award as the Mammoth’s Top Offenseman and the Gary Gait Award as Most Valuable Player. Eli continues to break boundaries and has become the first BC-born player to make the roster of the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team. In 2023 Eli was named to the Haudenosaunee squad for the World Field Lacrosse Championships in San Diego, California and helped the team win a bronze medal at the tournament. Eli continues to be an integral part of Haudenosaunee lacrosse, making the roster for the 2024 World Box Lacrosse in Utica, New York, earning another bronze medal for the Haudenosaunee Nationals. Outside of the field and box, Eli is committed to being a positive image and role model for Indigenous athletes. He has embraced living a holistic lifestyle, prioritizing his physical, mental, cultural and spiritual well-being and has devoted time working with the community to grow the traditional sport of lacrosse. Eli dedicates his Tom Longboat Award to his mother for her constant support in his lacrosse career.

During her almost twenty-year career in wrestling, Justina’s ultimate goal was to represent Canada at an Olympic Games and 2023 served as an important year in achieving that goal. Justina has been wrestling on the senior international stage since 2015 and has found success at most major international tournaments, claiming gold at the 2018 World Championships, 2019 Pan American Games, 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the Pan American Championships (2016, 2016, 2020). After taking time off from wrestling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and focusing on her career as a teacher, 2022 marked Justina’s return to international competition. At the 2023 Pan American Wrestling Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Justina claimed a bronze medal in the 76kg weight category. Later that year, Justina finished 8^th at the Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. After a successful 2023, Justina was named the BC Wrestling Senior Athlete of the Year. At a Pan American Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico Justina qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the 786kg weight class. After being named an alternate at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Justina achieved her goal of wrestling for Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics and placed 12^th overall in the tournament. Justina continues to serve as an inspiration for Indigenous youth, shifting her career to being an Indigenous Educator and Resource Teacher in the Burnaby School District. Justina shares her story of hard work and dedication through her work with the Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games, Indigenous, Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council and Classroom Champions.