Bobbie Rosenfeld Award

The Bobbie Rosenfeld Award is an annual award given to Canada's female athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top female in 1933, naming golfer Ada Mackenzie the winner. The CP formalized the poll into an award in 1978, presenting their winner with a plaque. It was named after Bobbie Rosenfeld, an all-around athlete and Olympic track and field champion whom the news organization had named its top athlete of the half-century in 1950. The award is separate from the Lou Marsh Trophy, in which a select panel of sports writers vote for their top overall athlete.

The poll was suspended for four years during the Second World War after the CP decided it could not name a sporting "hero" at a time when Canadian soldiers were fighting in Europe. Figure skater Barbara Ann Scott was the first woman to lead the poll three times, accomplishing the feat in consecutive years between 1946 and 1948. That total was matched by speed skater Catriona Le May Doan in 2002. Golfer Marlene Streit finished top of the poll the most times, winning on five occasions between 1952 and 1963.

Soccer player Christine Sinclair is the most recent winner. She was named the 2012 recipient after helping the Canadian Women's Soccer team win a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. She also scored a national-record 23 goals in 22 international matches. She is the 52nd winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award, albeit just the third winner from a team sport.