Scholarships
Overview
In 1986, the Provincial Women’s Softball Association (hereinafter referred to as P.W.S.A.) established a Scholarship Foundation to assist current P.W.S.A. affiliated players in their pursuit of a post-secondary education in Canada. The P.W.S.A. Scholarships honour young Ontario student-athletes who have:
* Attained high scholastic achievements.
* Shown outstanding leadership traits and skills in the sport of softball and within their community.
* Demonstrated a personal contribution to improve their community, school, teams, and in general, helping other people cope in their daily life.
* Attained athletic achievements in softball and other sports, as well.
The Provincial Women’s Softball Association Scholarship Program includes two (2) categories that were named in honour of two influential women within the great sport of Softball.
Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Fund
Bette formed the Port Colborne Comettes in 1958 and was an Athlete, Coach and Manager during her 43 years with the team. Bette was a force to be reckoned with both on and off the diamond. Not afraid of hard work by any means, Bette had no issues to roll up her sleeves and strive for excellence in all she did. Kalailieff commanded her presence on the pitching rubber, 2nd base and 1st base. Her trophy case includes four (4) Gold Medals from the Provincial Women’s Softball Association in the Senior Tier 2 Division. As Athlete/Manager, she arranged tours throughout the United States of America over the course of 5 years. The Comettes played in many states and claimed the Championship Title at the Las Vegas Classic and brought home the Silver from Hilo, Hawaii.
Coach Bette lead as many as three teams at one time in a season which included: U12, U16 and U19 Teams. During her coaching career Coach Bette brought home the Provincial Women’s Softball Association’s banners in the following categories:
- 1971-P.W.S.A. U16 Grand Championship Gold Medalists
- 1972-P.W.S.A. U19 Grand Championship Gold Medalists
- 1973-P.W.S.A. U12 Grand Championship Gold Medalists
In 1985, The City of Port Colborne named her Citizen of the Year and she was recognized by the YWCA as the 1988 Niagara Sportswoman of the Year for contributions to Softball and her community.
Once Bette felt she had a solid foundation in her own backyard, she felt that she could give back to Softball by being the Ontario Commissioner for Softball Canada and was one of 3 founding members of Softball Ontario.
Bette is a life member of the P.W.S.A. having served 13 years as President, 9 years as Treasurer and as a board member for over 50 years.
Wendy Cathcart Bursary
For Wendy Cathcart, sports were always a passion long before it became her life’s work. In high school, Wendy played sports and also sat on the Girl’s Athletic Council at Winston Churchill Collegiate, as well as coached one of the school’s Volleyball teams. While earning her Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario, Wendy secured a summer job with the Ontario Soccer Association, which ultimately changed her career path.
In 1986, after eight years with the Ontario Soccer Association, Wendy joined Softball Ontario as the Executive Director. Holding the position for 30 years, Wendy received multiple service awards including the Provincial Women’s Softball Association (P.W.S.A.) Rose Hodgson Service Award- (For Service to Softball Above and Beyond )and the Ontario Amateur Softball Association (OASA) President Award, and was the inaugural inductee into Softball Ontario’s Hall of Fame-highlighting Wendy’s passion for providing equal opportunity for all of those who wanted to play softball.
Wendy’s mission with Softball Ontario was to focus on increasing the participation of Softball across the province. Under her guidance and leadership, Wendy made 2007 a banner year, as Softball Ontario introduced TrySoftball to 180,970 people, including 136,668 children and 44,302 adults. She also helped re-introduce softball to schools resulting in more than 600 schools and nearly 100,000 children learning the game of Softball.
As one the most important figures in Ontario Sport and Softball History, Wendy Cathcart is touched that Provincial Women’s Softball Association has honoured her by providing an opportunity for female softball players to apply for a bursary to assist with their participation in softball.
The Provincial Women’s Softball Association Scholarship/Bursary Program is made possible through the generous donations from individuals, leagues, and local softball associations in memoriam of a loved one. As well as, the generosity of our partnership with Residence & Conference Centres who have donated just over $75,000 to the fund since 2001 and to the Kitchener Civitan Jamboree/Cornerstone Courier who have donated close to $10,000.
Each year the recipients of the P.W.S.A. Scholarship Program will be announced and presented their Scholarship Award at the P.W.S.A. Annual Awards Banquet.
Need a place to stay while travelling this summer? Stay at one of the Residence & Conference Centres.
Application Forms and Details
Scholarship Letter for Athletes
Scholarship Application for Athletes
Scholarship Application for Teams
Deadline for P.W.S.A. Scholarship/Bursary Fund
Secondary School Student Athletes must apply for the appropriate Scholarship/Bursary by Deadline – July 31, 2024
Post Secondary School Student Athletes must apply for the appropriate Scholarship/Bursary by Deadline – August 15, 2024
Post-Secondary School Teams must apply for the appropriate Scholarship/Bursary by Deadline – September 30th, 2024
The P.W.S.A. thanks everyone for their applications. Only successful applicants will be contacted. If you have any questions regarding the P.W.S.A. Scholarship/Bursary Fund, please do not hesitate to contact the P.W.S.A. Scholarship Committee: scholarships@pwsaontario.com
2023 Scholarship Recipients
Wendy Cathcart Bursary
Regan Worsley
Bette Kalailieff Memorial Scholarship
Blythe Hilpert
Amber Titterton
Team Scholarship Award
Waterloo Warriors (University of Waterloo)
Previous Scholarship Recipients
2022
Julia Chapman, Wendy Cathcart Bursary Recipient
Samantha Su, Kaitlyn Hickey, Blythe Hilpert – Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipients
Regan Worsley, P.W.S.A. President’s Award
2021
Kaitlyn Hickey, Wendy Cathcart Bursary Recipient
Emily Hughes, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
Mia Valcke, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
Samantha Su, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
Daphne More, P.W.S.A. 90th Anniversary Scholarship Recipient
2020
Angelina Bomberry, Wendy Cathcart Bursary Recipient
Blythe Hilpert, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
Emily Hughes, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
Taryn Millar, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
Mia Valcke, Bette Kalailieff Memorial Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
2019
Hannah McClounie, Presidential Award
Ainsley Rooney, Wendy Cathcart Bursary Athlete Recipient
Laurier University Women’s Softball Team, Wendy Cathcart Bursary Team Recipient
Jessica Brown, Bette Kalailieff Strive for Excellence Scholarship Recipient
2018
Courtney McKellar
Vanessa Tinlin
McMaster Women’s Fastpitch Team
2017
Natalie Boros
Alika Kingsbury
Jacey Lee Nelligan
2016
Amanda Janes
Madelyn Moore
Sarah Schwiola
