With ‘the greatest show on earth’ set to descend upon London in a matter of months, this year’s Sport Industry Awards served as a reminder of why the UK is so well qualified to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The event showcased some of the most compelling and effective work that has taken place in sport over the last 12 months and gave due recognition to the many who have worked effortlessly in their respective fields.
Politicians, sponsors, broadcasters, celebrities and of course sports stars joined forces at London’s Battersea Evolution to enjoy an evening which is seen by many as the ‘must attend sporting event of the year’. The ‘Oscars of the Sports Industry’ saw an array of awards handed out to organisations as varied as Sky Sports, O2, Manchester City FC and Betfair.
Olympic proportions
With the Olympics and Paralympic Games looming on the horizon it was only to be expected that at least some of the evening’s winners would be part of the Olympic movement. The event commenced with the Olympic Development Authority (ODA) receiving the Sport Business Achievement of the Year Award for its successful, and punctual, overhaul of the Olympic Park site. As Sports Minister Hugh Robertson – jointly presenting the award with the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP – said: “This achievement is in no doubt our country’s first victory of the London 2012 Games.”
Sir John Arnitt, the ODA chair, picked up the gong from the two politicians who used their speeches to pour praise on those present, and the sports industry more widely, for the work they do in bringing pleasure and enjoyment to so many people.
Celebrating sport
Such work is perhaps best demonstrated by those who were competing for the ‘Sport Governing Body of the Year’ Award, which saw British Triathlon come out on top of an impressive short-list, which featured the England and Wales Cricket Board, British Cycling, UK Athletics, England Netball and the Rugby Football League.
British Triathlon’s president, Dr Sarah Springman CBE, highlighted the catalytic effort that the Games has played stating: “We’ve been fired up by the 2012 Olympics and our four-year plan reflects this, with challenging targets that we have exceeded every year in delivering outstanding performance on the world class stages that we create and raising the profile and inspiring people to take part in this fast-growing, dynamic sport.”
The numbers certainly back up this statement with some 850 events taking place in the UK in the past 12 months, including 18 Tata Kids of Steel community triathlons, that engage 12,000 children.
Success has also been secured on the elite front, with Britain currently boasting 13 world champions in different triathlon disciplines. This provides a solid platform for potential success at the London Olympics, with the Brownlee brothers, in particular, being seen as genuine medal hopes for the Games.
The evening also saw Premiership Rugby given the ‘Community Programme’ Award for its Hitz project, which takes rugby and its unique value code into inner city estates across ten of London’s boroughs. Hitz serves as the flagship social inclusion project within Premiership Rugby’s wider community programme.
Operating through Premiership Rugby’s partner clubs and with core funding coming from the Mayor’s Office, Hitz has been run in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police and has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle youth offending and anti-social behaviour in the capital.
This award is likely to provide a fillip to Premiership Rugby as it looks to expand Hitz across the country beyond the 1,000 participants currently registered in London. The present ambition is to roll out the programme across 14 partner clubs nationwide and the importance of this award in helping fulfil that vision was made clear by Helen Clayton, Premiership Rugby’s Hitz project manager, who said: “The most pleasing aspect of this recognition is that it will help the Hitz project move on to the next level.”
Lifetime sporting achievement
The final award of the evening was the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award, which was presented to Sir Philip Craven MBE, the president of the International Paralympic Committee. Sir Philip was given a standing ovation by the 1,750 guests and received his award from National Basketball Association legend, John Amaechi and former teammate, Tip Thiboutot.
Sir Philip was clearly deemed a worthy winner by the industry audience for as Nick Keller, chair of the Sports Industry Group who organise the awards, later commented: “It is no exaggeration to say that, without him, the Paralympics we know today and the Games we look forward to this summer would be absolutely unrecognisable.”
This is the sixth Paralympic Games which Sir Philip has overseen and it is set to be the biggest yet, with close to four billion people expected to watch 4,200 athletes from 160 countries.
The award proved a fitting end to the evening – given the forthcoming Games, that are sure to set the benchmark for other nations to follow.
