Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Laureus marks 20th anniversary
SPORT has the ability to unite a nation and it showed when the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, 2007 and, more recently, last year.
Their performances have not only impressed spectators but the Laureus World Sports Awards judges.
The Boks won team of the year in 2008 and earlier this year. Now the very same Laureus Sport for Good Foundation along with the Laureus World Sports Awards have a milestone of their own.
The organisation will celebrate its 20th anniversary of the event on Monday. The global movement combines Laureus Sport for Good, Laureus Academy and Ambassadors Programme and Laureus World Sports Awards to form a unique organisation that celebrates the power of sport to bring people together as a force for good.
Laureus ambassador Schalk Brits said: “The team had worked hard and given their all on and off the field to bring home the Webb Ellis Cup trophy. To be part of the Springbok team who won team of the year at the Laureus World Sports Awards was just the best way to finish my career,” he said.
Former World Cup winner and ambassador for the movement, Schalk Burger won the comeback of the year award at the global event in 2015.
“On a personal note, it was massively gratifying to get international recognition for which was without a doubt my greatest achievement, but in saying that, it was also immensely humbling to listen to the other nominees and their stories.
“Every single person nominated for Laureus world comeback of the year is a winner in his/ her own right,” he said.
Chairperson of Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa and a founder academy member, Morné du Plessis said it was important to acknowledge the hard work done by the foundation throughout the world.
“The coaches, mentors, programme managers, leaders, volunteers and those people who work in our programmes are the real heroes of our movement. We also need to acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the academy members and ambassadors of the organisation around the world,” he said.
The first patron for Laureus, Nelson Mandela, said the following at the inaugural awards in Monaco in 2000: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers”
Other South Africans to have won an award at the prestigious event include Ernst van Dyk who won world sportsperson of the year with a disability in 2006, Natalie du Toit and Oscar Pistorius who won the same award in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
While Waves for Change won the sport for good award in 2010. It is a surf therapy and community-building organisation that operates in South African communities that experience high levels of violence and poverty.