On Friday June 22, 2018 the Victorian Olympic Committee (VOC) held their annual Olympic Academy where the Pierre de Coubertin Award is presented to representatives from an array of disciplines.
This year the Sport Climbing recipient was Luke Humphreys. Humphreys spent the day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) attending the Olympic Academy followed by the award ceremony where he heard from Olympians Nicole Livingstone and Scotty James. James elaborated on how to balance schooling while excelling at sport.
Humphreys thoroughly enjoyed the day and told SCV, ” I was proud to represent Sport Climbing Victoria and to spend a day immersed in the Olympic values with so many other great young athletes. I took a lot out of the session on injury management and really enjoyed being able to feel the weight of Mack Hortons gold medal. Many thanks to SCV for the nomination and for giving me this opportunity”.
Attending the Olympic Academy with Humphreys were fellow athletes Alana Frankland and Emma Crow. Both enjoying the day with Frankland telling us, “It was really inspirational to listen to the Olympians and it was really great to meet all the other athletes. I had an amazing day” and Crow, “It was a rewarding opportunity to be able to meet Australian Olympians, hear their stories and learn about their journeys getting there.”
The Pierre de Coubertin Award is awarded to athletes who exemplify the Olympic values with a particular focus on sportsmanship.
The VOC explains further:
“His definition of Olympism had four principles that were far from a simple sports competition:
- To be a religion i.e. to “adhere to an ideal of a higher life, to strive for perfection”
- To represent an elite “whose origins are completely egalitarian” and at the same time “chivalry” with its moral qualities
- To create a truce “a four-yearly festival of the springtime of mankind”
- To glorify beauty by the “involvement of the philosophic arts in the Games””
Named after the founder of the modern Olympics, the award is offered at all levels from Olympic bodies, from state level through to the International Pierre de Coubertin awarded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Click here to see all recipients of the International Pierre de Coubertin Awardees
This award was first received by Sport Climbers in 2017 with Ned Middlehurst being the inaugural winner. Click here to view recent awards, nominations and significant milestones for athletes from Victoria.
Click here for more information on Pierre de Coubertin.
Clicker here for this year’s wrap up of the Olympic Academy.
