Laureus Foundation Shows Sports Can Be the Great Unifier
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 10:54AM
[Your Name Here] in Sports

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This story was written for OverTime Magazine. All photos courtesy of Laureus.com.

Marcus Allen. Ronnie Lott. Tony Hawk. Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Mark Spitz. Boris Becker. Sergey Bubka. Roger Federer. Edwin Moses. Mike Horn. Nadia Comaneci. Marcel Desailly. Illie Nastase. Alexei Nemov. Kip Keino. Justine Henin.

These were just a few of the more than 25 world sports legends who attended the ninth Laureus World Sports Awards (www.laureus.com), which took place at the Mariinsky Concert Hall on February 18, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The gala celebrated the best in sports for 2007 and honored the competitive accomplishments of several top athletes from around the globe.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer, the world’s premiere tennis player, won the World Sportsman of the Year Award for the fourth year in a row. Joining him from the tennis circuits was top-ranked women’s tennis player Justine Henin, who won the World Sportswoman of the Year Award, and Esther Vergeer of Holland, a wheelchair tennis champion who won the Laureaus Disability Award; Vergeer won the same award in 2002.

British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award after experiencing a monumental first year on the tour. South Africa’s national rugby team won the Laureus World Team of the Year Award, which honored their Rugby World Cup championship in 2007. American skateboarder/snowboarder phenom and X-Games icon Shaun White won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award. And British long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe earned the Laureus Comeback of the Year Award; she returned to competition after a two-year hiatus, during which she gave birth to her first child and recovered from a stress fracture in her lower back.

“I’m really thrilled to receive this Laureus Award,” said Radcliffe. “I’ve been nominated four times before, and that in itself has always been a special achievement and recognition for me. To finally win it this time really means a great deal. I think to win a Laureus is an amazing recognition.”

79782790JD009_L1ld.jpgIn addition to the award winners, the Laureus World Sports organization honored Ukrainian pole vault legend Surgey Bubka with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Canadian Dick Pound, who spent eight years as chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, with the Spirit of Sport Award. Finally, Americans Brendan and Sean Tuohey were given the Laureus Sport for Good Award for their involvement in the PeacePlayers International project, a charitable program that uses basketball as a means to unite children in divided communities.

The ceremony itself featured several celebrity guests, who were there either to present awards to recipients or show their support for the organization. On hand were actor-director Dennis Hopper, TV-star Kyle MacLachlan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, TV-star Kim Cattrall and Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr., who served as the emcee for the evening. Guests of the awards were treated to an original orchestral work by celebrated Russian composer Valery Gergiev and a performance by Uliana Lopatkina, lead dancer of the world famous Kirov Ballet.

Though considerably better known in Europe than in the United States, the Laureus World Sports Awards bills itself as “premier global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year.” Laureus officials state the 2008 awards show is expected to be broadcast to more than 180 countries globally.

What makes the awards unique is that unlike other prizes, where honorees are selected solely by a panel of individuals in their respective industry, Laureus winners are chosen by a distinct two-step process. First, a collection of sports editors, writers and broadcasters from around the world nominates six athletes as finalists in five of the awards categories represented (Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, Laureus World Team of the Year, Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year; nominations for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year and the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability are produced by specialist panels). Then, the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, a group consisting solely of celebrated world class athletes, decide which nominee in each category is most deserving of the Laureus.

Currently there are 45 active members of the Laureus World Sports Academy; each has been invited by the Academy itself to be part of its panel, making it an exclusive circle indeed. Russian gymnast and Olympic champion Alexei Nemov and Mika Hakkinen, the great Formula One driver from Finland, were added to the group in February 2008. Past Laureus Award winners include bicycling champion Lance Armstrong, golfers Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia, the 2005 Boston Red Sox and current California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, to name a few. Previous ceremonies have been held in such exotic locales as Barcelona, Spain, Monaco and Lisbon, Portugal.

Beyond the Awards

sfgsfg31.jpgWhile the Laureus World Sports Awards is the organization’s highest-profile event of the year, it is by no means its only activity. Beneath the glitz and glamour of the Awards lies the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a charitable association that aims to bridge social gaps through sport. Simply put, Sport for Good assists in funding, initiating and maintaining facilities, tournaments, programs or activities in troubled or divided areas of the world and uses sport to help unify those communities.

Laureus was initially conceived in 2000 by South African entrepreneur Johann Rupert, a former club-level cricketer and currently the chairman of Richemont, the corporation that produces Cartier jewelry (among other luxury brands). Soon after devising the idea, he brought it to Daimler, who makes Mercedes-Benz, and the two companies teamed up to develop the concept fully. Richemont and Daimler currently donate $1 million collectively each year to the organization to help support its daily operations. Thanks to their assistance, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation currently funds 50 projects around the world, many of which help young people overcome issues like poverty, homelessness, war, violence, drugs abuse, discrimination and AIDS. Since its commencement, more than 150,000 underprivileged youth have been helped around the world.

Some of Laureus’ most successful programs to date include: a Midnight Basketball League in Richmond, Va ., which tackles drug and crime problems in its community by setting games from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., when most vandalism and crime is prevalent; an “ After-School All-Stars” program in New York City, during which activities like basketball, volleyball and taekwando are offered as an means to thwart student drug abuse and gang involvement; and “Fight for Peace in Rio de Janeiro,” which uses boxing to create alternatives to crime and violence in one of the city’s worst neighborhoods.

“As you travel around the world, you see that there are three or four basic ways people communicate with one another: Music, arts, sports and love. Those are the four universal languages that are in common with everyone everywhere, so we know that sport definitely has an impact. A sport is something that everyone relates to everywhere,” said Edwin C. Moses. The Olympic champion and outspoken activist against anti-doping in competitive sports has been the chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy since 2000 and is also responsible for devising many of the organization’s official policies and procedures.

“Sport is the great equalizer, kids love to participate in sports, and our philosophy is to have sport change the world,” said tennis champion Boris Becker, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy and Chairman of Laureus Germany. Becker has been involved with countless charitable and fundraising endeavors for Laureus over the years and also played integral parts in a Sutton Gymnastics program in 2001, which helped children suffering from the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and the aforementioned midnight basketball league in Richmond, VA.

“I think we’re very careful and measured in what we do. We’re not a super huge organization, but we’re effective,” added Moses. “We use our people well, and we take our time to find outstanding projects around the world. We’re good at that and we pride ourselves in finding people who do what they do well.”

Personal Involvement

IWC_Laureus_Polo-071.jpgThe Laureus World Sports Academy plays an major role with the organization. Not only do these athletes select the winners of the Laureus Awards, but they also volunteer their services and time to help struggling communities everywhere. Because of their celebrity status, they tend to have an easier time than most in bridging cultural gaps, and often they bring media attention with them, which helps spread the word on the events or programs they are participating in.

“It really focuses on the kids. It’s not a money thing. It’s really the joy of seeing the smiles on these kids’ faces, that you’re really helping them,” said middleweight great Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy since 2007. “That’s really the best reward that every one of these athletes here with me [in the Laureus Academy] gets when we talk about new projects. I’ve had the opportunity know the hurt and pain these young kids know because I came up the same way, and I was very fortunate enough to find sports to educate me and give me a dream and make me the person I am. I hope to give these kids a chance through my work with Laureus.”

Hagler recently visited Morocco for Laureus, where he set up a series of community-based sports activities within a group of women who were being suppressed by the male population there. As Hagler and his Laureus comrades played soccer, tug of war and other games with these women, they also taught them about cleanliness, self-confidence, self-esteem and hope. He claims he saw an immediate change.

“The men always pushed the women on their backs there,” said Hagler, “and with our help they were able to stand up and speak out for what they felt.”

NFL great Marcus Allen, an Academy member since 2007, sees his involvement with Laureus as a chance to extend his charitable efforts outside the United States. Currently, he, legendary NFL defenseman Ronnie Lott and NFL career-rushing-yards leader Emmitt Smith work together in a country-wide program that helps underprivileged inner-city children obtain worthwhile educations. Both Lott and Allen want to branch their aid program into other parts of the world, particularly Africa, and Allen believes his work with Laureus will grant him the opportunity to accomplish this goal.

“Once you evolve,” said Allen, “you see that touchdowns are great, but there are things that are much more gratifying, and that’s probably the best feeling I get. Wanting to travel and work internationally, this is the best opportunity for me. They’ve [Laureus] done incredible work internationally. It’s a great partnership with what we’re doing.”

laureus_world_s236.jpg Skateboarding pioneer Tony Hawk, an Academy member since 2004, finds a similar ideology with Laureus. Hawk currently works with Athletes for Hope and heads his own Tony Hawk Foundation -- that’s in addition to his efforts with Laureus. Because of his ties to the organization, he is able to combine his resources with Laureus’ and increase awareness to several charitable causes at once, instead of working with just one at a time. Such was the case with Hawk’s participation in the Mia Hamm Foundation’s Celebrity Soccer Challenge, held on January 30, 2008. In addition to this, Hawk teamed with Laureus for its “Right to Play” project in Sierra Leone, which trained adults to be coaches for children who had trouble assimilating to everyday life after the country’s bloody civil war, and its “Spirit of Soccer” program in Cambodia, which cleared minefields and converted them into soccer fields.

“A lot of it is intertwined, and it’s done to get other athletes involved,” said Hawk. “The bottom line is that you have to pursue what you truly believe in. That way you can speak from the heart. This is the heart of what Laureus stands for. When you see the work firsthand, and you see the kids don’t have much of anything, you get much pleasure.”

Laureus USA

Though its international efforts have given Laureus a high profile globally, the organization’s exposure in the U.S. remains strangely small -- a surprising fact considered the star power Laureus brings to the table.

sportforgood_78497.jpg Still, a lower public status shouldn’t imply that Laureus’ work in America has been any less effective or significant. Founded in 2003 as a 501-3c nonprofit, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA (www.laureusfoundationusa.org) serves to express the Laureus vision in the U.S., and many of the programs installed here are similar in theme (using sport as a means to bring about social change) as the ones established abroad. Its operations are overseen by an Executive Director, John Miottel, and a Board of Directors composed of celebrated athletes and corporate stalwarts, which include Edwin Moses, tennis great John McEnroe, Olympic star Michael Johnson, gymnastics legend Nadia Comenici, Richard Beckman (CMO of CondeNast), Dan Mawicke (CEO of Richemont North America), Paul Halata (ex-CEO of Mercedez Benz USA), Callum Barton (ex-CEO Richemont North America) and Sandra Kelly (sister-in-law to Princes Grace). The organization holds regular fundraisers like the Laureus Golf and Tennis Invitational and the Laureus Celebrity Polo Challenge, each of which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Laureus charities in the U.S. and around the world.

More recently, Laureus USA teamed with world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Before facing Sultan Ibragimov in his title unification bout on February 23, 2008 in New York City, Klitschko asked fans to donate to Laureus in his honor. In exchange, he agreed to place the name of each contributor on his fight robe and wear that garment into the ring. More than 3,000 people responded to the request, which raised approximately $350,000 for the organization. The robe will be auctioned in April 2008; once that sale has been finalized, the entire project is expected to bring in more than half a million dollars collectively in funds, with all proceeds benefiting the Betances Boxing Program in the Bronx, which teaches children ages eight and up life skills, values workshops and academic support along with boxing skills.

Despite these successes, invading the American market has still been difficult for Laureus USA. The organization’s main sponsorship, Richemont and Daimler, as well as its business infrastructure, remains firmly planted in Europe at the moment (Laureus’ main office in London currently staff 40 full-time employees), which has posed some difficulty in helping the organization branch out. Cultural differences between the U.S. and European markets have also set up some road blocks.

“We have a foundation that’s set up here, and we have several great projects set up, but we have into invest a lot more in order to expand our reach,” said Edwin Moses. “We’re talking between $1 and $2 million spread over two years to get things rolling. As a foundation, you can’t always justify spending all that money on infrastructure. We’re obligated to spend 70 to 80 percent on projects at the moment. Even the way we raise money is restricted. We have to rely on smaller donations. There’s a lot of things that have to happen in order to make it work.”

Miottel concurs with those sentiments.

“In the U.S., it’s a little trickier because we draw the line between commercial and nonprofit,” said Miottel. “ We’ve started slowly but surely. It’s a growing process, but when we have the ability to, we will expand. There’s a lot of potential, and we’re getting things going.”

On the plus side, the belief now is that since Laureus USA has a body of work to show for itself, the organization can start thinking about climbing to the next level. For most Laureus supporters, there’s no question as to what that step should be.

“They need to bring the awards show out of Europe,” said Tony Hawk. “For them to bring it to the States, or even to North America or Australia, would expand their profile and get other companies interested in underwriting it.”

Moses agrees, adding that he’s been pushing for the awards to reach American soil for almost five years. He feels cities like New York or Miami would make ideal settings.

As of now, rumors hint that St. Petersburg will most likely host the awards again in 2009, though nothing official has been released yet. But with the high profile garnered by the Klitschko fight and fundraiser, as well as other efforts to promote Laureus in the U.S., one has to wonder if an American locale may soon find its way into the running.

“That’s one of the things I’d like to see in the next three years,” said Moses. “It’s just a matter of having our sponsors agree to it. Everyone who knows business and knows marketing knows that’s this is the direction we need to take. I think we’re sitting on a monster of untapped resources here.”

SIDEBARS:

Laureus World Sports Academy Members:

Laureus Friends and Ambassadors:

Laureus Friends and Ambassadors are several country-based groups of celebrated athletes, both active and retired, who are recognized as role models and/or icons in their nation of origin. They volunteer their services to help the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in their own country. America’s Friends and Ambassadors include the following:

Upcoming Laureus events:

For more information:

www.laureus.com
www.laureusfoundationusa.org

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