Over 350 projects enter Beyond Sport Awards 2010

Over 350 projects enter Beyond Sport Awards 2010

In its second year, Beyond Sport is delighted to announce that over 350 projects have entered the Beyond Sport Awards in 2010, further extending the significant reach of the global initiative to over 115 countries and territories.

Following the close of entries, the Awards has attracted submissions from an array of organisations, social enterprises, federations, and grassroots initiatives, all showcasing the power of sport to deliver positive social change in communities across the globe.

With the number of entries up 30% on the inaugural Awards programme in 2009 split equally across every continent on the planet, the reach of Beyond Sport is moving forward at a rapidly evolving pace.

The 2010 Awards also attracted submissions from projects active in a host of countries and territories new to the Beyond Sport Awards including Iran, Cuba, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Designed to recognise and reward the best sport and development projects from across the world on an annual basis, the Beyond Sport Awards incorporates 12 categories covering the entire sporting spectrum of health, social inclusion, corporate and social responsibility, and philanthropy.

For 2010, the most entered categories were the Sport for Social Inclusion Award; the Best New Project; and the UNICEF Sport for Education Award.

The Sport for Environment Award attracted twice as many entries in 2010 compared with the previous year, while the number of projects put forward in the Sport Team of the Year and Sport Federation or Governing Body of the Year award categories were both up 25% on 2009.

The Awards categories are split into three clear sections – Community Awards; Corporation and Federation Awards; and the Judges' Awards.

As was the case in 2009, the winners of the six Community Awards will receive a total package of funding worth $1 million, including substantial business support to enable them to move forward and become fully sustainable in the future.

A shortlist of projects in each of the Awards categories will be revealed in late May with representatives from those initiatives flown to Chicago for the second annual Beyond Sport Summit taking place between September 27 and 30 where the winners will be unveiled.

The winners are selected by the Beyond Sport Ambassadors – a group of high-profile individuals chaired by former British Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, and who also include HRH Prince Faisal Al Hussein of Jordan, former South African football captain Lucas Radebe; and multi-Olympic gold medalists Michael Johnson and Sergey Bubka.

Beyond Sport is partnered with Barclays Spaces for Sports, United Airlines, TIME International and UNICEF.

For further information contact:

Drew Barrand
Head of Communications
Beyond Sport
Tel: +44 (0)20 3355 8133
Cell: +44 (0)777 624 2904
Email: drew@beyondsport.org

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