Sunday marked the 61st annual Oregon Sports Awards. The award show highlighted standouts from both the prep and professional levels from around the state. It was a proud night for Oregonians who have recently boasted Olympic athletes, NBA stars, and national champions. Special to this year’s award ceremony, however, was the addition of 19 categories honoring high school athletes.
The new awards included recognition in prep swimming, wrestling, golf, tennis, volleyball, soccer, cross country, and many other categories. Overall the event took more time to focus on high school athletes and the young talent that Oregon as a whole is breeding – after all, it seems recently many premier athletes have some connection to the state. It wasn’t just a chance to give young people a chance they don’t usually have by being honored but a great opportunity to draw attention to sports that traditionally get very little. It’s easy for eyes to land on football, basketball, and baseball but the night allowed for many unrecognized (yet accomplished) athletes to take the stage for well-deserved praise.
Youth sports seemed to take a firm hold on the night, which only seemed suiting when halfway through the awards ceremony Nike showed a video/Public Service Announcement, bringing attention to the fact that the most recent generation is predicted to die five years earlier than their parents. The number is the cornerstone of a campaign to promote activity and health among young people. In retrospect, the campaign couldn’t have been announced on a better night.
Not only were their plenty of eyes from the Oregon sporting community receiving the message that night but the video ran parallel to the effort the Oregon Sports Awards made this year to include as many prep athletes as possible. The ceremony was a message in itself to aspiring athletes, coaches, and parents of the opportunity there is in investing in sports. The young people who took the stage that evening were not just talented but well-spoken, humble, and hardworking. Many will go on to pursue successful college careers and maybe even see themselves on the professional stage.
More importantly they stand as a model and example for youngsters who are just venturing onto the field or trying sports for the first time. One doesn’t have to be of a bulky football build or a basketball star but can gain just as much praise and honor from competing in the pool, on the tennis court, or at the track. It’s hopeful to think that some beginner in first grade – the same one at risk to dying five years earlier than generations past – is inspired by the high school athletes taking the stage. And maybe someday, they’ll have their turn to make Oregon proud too.
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