The 2005 World Women and Sport award has gone to Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of the organising committee for last year's Athens Olympics. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki was awarded the trophy "in recognition of her immense contribution to the success of the Athens Games and her inspiring role for other women wanting to get involved in sport and its administration". The trophy was presented to her on the occasion of International Women's Day by Denis Oswald, executive board member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Athens Games. Created in 2000, the IOC Women and Sport Trophy is awarded to a woman or a man (former athlete, coach, administrator or journalist) or to an organisation that has worked to develop, encourage and strengthen the participation of women and girls in physical and sports activities, in coaching or in administrative and decision-making structures, as well as for the promotion of women journalists and women's sport in the media. During the ceremony held at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, five continental Women and Sport trophies were also awarded to women who have played an outstanding role in promoting sport in their countries. The trophy for Africa went to Marguerite Rouamba Karama (Burkina Faso), for Europe to Orna Ostfeld (Israel), America to Donna Lopiano (US), Asia to Annabel Pennefather (Singapore) and the trophy for Oceania to Lynne Bates (Australia). The trophies were presented by Anita DeFrantz, IOC member and chairwoman of the IOC Women and Sport Commission. Attending was Urs Lacotte, IOC director general. IOC President Jacques Rogge and Flor Isava-Fonseca, the first female member of the IOC and honorary member since 2002, joined the ceremony by teleconference. "I would like to congratulate all the women rewarded today and thank them for their invaluable contribution in promoting sport and its values around the globe," Rogge said. "Special congratulations to Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki whose undying inspiration and determination were key in the success of the Athens Games. On International Women's Day, it is only legitimate that the Olympic movement and the world of sport as a whole recognise the significant role that women can play on, and more importantly, outside the field of play." "On this International Women's Day, it is an honour to accept this award on behalf of the countless people from every region and walk of life, who joined together to make the Athens Olympic Games a joyous and magical experience," Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said in accepting her award. "Last summer, more women competed as athletes than in any previous Olympic Games, and in Olympia, for the first time in history, women competed alongside the men on the celebrated plain where the Olympic Games were born. "The Athens Games were a great success. We hope that our work inspired men as well as women and convinced people once and for all that merit and accomplishment, rather than gender, are the most important ingredients for sports, just as they are in life." The Women and Sport Commission chose Angelopoulos-Daskalaki for the "immense effort made and great passion invested in the Athens Olympic Games. Her professionalism and the inspiration for other women to get involved in sports administration were the main reasons for awarding this prize to her. "Angelopoulos- Daskalaki is a model to be followed by other women who want to get involved in sport and its administration. Furthermore, the Athens Olympic Games, of which she was the main protagonist, were an ideal platform for promoting women's sport with women's participation exceeding the 40 per cent mark for the first time." Karama received the trophy for her "unfailing commitment to promoting women's sport in her country and even outside its borders." The founder of the first women's team in Burkina Faso, the "Princesses" also took the initiative to organise a yearly international women's tournament in which four teams from neighbouring countries take part. She has also made a career in sports administration as Vice-President of the Football Centre League. Ostfeld stands out as the founder and manager of the largest women's basketball school in Israel, teams from which have won some important titles. As a player, administrator and coach, she has contributed to greater participation by young women at all sporting levels. Furthermore, she regularly contributes to the promotion of women's sport in the media. Lopiano stood out at the beginning of her career as an athlete who took part in 10 national softball championships, and was named one of the best American players nine times. She trained in various colleges and university softball, basketball and athletics teams. The former member of the United States Olympic Committee Administration Board is known for defending the cause of girls and women in sport. Pennefather stood out as captain of Singapore's national hockey team for 10 years. An exceptional athlete, she became a great sports leader, crowning her career with the election, in 2004, as the first women on the Singapore Hockey Federation. An active member of the women and sport commission in her country, she now occupies other important roles in sports organisations internationally, regionally and nationally. Bates won a silver medal with the Australian 4 x 100m medley relay team at the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968. She played an important role in the Olympic movement, crowned by her appointment as director of Aquatic Sports in the organising committee for the Olympic Games in Sydney, and her appointment as deputy chef de mission for the Australian team in Athens in 2004.
