I'm always pleased to see anything come from planning to fruition and last night was no exception; The Sports Dinner was great!
The set-up was extremely smooth, and most of that credit goes to the staff at the Pan Pacific. The numbers were a less than we expected, but in most cases quality is better than quantity. The crowd was fantastic, and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.
Meeting a lot of people who are currently, or have been, involved in Vancouver High School sports was a pleasure. Many positive comments about this being a create evening for a great cause, and calling for another one next year to follow.
I was most impressed by how educated the guests were about the situation we're in with our student-athletes here in Vancouver. Majority of them were on the same page as us; there needs to be more communication and connection between School and Community Sports. Most students don't pick one sport and play both already. Think about the benefit of having them intertwined allowing the athlete's to perform better in both sports rather than balance the conflict of training, games, transportation, etc.
It can be a hell of a schedule for those multi-sport athletes, and I give them a lot of credit, especially if their sports fall into both systems. The schools are already set up to have the sports split between the terms allowing the athletes to play numerous sports with out conflict, and I think its time to get the Community and Schools together to figure how to get our athletes to the next level by working together.
As much as I've been trying to hold this comment back, I believe its true to say, the pride and ego needs to be put aside and all the organizations need to come together. We should be able to utilize the VSB's fantastic facilities more, our community coaches, both parties resources, and the result: the organizations' programs will flourish.
I think it only takes one person with a vision to make this happen. The speech by Daniel Igali was motivating and almost surreal. He is that one man for his home country of Nigeria. He had the vision, didn't let people slow him down, and look at the results. An Olympic Gold Medial, inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, coaching the Nigerian wrestling team in Beijing, becoming a very inflential member of our community, and named the Canadian Amateaur Athlete of the year, Twice.
Those accomplishments are amazing, however Daniel looked beyond that to start his foundation, and realize his dream of providing more for the children of the region in which he was raised. The motivation for all this was presented in such a way last night, that I cannot find an excuse to not succeed. I would strongly recommed that you take a look a what is slowing you down and truly dig just a little deeper - you'll find it. That 'it' is what Daniel found, and now he's transforming where he grew up.
Going back to Nigeria is something he looks forward to, and he is recognized for. He has now gained the attention of the higher powers of state and influential people around the world - he's really making strides! A wonderful athlete, but more so an incredible dreamer who's bringing his vision to reality; Congratulations Daniel.
I'd like to thank everyone who attended and helped to make The Sports Dinner a reality. It was months of hard work to make it happen, and I truly believe it was a positive night, and the first of many for us, Bravado Sports & Entertainment, and the VSSAA. -Cheers-
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