HUNGARIAN OLYMPICS COMMITTEE – FAIR PLAY CEREMONY

FAIR PLAY AWARDS GALA IN THE DANUBE ARENA

It is my pleasure and I am very honored that I was invited to the Fair Play Award Gala which was held on 21^th November 2019, Thursday in the Danube Arena at Budapest. The Hungarian Olympics Committee – Fair Play Committee has celebrated its 52^th anniversary since its establishment. The Committee is engaged for the fair play in the sport and besides of this in the other field of the life. The first fair play awards were given in 1967 by the National Association of  Hungarian Journalists (MÚOSZ) and the Fair Play Committee established by the National Sports Office.

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The aim of the Fair Play Committee is still the same, preserve the tradition of the spirit of the fair play. Therefore the Committee every year organize the Fair Play Award Gala where it rewards those chosen athletes who are worthy for the fair play award. This award ceremony was co-organized with the SPORTJUS Hungarian Association of Sports Lawyers of Hungary. It was the first time that the SPORTJUS got involved the organization of this event.

The ceremony begun with the opening speeches. Firstly Dr. Jenő Kamuti, the president of the Fair Play Committee, after that Krisztián Kulcsár, the president of the Hungarian Olympics Committee, and finally Dr. Zsigmond Nagy, the president of the SPORTJUS Hungarian Association os Sports Lawyers of Hungary kept his speech. All of them referred in their speeches the importance of the fair play. Besides of the aforementioned fact, the purity of the sport and the honesty towards to each other were highlighted in all three speech. 

I would especially refer to our president, Dr. Zsigmond Nagy speech. As our president Dr. Zsigmond Nagy cited our associations posy, ,,the sport is a fundamental human right.” Of course we are operating according to this basic principle which is marked in the Olympics Charta in its chapter of Fundamental Principles of Olympism. The original text is the following: ,,The practice of sport is a human right.” We respect the sport activity and we appreciate the others striving to live their life honestly and fairly as they also do in the sport. Dr. Zsigmond Nagy noted he hoped that this relationship between our organization and the Hungarian Olympics Committee would continue to exist in the near future.

The winners of the Fair Play Award:

The Hungarian Olympics Committee Fair Play Committee gave awards to the winners in six categories.

1. Fair Play act:

trophy: Szántói Szabó Tamás (kayak-canoe)

diploma: Sipos Árpád (teqball)

2. In the service of the sport:

trophy: Köpf Károly (sports leader)

diploma: Győr Béla (traditionalist)

3. The popularization of the Fair Play:

trophy: Füredi Marianne (journalist), Szalay Péter (journalist)

diploma: FTC ice hockey division U8-U10 age group

4. Leisure sport:

trophy: Hungarian Flying Disc Federation

5. Oeuvre:

trophy: Sziklenka László (kayak-canoe), Csányi Rajmund (gymnastics), Bérczes Edit (ultra running), Göröcs János (football)

diploma: Pajor István (ski)

6. Art/Science:

trophy: Juhász Árpád (television, traveling)

I also congratulate the winners!

Budapest, 23rd November 2019

Zoltán Ferenc Samkó, J.D.
Health and Sports Lawyer