On Thursday 14 December, Sports Minister Ben Witts will present the four Flemish Sports Jewels. Cast your votes here and help decide who will become Sports Coach of the Year, Sports Supporter of the Year and Hottest Sports Initiative of the Year. And above all: who could get the Flemish sport’s jewel for the best sporting performance of 2023.
In Flemish Sportjuwelen, you, as a Sporza surfer, can help decide who wins the prizes. A professional jury awarded 200 points for the three major sports awards, distributed among the three nominees in each category. You can split the remaining 100 points with all other Sporza voters.
And with the Warmer Sports initiative, the choice is entirely in the hands of Sporza surfers. You can vote until midnight on Wednesday, December 13.
Best Sports Performance: Casse, “Cats of Kopecky.”
This trophy can only be awarded once to the same person, organization or team. Although several Flemish athletes recorded the best performances this year, the jury was able to narrow the list of nominees down to these three nominees:
- Matthias Cass
The somewhat disappointing European Championships could not erase Matthias Kaas’ previous best performances this year: gold at the Grand Slam of Judo in Antalya, gold at the Masters in Budapest, and silver at the World Championships. Great performances raise hopes for the best at the Paris Games. - Belgian cats
Screams of joy in Ljubljana. The European Basketball Championship was a long winning streak for Belgian women’s basketball. In their irresistible quest for European gold, the Belgian Cats defeated defending champions Serbia, France and, in an enthralling final, Spain. - Lotte Kopecky
Tour of Flanders, world champion, most successful women’s Tour de France and numerous medal honors at the World Track Cycling Championships in Glasgow. In 2023, Lotte Kubicki was crowned the best female cyclist in the world. It seems impossible to achieve better results in 2024, but the Olympic flame is already burning.
Best sports coach: Meziane, Brindis or Hendrix
Who pushed his athletes to great accomplishments in 2023 and will be named Athletic Trainer of the Year? Meet these three exceptional coaches:
- Rachid Meziane
The former French basketball player was appointed as assistant coach to Valerie Demaury, head coach of the Belgian women’s national team, in January 2022. Meziane has been leading the Belgian Cats since the end of 2022, and successfully: during his reign, the Cats were crowned European champions. - Carlos Brindis
In a warm and enjoyable sporting climate, Carlos Brindis strives to achieve the best. Since joining in 2005, Peddelsport Vlaanderen has been allowed to send kayaks to the Olympic Games. Thanks to the Spaniard’s passion and experience, the Red Torpedoes team of Hermien Peters, Lize Broekx and Arthur Peters was able to qualify for Paris this year.
- Yorick Hendricks
As a former Olympian and ‘brother’, Juric Hendricks was destined to take his sister Lowena to the pinnacle of international figure skating. Since 2022, the Hendricks tandem has been collecting podium positions in Grand Prix races, European Championships and World Championships. Interim Highlights: Winning at Skate America in October of this year.
Best Sports Enhancer: Van Meensel, Snauwaert, or DoCoLab
Outstanding performance is the result not only of the hard work of athletes and their coaches, but also of those who – often behind the scenes – help create an ideal sporting climate. Like these three candidates:
- Inge van Minsel
Sporza teammate Inge Van Meensel has always sought to put less popular sporting disciplines in the spotlight. This way, athletes who normally have to settle for less media attention still get the recognition they deserve. Additionally, I have always taken the role of women in sports seriously. - Else Snawart
Sports psychologist Els Snauwaert provides mental support to 75% of the athletes in G-sport Flanders. Through its cooperation with many other federations, it contributes to inclusion. Snauwaert is also one of the psychologists within the Belgian team’s sports psychology network.
- Docolab
The WADA-accredited doping control laboratory has been operating at Ghent University for 50 years. DoCoLab has made breakthroughs in the detection of amphetamines, corticoids, and various stimulants. In this way, DoCoLab contributes to doping-free sport and the protection of clean athletes.
Warmer Sport Initiative: KAA Gent Foundation, KV Zuun Academy or FriS
Since 2022, the sports awards are also looking beyond major sports. The Flemish Sports Jewel of the Warmer Sports Initiative wants to celebrate non-profit organizations that use their sports offerings to make a social difference too.
- KAA Gent Foundation
“Football has more than two goals.” the KAA Gent Foundation It is the largest operation, more than just football, in our country. It is a unique collaboration between KAA Gent, Buffaloes fans and the city of Ghent.The organization coordinates several social sports projects for Ghent residents from disadvantaged groups: inclusive sports, dancing, football (G), neighborhood activities… Together these projects represent more than 1,000 activities and 28,000 participants annually.
The KAA Gent Foundation serves the entire city and contributes to physical and mental health, talent development, inclusion, social cohesion and diversity.
- KV Zone Academy
In the setting of Brussels, where multilingualism and diversity pose many challenges, KV Zuun has developed a broad socio-educational component with VZW De Rand.By nickname KV Zone Academy They organize language and football camps during school holidays, where training alternates with Dutch language lessons by local teachers and games cubes by the local Chiru administration. The academy sets up conversation tables for parents on current topics. Foreign-speaking coaches take courses in “Dutch Football” in cooperation with a local CVO.
In this way, KV Zuun Academy has achieved a triple in the field of language and integration, but also in the field of club bonding and community building.
- Fresh
Fresh It started in September 2003 for three footballers who did not get a place in regular clubs. Meanwhile, the Sports and Activities family (which targets all target groups and therefore does not exclude anyone) has grown to more than 200 members and about 50 volunteers.The weekly sports offer consists of swimming, basketball, football, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, dance, boccia and badminton. FriS organizes this in different locations in Flemish Brabant and Brussels to keep the offer accessible to everyone.
For 30 euros you can participate in everything, including the summer camp. Anyone experiencing financial difficulties can participate at a discounted price or even for free.
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