The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and Kate Hoey MP, Commissioner for Sport attended an awards ceremony on Wednesday 3 April, in recognition of outstanding individual achievement in the Panathlon Challenge.
The awards are given in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation. Jack, an East Londoner, now 85, has given away in the last 10 years over £65million of his own fortune to schools, clubs and projects which benefit young people in London and Essex. He was guest of honour at the Panathlon Conference at City Hall, home of the Mayor of London’s office. The awards went to three individuals for outstanding achievement in the Panathlon event.
He took great delight in awarding the Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievement Award to Daniel Mynott, Adil Ghani and Divya Hirani.
The overall winner of the Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievement Award was Divya Hirani from Whitmore High School in Harrow with Adil Ghani as runner up and Daniel Mynott as 2nd runner up. (Both from Bromley)
The Panathlon Challenge is a multi sports event for schools which encourages and celebrates teamwork and has introduced this year an individual achievement award sponsored by The Jack Petchey Foundation. The Foundation has supported Panathlon with over £125,000 funding in the last 6 years.
The winner received a cheque for £500 to provide coaching funds for her school and a large trophy to keep for a year plus an individual framed certificate and a Jack Petchey Achievement Award medal
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: ‘The Panathlon Challenge is a fantastic competition. It is about taking part, aspiration and achievement, three of the best motivators for young people. As 2012 approaches, I hope tournaments like this will inspire more Londoners, young and old alike, to take up sport and physical activity.’
The Mayor’s investment is through the Sports Legacy Plan for London, which includes a £30 million commitment to support a range of activities and initiatives aimed at getting Londoners fitter and more active, as well as increasing access and improving facilities in the run up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Jack Petchey Foundation has donated £35,000 towards the Panathlon Challenge in London in 2010. Jack Petchey said, “It was an absolute pleasure to be able to be able to award these three young people Achievement Awards. Their positivity was inspiring and makes myself and everyone at The Jack Petchey Foundation incredibly proud of our partnership with Panathlon. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to these three young people who have not let anything get in the way of achieving their potential. “
Further Information on the winners –
1st Place Divya Hirani
“Panathlon has given Divya the confidence to set herself new goals and challenges. So much so that she has even attempted walking, with the goal of aided walking to receive her medal at the Panathlon finals. Prior to this she has not walked for 4 years. Divya is a wheelchair user but this does not impede her newly found hunger to succeed, her ability to play individually as well as part of a team and for that she is my greatest inspiration !”
Janine Edwards, Enhanced Teaching Assistant, Whitmore High School, Harrow
2nd Place Adil Ghani
“Adil has been a member of the Bromley Panathlon Team for the last four years and performance-wise he has always been placed 1st or 2nd in the Powerchair slalom and has been the tactical genius behind our Table Cricket and Boccia teams. This year he stepped up to the role of team Captain and really inspired the rest of our team.” Guy Wilkins, PE Teacher, Marjorie McClure School
3rd place Daniel Mynott
“Daniel has taken part in Panathlon for 3 years and has shown excellent teamwork and Fair Play. He has developed excellent Leadership qualities and qualified for his Junior and Community Sports Leaders Awards. He took over the organising of the Riverside School team from the teacher who was off on sick leave and excelled with this responsibility/ Daniel encourages his teammates to perform to their best ability. He is a great Ambassador for his school and his hoping to be a full time sports coach when he leaves school.
Marianne Clark, Riverside School PE teacher
Kate Hoey said: ‘With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games fast approaching, Panathlon is exactly the kind of initiative that we should all be getting behind. It brings real, competitive sport to those who might otherwise have missed out on involvement. The Mayor and I are both committed to getting as many young people as possible involved in sport. Events like this show that disability need not be any obstacle to participation. Panathlon deserve huge praise for what it is doing.’
