Following the great success of SPORTEL Monaco that proved, once again, to be one of the largest international hubs and reference point of the global sport business industry with 1,900 participants and 800 major companies from 71 different countries, SPORTEL Awards gave the right space to the best sports and marketing video productions of the season. A parade of sport champions from different disciplines and of various generations gathered at the Grimaldi Forum to animate the ‘green carpet’. MONACŒCOART® had the pleasure to meet some relevant figures telling their sporting emotions and engagement in the environmental cause. Enjoy their stories.
Kevin Rolland, French freestyle skier and acrobat with halfpipe, graduated from the La Plagne club. Bronze medallist at the first Olympic half-pipe ski competition in Sochi in 2014, He was also awarded as the 2009 World Champion in the same discipline, three-time X Games Superpipe winner in Aspen (2010, 2011 and 2016) and two-time X Games Europe winner in Tignes (2010, 2011). He was selected to play as one of the two flag-bearers of the French Olympic Team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, together with the double-world champion Tessa Worley, Alpine ski racer.
🗣️ « K.R.: I have definitely a visual sensitivity. Most people talk about ecology, climate change through a written text and that can be sometimes hardly testable. I made my first training on the glaciers of the Alps at an altitude of 3000 metres when I was 5/6 years old. Now I am 33 years old and I could clearly see the constant melting of the ice which has regressed for several hundred meters. This process is unfortunately irreversible. So, surely the environmental issue touches me ».
READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL >> Kevin Rolland
Gabriella Papadakis (G.P.) is a French ice dancer with her sport partner, Guillaume Cizeron (G.C.). The talented performers have been ranked first five-time at World Champions (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2022), five-time at European champions (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) as well as been classified as Olympic vice-champions in 2018 and as Olympic champions in 2022 Tokyo Olympics. Their extraordinary Olympic experience has been recently told in their own words within a book titled “En Or”, edited by Maraboutpublishing.
🗣️ « G.P.: We were really pleased to write this book together with Clémentine Blondet to talk about our feelings, training path, and much more.
The Enrivonmental cause is really a very broad topic to deal with in a few words. Of course, I am not specialized in sustainability, but I think it is essential to convey messages to raise awareness. I would like to learn more about these issues ».
🗣️ « G.C.: We had the chance to achieve maximum results at a very young age, what has allowed to have a certain longevity in the practice of our sport. We are very proud of this. (...)
I think many are sensitive to the environmental topic and I am among them. Luckily, there are specialists who are working on possible solutions to make all kinds of sport more sustainable, first in terms of energy efficiency. Everyone must feel responsible including the governmental authorities and states ».
READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL >> Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron
Florence Masnada (F.M.), French alpine skier, a two-time Olympic medallist, who notably became a commentator on the World Cup and the World Alpine Ski Championships on Eurosport.
🗣️ « F.M.: It certainly comes from the family environment where I grew up. My father had been constantly immersed in Nature. He loved doing trekking and camping. We were from a small village in the region of Provence. Since I was a child, then, I have been fond of natural environment and the sea as well as the mountains. (...) For those who live in the mountains is a real shock since most thought that ice was almost eternal. The mountain ecosystem has therefore changed accordingly with serious consequences. Local communities witness climate-change effects live. (...) The passion of practicing sport, the passion of sharing experiences with others and exchange knowledge. Through this value you can pass important messages and achieve a positive change ».
READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL >> Florence Masnada
Sarah Ourahmoune (S.O.), Boxing Vice Olympic Champion – Member of the technical Jury at SPORTEL Awards 2022. Olympic vice-champion at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, world champion in 2008, three-time EU champion and ten-time French champion. She performed in 265 battles, a record in France for both women and men. In 2017, she served as Vice President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee for Gender Diversity. Since 2021, she has been Vice-President of the French Box2 Federation. In 2011, she opened her own club, Boxer Inside where she often organises training courses.
🗣️ « S.O.: My mission is also to build new skills addressed to a wide audience who approach boxing. Despite appearances this discipline can be very useful to overcome social frictions in problematic urban neighbourhoods. This sport allows you to gain confidence and sense of human collaboration at all ages and conditions. (...) I do believe that Sport is a crucial tool to foster social inclusion and I am proud of acting to improve society ».
READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL >> Sarah Ourahmoune
Julien Pierre (J.P.), Former Professional XV Rugby player. Among his twenty-seven international appearances with the French National Team, he attended the 2011 Rugby World Cup. More recently, he founded Fair Play for Planet who directs ad Chief Executive Officer. This innovative organization issues green labels to clubs that want to limit their impact on the environment.
🗣️ « J.O.: My sensitivity towards the environment was born during my sporting career when I started a foundation focused on biodiversity. All that is rooted in my parents who managed a family-owned zoo park for many years. I had been spending a long time in direct contact with animals and my parents often told me about endangered species encouraging me to build a close link between my sport, the Rugby, and Environmental Protection and Sustainability. I do believe that professional sport needs to lead by example having more responsibility than other fields / sectors due to their multiplier impacts on the environment and social aspects ».
READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL >> Julien Pierre
SPORTEL AWARDS 2022: LIST OF PRIZES >> PALMARÈS
________
To more about SPORTEL Awards please visit: https://www.sportelawards.com/en
______________________________________
Discover MONACŒCOART® for Business:
By Maurice Abbati