BIG EAST Celebrates National Sportsmanship Day
3/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The BIG EAST Conference and its member institutions are participating in the National Sportsmanship Day (NSD) 20th anniversary celebration today. The Institute for International Sport founded NSD in 1991 with the objective of engaging athletes and other community members in thoughtful discussions and well planned activities about the concepts of sportsmanship and fair play. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of NSD, the Institute will host a major reception on March 1, 2011 to honor the late Senators Claiborne Pell and John Chaffee, both of whom played major roles in helping launch National Sportsmanship day in 1991. Since its first celebration in 1991, National Sportsmanship Day has been celebrated in tens of thousands of schools, not only in the United States but throughout the world, and by millions of students, teachers, coaches and parents.
One of the first and most important NSD collaborations was a partnership that the Institute forged with USA Today. For the last 19 years, USA Today has greatly enhanced the growth of National Sportsmanship Day through a national essay contest. Nearly 10,000 young people have entered the essay contest, which USA Today considers as one of its most valuable youth-related initiatives. Although Webster's Dictionary defines sportsmanship as, "The qualities and conduct befitting a sportsman or sportswoman" every person probably has a little different view on its meaning. The BIG EAST Conference, under the direction of its Senior Woman Administrators, has put together its own collection of thoughts and ideas about sportsmanship.
"It is more than just shaking hands at the beginning or and end of games. It is more than treating the other team and its staff with respect despite the competitive nature of our sport basketball. Some might argue that it even includes patting an opponent on the back when they have made a great move or blocked an awesome shot. But sportsmanship in my eyes takes the shape of holding friendly conversations with the guy in the striped shirt who works the table during the games. It is holding friendly conversations with the refs in between plays and showing an appreciation for these people as more than just workers, but people who love the game and sport of basketball just as much as we do!"
-Alex Maseko, Seton Hall basketball student-athlete.
