RESTON, VA, March 24, 2011 – Annika Sorenstam, the most dominant female golfer of all time, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) for her work as an athlete and a passionate advocate for children living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. This honor will be recognized at the NASPE Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, April 1, at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, California. ANNIKA Foundation President Don Ochsenreiter will accept the award on Annika’s behalf due to the birth of her son, Will, who was born 13 weeks early on Monday, March 21. Other honorees that evening include the National Physical Education Teachers of the Year for Elementary, Middle and High School, the National Physical Education Administrator of the Year as well as the Athletic Director of the Year. The banquet is sponsored by Playworld Systems®, a leading manufacturer of imaginative playground equipment and the creator of ENERGI™ Total Body Fitness System.
Past NASPE Hall of Fame inductees include University of Tennessee Women’s Basketball Coach Pat Summitt, tennis greats Billie Jean King and the late Arthur Ashe, NFL Hall of Famers Nick Buoniconti and Anthony Munoz, Olympians such as the late Wilma Rudolph, Rulon Gardner, Dan Jansen, Rafer Johnson, Nancy Hogshead, Carl Lewis, Shannon Miller, Dot Richardson, Peter Vidmar, and Tony DiCicco, head coach of the 1999 Women’s World Cup Champion Soccer Team, among others. Joining Sorenstam will be other 2011 Hall of Fame inductees: Angela Lumpkin, Ph.D., professor, University of Kansas, and Mary Ann Roberton, Ph.D., professor emeriti, Bowling Green University, OH.
According to NASPE President Lynn Couturier of State University of New York at Cortland, “The NASPE Hall of Fame honors outstanding individuals who have achieved new levels of excellence in sport, physical education and physical activity and inspired others by their example of what these quality programs can do to make a better world. Annika’s career has changed how women’s golf is played, watched and covered, and she continues to have a positive impact on all of women’s sports.”
The awards are given to honor outstanding individuals who 1) make significant contributions to maintaining sport, physical education and physical activity as an integral part of the total education program; 2) further the image of sport and healthy physical activity for all; 3) accentuate the integral relationships of sport, motor development and physical activity to the total educational process; 4) encourage involvement in meaningful competitive sport or physical activity programs by influential educators and citizens in all walks of life; and 5) symbolize the educational and developmental potentials of physical education and sport.
Annika, the first player in LPGA history to cross the $20 million mark in career earnings, stepped-away from competitive professional golf in 2008 after a storied 15-year career as the most dominant women’s golfer, which included 89 worldwide victories,72 LPGA wins and 10 major championships.
A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Annika began playing golf at the age of 12, but also occupied her childhood by skiing competitively and playing badminton, soccer and tennis. While attending the University of Arizona for two years, she won seven collegiate titles, including becoming the first foreign player and first freshman to win the individual NCAA Championship.
Annika now devotes her energy to the ANNIKA Foundation whose mission is teaching children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition, and offering aspiring junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams. A primary focus for the ANNIKA Foundation is to identify the greatest needs and opportunities to make a positive impact by developing sports and physical fitness programs for kids. On the children’s wellness side of her mission, the Foundation has partnered with SPARK, a leading research-based P.E. program for schools, to implement SPARK in as many elementary and middle schools throughout Florida and the country. Her Foundation has also partnered with Florida Hospital for Children and The First Tee to create Nine Healthy Habits, a new health and wellness program to augment The First Tee’s Life Skills program, which will be rolled-out to 4,000 schools this year.
Annika and her husband, Mike McGee, have an 18-month daughter named Ava and a newborn son named Will.
NASPE
The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and physical activity, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is a non-profit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE’s 15,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, sport management professionals, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare physical activity professionals. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high-quality physical education, sport and physical activity programs. It is the largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD). For more information, visit www.naspeinfo.org.
Annika Foundation
The ANNIKA Foundation teaches children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition, and offers aspiring junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams. The Foundation annually conducts three major golf events for aspiring junior girls, including the ANNIKA Invitational at Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla., the award-winning American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event; the ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China for top Asian juniors; and the ANNIKA Cup, a team event for the top juniors in Sweden. The Foundation awards SPARK grants to schools, is a financial supporter of Healthy 100 Kids, and has endowed an ACE scholarship with the AJGA. Other key Foundation initiatives include ANNIKA Junior Day, the ANNIKA Inspiration Award and scholarships for aspiring Swedish juniors. More information about the ANNIKA Foundation can be found at www.annikafoundation.org.
Contact:
Paula Keyes Kun
(703) 476-3461
pkun@aahperd.org
