The World Trophy, originally known as the Helms Award, was an annual sporting award established by the
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
in 1939 to honour the foremost amateur athlete of each continent of the world, including Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America, and South America.
Even though the Foundation was established in 1936, the awards date back to the 1896, the year of the first
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
. Australasian awards for 1896 to 1949 were decided by a Committee in
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
established by the Foundation. Members of the Committee were
Sir Frank Beaurepaire (Chairman), and Messrs.
Harold G. Alderson,
Hugh R. Weir,
Jack Metcalfe
John Patrick Metcalfe (3 February 1912 – 16 January 1994) was an Australian athlete who competed in high jump, long jump and javelin events, though he is best remembered as a triple jumper.[Hector de Lacy
Hector Alexander de Lacy (6 May 1900 – 1 November 1956) was a leading Melbourne-based Australian rules football writer, covering the Victorian Football League for over 20 years from the 1920s.
Family
The son of Alexander George de Lacy (18 ...]
,
Ern Cowley
Ernest Clyde Cowley (17 August 1892 – 20 October 1975) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Background
Cowley came to Carlton from Brunswick and had a strong debut season, kickin ...
and R.J. McPherson (Secretary).
After the initial Committee selection, amateur athletes were nominated by their own countries for consideration by the Foundation. Winners were presented with a silver plaque and had their names added to the World Trophy that was located at the Helms Foundation and subsequently the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (now known as the
LA84 Foundation
The LA84 Foundation (known until June 2007 as the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles) is a private, nonprofit institution created by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee to manage Southern California's endowment from the 1984 Olym ...
).
[ Winners can only win the award once.][
]
Winners
See also
*Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
* Sport in Australia
Sport is an important part of Australia that dates back to the early colonial period. Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football, Rugby league in Australia, rugby league, Rugby union in Australia, rugby union, Soccer in Au ...
* Australian Sport Awards
The Australian Sport Awards, originally called the Sport Australia Awards, were established by the Confederation of Australian Sport in 1980. From 1980 to 1996, the awards were limited to seven categories.
In 1993, there was a merger of the Sport ...
* Australian Institute of Sport Awards
Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was opened in 1981. AIS Sports Star of the Year (later named AIS Athlete of the Year) was first established in 1983/84 with the first winner being swimmer Karen Phillips. In 1995, AIS Junior Athlete of the Year ...
* ABC Sports Award of the Year
References
{{Reflist
Sport in Australia
Sport in New Zealand
Australian sports trophies and awards
New Zealand sports trophies and awards