FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2002


FHSAA honors 14 schools that have displayed exemplary sportsmanship

GAINESVILLE – The Florida High School Activities Association will recognize 14 member schools that have displayed exemplary sportsmanship during the 2001-02 school year, the Association office announced today.

Named as winners of the FHSAA Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Awards in their respective sections are: Class 6A Section 1, University High School (Orlando); Class 6A Section 2, Palm Beach Gardens High School; Class 5A Section 1, Mosley High School (Lynn Haven); Class 5A Section 3, South Fork High School (Stuart); Class 4A Section 2, North Marion High School (Citra); Class 3A Section 2, South Sumter High School (Bushnell); Class 2A Section 1, Freeport High School; Class 2A Section 3, Melbourne Central Catholic High School; Class 2A Section 4, Gold Coast High School (West Palm Beach); Class A Section 2, Bronson High School; Class A Section 3, Morningside Academy (Port St. Lucie); Class A Section 4, Westwood Christian School (Miami); Middle School Section 1, Callahan Middle School; and Middle School Section 2, Bayonet Point Middle School (New Port Richey).

Each of the 14 recipients will be honored at the 12th Annual FHSAA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Awards Banquet on June 13 at the Wyndham Westshore Hotel in Tampa. Each school will receive a commemorative plaque and a $500 cash award from the FHSAA. By virtue of their sectional awards, these schools also become eligible for the overall state award in their respective classifications. The state honor carries with it an additional $2,000 cash award.

“This is the most distinguished honor that the FHSAA can bestow on a member school,” Commissioner Robert W. Hughes said. “It probably is the most difficult honor to earn. It requires a collective effort on the part of a school’s administration, coaching staff, student-athletes, student body, parents, boosters and supporters, because it requires that exemplary sportsmanship be displayed by all of them throughout the entire school year.

Hughes continued, “It is extremely difficult to get nominated for the Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award. Once nominated, is not easy to win it. It is not won by default. A school has to demonstrate that it has earned this recognition. We had several sections this year in which we had no nominees. Others still, in which we had nominees but the Sportsmanship Selection Committee did not believe that they were worthy of the award.”

The FHSAA Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Awards Program is named for Commissioner-Emeritus Fred E. Rozelle, who served as Commissioner of the Association from 1980 through 1991. The program was begun during the 1990-91 school year to recognize those schools that have exhibited exemplary sportsmanship in all athletic activities throughout the school year.

The Florida High School Activities Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of 667 middle and senior high schools.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org