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The IWWF Africa President , Martin Schmidt presented:
Before we get to the official part of the evening I have a small task to take care of that has taken more than 4 decades to culminate in this moment, and im not talking about waterskiing itself but about our honored and esteemed Louis George Bernard Thierry Polome
Louis Polome known to many of us but not to all in waterskiing, is also actually a scientist in the Geophysics corporate sector
But more importantly Louis has given up and shared more than 40 Years of his life with our beautiful sport of Wake boarding and water skiing and has made a significant impact and difference on the sport
Louis Pasion and commitment to excellence for the sport has taken him along many a path from practicing the sport, becoming an official, judge, homologator and administrator, and a man of many more hats in the sport buy knowing the sport and its rules intrinsically though competitions, clubs, associations and rules of the sport,
Louis has also has developed programs, promoted and fostered the sport though unwavering commitment starting buy involving his own family, friends and many other people taking part in the sport, Nurturing and inspiring people to practice, promote the sport being it athletes, officials , bodies and organization’s
Louis has played a major positive role in many committees , organizations and sporting bodies since the 80s and to put that in perspective long before quite a few of you were born
Louis has organized, officiated at many events worldwide and is proudly still the only African to have been a chief Judge at a world Championship
Louis was one of 3 people nominated for the SA sports Administrator of the year 2024 and came second only to Mark Abrahams of Rugby
Louis has not only set high standards in his profession but has shared and applied his business acumen by being an Ambassador, custodian, mentor and an inspiration to many in the sport and has made remarkable lasting contributions, from being the South African Federation president, being the secretary general for IWWF Africa and now culminating in being the secretary general in the World governing body of wakeboard and waterski federation
This all sounds like a nice easy cushy job but I can testify that it is extremely time and energy consuming
Louis makes it look easy: like skiing on a wakeboard on the grass but this easy job consists of going to work at 5am to miss the traffic just to spend some hours daily on a sport and sports he doesn’t even take part in. Zoom meetings, traveling, organizing events meetings in foreign countries just to mention a few
What people don’t relies that his portfolio encompasses more than 9 different water born sport disciplines all with their, athletes, rules, regulations and bylaws spanned over the world and 5 continents
Just to mention a few of these regulations : Safe Sport, Guidelines for each sport , Anti-Doping
Clean sport, whistle blowing , technical teams for each sport , Corporate finances, Environmental issues , marketing, Competitions and event management, Athletes and Hall of Fame
Water ski in Africa and the world would not be the same without Louis scientific and meticulous safeguarding and dedication to the sport which he unselfishly manages and offers with wisdom, humility and great sportsmanship
As a scientist Louis has developed a very scientific way of measuring the success of tournament which is a formula that has taken him more than 40 years to design, build and apply it goes like this quote
“The measure of a successful tournament is the depth of our sunglass tan”
It is my distinct honor as the President Of IWWF Africa to present Louis George Bernard Thierry Polome The lifetime Ambassador Award for going above and beyond and decades of dedication, passion, and excellence in waterskiing
Now before we go one more thing
It would not be possible to give this award without recognizing and acknowledging the vital, passionate and committed role Cathy Polome has played in our beautiful sport of waterskiing
Cathy has been one of the streadfastest pioneering woman in our sport for more than 40 years and has played many roles in our sport by, not only being by Louis side and promoting the sport in the family but Cathy has blazed her own path to become a first-class judge for many years
Cathy has certainly been unconditionally dedicated and had a keen eye in promoting and developing the many women in the sport which certainly shows in all our judges’ panels and in the sport as a whole
Cathy has helped pioneer, steer and foster waterski for many years showing that all are inclusive and capable of participating at the highest level,
Evidence of this type of dedication has also emerged this week in the IOC with the election of the first lady to run the IOC and may I tell you she comes from Africa as well
I am Honored and extremely proud to Recognize, acknowledge and appreciate Cathy with a lifetime award to waterski commitment
Please join me in congratulating Cathy Polome for their exceptional contributions and well-deserved recognition.”
