President Wirz lauds spirit of volunteering at Finnish Sports Gala

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz was invited as a guest of honour to the annual Finnish Sports Gala organised at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki last week.

President Wirz presented a special 'Never Say Die' award to Toni Piispanen who won the 100m gold medal in T51 category at the London 2012 Paralympics Games. In total, 18 awards were presented during the glittering ceremony.

He addressed a gathering of 1,370 invited guests and more than 2,000 sports enthusiasts in the stands, and lauded the spirit of volunteering in sports. President Wirz explained how the symbiotic relation between sports events oragnisers and volunteers is vital for growth of the sports movement at large.

Recollecting the invaluable contribution of 1300 plus volunteers at the 2012 European Athletics Championships held at the iconic Olympic Stadium in Helsinki in June, he appealed to the volunteers to 'Never Give Up' in their quest to contribute to sports and society.

Over a million TV viewers witnessed the Sports Gala organised jointly by Infront Finland, Finnish Sports Federation, Veikkaus and Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE.