Originally published by Af Jannik Lund Andersen for IWRF.com
For the first time in the history of the IWRF World Championship, the organizers will award the best player of the tournament from the spectator’s point of view. Fans can nominate and vote for players online, and a special trophy will be presented to the winner at the closing banquet on Sunday.
Through live and on-demand streaming, everyone with an internet connection has been able to follow the 2014 IWRF World Championship. Now, the Danish organizing committee (LOC) has launched the ‘Fans’ Best Player Award’, and the winner will be determined entirely by the fan’s online voting.
– We want to take spectator involvement to the next level, which is why we have launched this award. The opinion of the passionate viewer at home is just as important as that of any expert, so we felt like there had to be an award for the fans to hand out, says Event Chairperson Mette Holstein Arnesen.
USA players Chuck Aoki and Joe Delagrave are excited about the new award.
– It’s a great idea, and it would obviously mean a lot to win it. I think it’s the first time it’s been done in wheelchair rugby, so it’ll be really interesting to see how the fans vote, says Aoki.
Delagrave echoes that view.
– I’m very excited about the fan award. Vote Joe!, he adds.
You can nominate a player for the award using the hashtag #odense2014mvp and the name of the nominee on Facebook and Twitter for the duration of the tournament. Voting will begin on Saturday morning and lasts until the gold medal match is over. The LOC will manage the vote and will add new players to the vote throughout the weekend based solely on the nominations.
Visit the Twitter and Facebook page to nominate your player of the tournaments right away.