The Shibutanis are semi-finalists (Now finalists) for the Sullivan Award

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You can vote once a day here.

Here's the link for the tweet about it. It includes the appropriate tweet on the subject (and retweeting counts).

For those unfamiliar with the Sullivan Award, here's a quick Wikipedia summary:

The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union, is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States."

Presented by: Amateur Athletic Union

First awarded: 1930

Awarded for: The most outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S. who demonstrates qualities of leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the field
 
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"Vote NOW to help us choose the 88th AAU James E. Sullivan Award presented by Eastbay finalists. Vote once per day for your favorite athlete. Voting closes March 20 at 11:59 PM."

ETA link to AAU's press release: ELITE GROUP OF SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE AAU JAMES E. SULLIVAN AWARD TO RECOGNIZE NATION’S TOP AMATEUR ATHLETE
The semifinalist round opened at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14 and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20. Finalists will be named on Wednesday, March 21 and the AAU James E. Sullivan Award presentation will be held at the prestigious New York Athletic Club on Tuesday, April 17.
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missing said:
Awarded for: The most outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S. who demonstrates qualities of leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the field
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That's nice and all, but since it's a public vote the award is for winning a popularity contest.

I mean, did anyone read through the bios (the full ones not the blurbs) of the other athletes and consider them before voting for the Shibs?
 
casken said:
That's nice and all, but since it's a public vote the award is for winning a popularity contest.

I mean, did anyone read through the bios (the full ones not the blurbs) of the other athletes and consider them before voting for the Shibs?
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I take it you won't vote for them then? ;)

I do think this award giving to figure skaters is sort of weird because I'm not sure if they're really amateurs in the classic sense of the word. I do wonder how they choose which athletes are amateur and which ones are not. That said, since the Shibs qualify, I will vote for them as it's a great honor.
 
From the bio on their voting page:
Following their 2018 Figure Skating Championships gold medal, the Shibutanis earned two bronze medals at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.
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I bet that's news to Hubbell/Donohue. ;)

The award is based on 2017 accomplishments, though, right? I can understand why they'd mention the Shibs' most recent accomplishments, but I don't think that's what the award is for. The other bios I skimmed seem to only mention 2017 stuff.
 
I read through some of the other nominations before submitting my vote. Certainly all of the young athletes are worthy or they wouldn't be on the list. I'm impressed by the para-equestrian athlete's accomplishments. But everyone who is a figure skating fan who's followed the Shibutanis throughout their career know they are beyond worthy of receiving this award. They fulfill all of the required attributes that the award is supposed to honor. Even if fans vote for the Shibutanis without reading through the list of other nominees, I see nothing wrong with that. It's quite wonderful to see figure skaters being recognized and rewarded in a country that pays a huge amount of attention to sports like baseball, football, and basketball.

To each their own. I hope the Shibutanis make the final round and win. Although it would be nice to see a young equestrian win for the first time (and a para-equestrian at that).

The award went to two different finalists in 2015 (from football and basketball respectively). It was only the second time multiple nominees won the award -- in 1999 identical twin sisters Coco Miller and Kelly Miller won for basketball. They were individual nominees however. The Shibs are up for the award together since they compete in a partnership discipline. It would actually be quite nice for the Shibs to become the first and only male/female siblings to win as a duo for figure skating in the ice dance discipline. All other figure skating recipients won as singles competitors in figure skating. Three speed skaters have been honored (Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blair, and Dan Jansen). I wonder if Maribel Vinson Owen was ever nominated in the early years. The inaugural award went to Bobby Jones for golf, in 1930.

The majority of winners hail from track and field including runners, sprinters, decathletes, pole vauters, shot-putters; also golfers, rowers, swimmers, and three divers have won over the years, including Greg Louganis. It looks like only one tennis player (Don Budge). And there are a number of football players and a handful of basketball players who have won; also several wrestlers and several baseball players (one of whom won for both baseball and football). Only three gymnasts have won.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Sullivan_Award

The suggestion that figure skating is no longer amateur I don't think is quite accurate. The athletes have to follow certain guidelines to remain eligible and clearly the bulk of their prize money for competitive events goes toward their hefty training and equipment expenses. Figure skating, as we know, is the most expensive and unique sport in the world. If the Shibutanis happen to win, it will be a wonderful thing for figure skating and for ice dance, as well as a deserved honor for all of their achievements, dedication, character, and championship-caliber never-say-die attitude!
 
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Debbie S said:
From the bio on their voting page:
I bet that's news to Hubbell/Donohue. ;)

The award is based on 2017 accomplishments, though, right? I can understand why they'd mention the Shibs' most recent accomplishments, but I don't think that's what the award is for. The other bios I skimmed seem to only mention 2017 stuff.
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It's just a clear mistake (par for the course in reports we read about figure skating). The bio should be corrected to read: '2018 National championship silver medal.' And it could also simply be mentioned that the Shibs won championship gold at U.S. Nationals in back-to-back years (2016-2017) along with silver and bronze World medals, before mentioning their accomplishments at the recent Pyeongchang Olympics.
 
aftershocks said:
I read through some of the other nominations before submitting my vote. Certainly all of the young athletes are worthy or they wouldn't be on the list. I'm impressed by the paraequestrian athlete's accomplishments.
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I am glad you pointed this out. For a minute i had to think, why a para-athlete would be on the same list. Being a para-athlete is an accomplishment in itself, and i am not sure if regular athletes deal with the same level of struggle, not only to excel athletically, but to overcome a handicap. (not that it is important to the world events..... but).. I did not vote yet.... confused: figure skating is my priority sport, but para-athlete has more "merit"....
 
I cast a vote for the Shibs, but you can also vote for others, just after a 24 hour period. One vote a day is allowed until March 20. Vote for more than one athlete, or for the Shibs every day.
 
casken said:
That's nice and all, but since it's a public vote the award is for winning a popularity contest.

I mean, did anyone read through the bios (the full ones not the blurbs) of the other athletes and consider them before voting for the Shibs?
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Well, the pool of athletes available for public voting is chosen by the AAU without any public input. And the public voting is to narrow that pool down to the semi-finalists. Then I assume that the finalist who wins the award will be chosen privately by AAU. So it seems selection for the winner has 3 phases, with only the second phase being dependent on public voting, or the “popularity contest.”

I don’t think it’s necessarily unfair for an award trying to reward qualities of leadership, character, and sportsmanship to have some component of public voting, since those are qualities that tend to go a long way in increasing popularity of athletes.
 
MRani said:
Well, the pool of athletes available for public voting is chosen by the AAU without any public input. And the public voting is to narrow that pool down to the semi-finalists. Then I assume that the finalist who wins the award will be chosen privately by AAU. So it seems selection for the winner has 3 phases, with only the second phase being dependent on public voting, or the “popularity contest.”

I don’t think it’s necessarily unfair for an award trying to reward qualities of leadership, character, and sportsmanship to have some component of public voting, since those are qualities that tend to go a long way in increasing popularity of athletes.
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I think you can vote for the finalists as well, but I’m not sure how much the popular vote weighs in the decision making as in if there’s a panel that also votes and those votes are weighed against the popular vote as well.
 
I'm also going to repost their "Service to the Community" section because I think it's as impressive as their athletic achievements that most of us already know about:

"SERVICE TO COMMUNITY:
For nearly a decade, the siblings have equally dedicated themselves to charitable causes off the ice, continuing their involvement and contributions to several organizations throughout each competitive season.

--Since 2012, Maia and Alex have served as Athlete Ambassadors for Figure Skating in Harlem, the only organization for girls of color that combines the power of education with access to the artistic discipline of figure skating.

--Since 2013, they’ve served as Athlete Ambassadors for Right to Play, an organization dedicated to using sport and play to educate and empower children and youth to overcome poverty, conflict and disease.

--Maia and Alex have shared their talents and resources to Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation for childhood literacy.

--They participate in The Jimmy Fund, which supports the fight against cancer at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, continuing to contribute to the fund even on occasions when they can’t attend as performers in An Evening with Champions – The Jimmy Fund’s annual fundraiser.

--They are members of the Athletes’ Advisory Commission for the LA2028 Summer Olympics bid organization.

--They serve in the United States Olympic Committee’s Sports Envoy Program, and have twice been guests of the Secretary State and the Vice President at US State Department functions honoring the Prime Minister of Japan. As Sports Envoys, the siblings conducted skating clinics for young Korean skaters during the lead up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and took part in a U.S. Embassy discussion with 60 Korean youth on topics such as sportsmanship and youth empowerment.

--Their commitment to goodwill doesn’t stop with athletic roles. After the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, Maia and Alex contributed to The ONE Fund, and raised $10,000 for Charity Water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries, in 2017.

--They appeared as Familiar Faces in the NOH8 campaign to promote marriage, gender and human equality, and, throughout their busy training and appearance schedule, regularly pay visits to Boston Children's Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Center, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

--In the lead-up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Maia and Alex served as mentors in in the United States Olympic Committee’s “Thank you, PyeongChang” initiative – a goodwill campaign aimed to contribute to the positive legacy of the PyeongChang Games, regularly speaking to children at Jinbu Middle School in PyeongChang to provide students virtual lessons about Olympic values, health and nutrition, and what it takes to become Olympians."
 
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VIETgrlTerifa said:
I'm also going to repost their "Service to the Community" section because I think it's as impressive as their athletic achievements that most of us already know about:

"SERVICE TO COMMUNITY:
For nearly a decade, the siblings have equally dedicated themselves to charitable causes off the ice, continuing their involvement and contributions to several organizations throughout each competitive season.

--Since 2012, Maia and Alex have served as Athlete Ambassadors for Figure Skating in Harlem, the only organization for girls of color that combines the power of education with access to the artistic discipline of figure skating.

--Since 2013, they’ve served as Athlete Ambassadors for Right to Play, an organization dedicated to using sport and play to educate and empower children and youth to overcome poverty, conflict and disease.

--Maia and Alex have shared their talents and resources to Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation for childhood literacy.

--They participate in The Jimmy Fund, which supports the fight against cancer at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, continuing to contribute to the fund even on occasions when they can’t attend as performers in An Evening with Champions – The Jimmy Fund’s annual fundraiser.

--They are members of the Athletes’ Advisory Commission for the LA2028 Summer Olympics bid organization.

--They serve in the United States Olympic Committee’s Sports Envoy Program, and have twice been guests of the Secretary State and the Vice President at US State Department functions honoring the Prime Minister of Japan. As Sports Envoys, the siblings conducted skating clinics for young Korean skaters during the lead up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and took part in a U.S. Embassy discussion with 60 Korean youth on topics such as sportsmanship and youth empowerment.

--Their commitment to goodwill doesn’t stop with athletic roles. After the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, Maia and Alex contributed to The ONE Fund, and raised $10,000 for Charity Water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries, in 2017.

--They appeared as Familiar Faces in the NOH8 campaign to promote marriage, gender and human equality, and, throughout their busy training and appearance schedule, regularly pay visits to Boston Children's Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Center, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

--In the lead-up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Maia and Alex served as mentors in in the United States Olympic Committee’s “Thank you, PyeongChang” initiative – a goodwill campaign aimed to contribute to the positive legacy of the PyeongChang Games, regularly speaking to children at Jinbu Middle School in PyeongChang to provide students virtual lessons about Olympic values, health and nutrition, and what it takes to become Olympians."
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As their fan I am aware of all this, but it is really impressive seeing it all those activities put together, especially because they are active athletes. Definitely they are doing more than vlogging as some people think. Even if they dont win, this is already a big honor.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
I think you can vote for the finalists as well, but I’m not sure how much the popular vote weighs in the decision making as in if there’s a panel that also votes and those votes are weighed against the popular vote as well.
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I stand corrected. There goes my argument :lol:

But I stand by what I said anyway because I’m obstinate :p
...and they’re definitely worthy candidates no matter what reason people have for voting for them.
 
I took the time to read all of the nominations. Wow, what an outstanding field of amazing athletic achievers! Many of the noted athletic accomplishments are mind-boggling. Obviously, all of the finalists are deserving on the basis of their competitive records.

In any case, having read through each nomination, I think the Shibutanis far outpace the field not only in their remarkable athletic achievements over the course of many years (and not only over the past two years). While the Shibs' Olympic bronze medals are important, I think those medals are simply icing on the cake of what has been a simply wondrous career from juniors to the present. And what's even more amazing is that they can still improve and achieve more, should they choose to continue competing. Beyond that, it's clear to me that the Shibutanis also hold the most substantial and remarkably consistent record of service, above and beyond the call of duty, to their community. As well, they are great role models to everyone within and outside of their sport. The fact that they achieved so much in their senior debut, and then spent a number of years trying to rebound, while still accumulating medals at practically every competition, is rare indeed. Their breakthrough to GPF and Worlds medal podiums over the past couple of years shows their fortitude and dedication in the face of obstacles.

With that said, my choice for finalists are The Shibutanis (figure skating), Micah Kiser (football), Angela Peavy (para-equestrian), Rhamat Alhassan (women's volleyball), Kyle Snyder (wrestling), and A'ja Wilson (women's basketball). Although, I believe the cut-off for finalists is five. I think all of the above demonstrate amazing athletic accomplishments with a strong record of character and community service, aside from Peavy, whose focus has been largely in her field of endeavor. But her character and determination are exemplary. She has also competed against able-bodied equestrians.

Here's the article about Rhamat Alhassan, cited in her nomination: http://www.gainesville.com/sports/20170820/alhassans-journey-enters-final-season

Baker Mayfield (football) and Bryce Love (football) are Heisman Trophy award winner and runner-up to Heisman Trophy award winner, respectively. So politically, either one or both of them could make the list of finalists. But I am more impressed by football player Micah Kiser's accomplishments coupled with his character and background. Also, Kiser won the Campbell Trophy (academic Heisman). I also feel that Chris Mazdzer (luge) is a strong candidate to become a finalist, perhaps ahead of A'ja Wilson or Kyle Snyder.

My Honorable Mentions are the following athletes who have an outstanding athletic record combined with notable character and often with striking community and humanitarian service:
Chris Mazdzer (luge)
Saquon Barkley (football)
Maggie Steffens (water polo)
Helen Maroulis (wrestling)
Carli Snyder (women's volleyball)
Sara Hughes (beach volleyball)
Erin Finn (distance runner)
Bryce Love (football)
Baker Mayfield (football)
Kathryn Plummer (women's volleyball/beach volleyball)
 
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