Congratulations to Southwest senior volleyball player April
Houston, The 2017 Minneapolis Athena Award winner.
The Athena Awards was founded because we believed the
recognition was long overdue. Beginning in 1972, we hoped to correct
that oversight and prepared a plan to encourage and recognize young
women athletes. We sought advice and guidance from Dorothy McInyre and
Giffy
O'Dell, Director of Athletics, Minneapolis Public Schools.
Athena, a goddess of Greek mythology, was chosen as
the symbol of the outstanding young women athlete award. Athena
was brave, chaste and dauntless. Each year athletic events were held in
her honor.
As one of the twelve Olympian deities in Greek
Mythology, Athena was the child of the brain of Zeus and became known as
the goddess of wisdom. She encouraged law and order and presided over
agricultural inventions. Brave, chaste, dauntless, she is the essence of
all that is noble. She was born in armor to signify that her purity and
virtue were unassailable. Majestic in appearance, she carried her aegis
and a golden staff which possessed the gifts of dignity and youth.
Athena created the olive tree and the City of Athens
was named in her honor as the deity who had given mankind a gift of
plenty and a symbol of peace. In design, Athenian coins frequently used
the owl, which is the wisest of birds and sacred to Athena.
Athena's most celebrated temple was the Parthenon, her
principle festival the Panathenaea, which was celebrated each year in
July. The festival lasted three days and included both city and country
people. It began with a torch race, followed by athletic competitions.
Prizes were olive wreaths, in honor of Athena.
Thus, the Athena Awards Committee as a part of the
Women's Division of the Chamber, was formed with 40 members. The first
Awards Luncheon was held on February 7, 1973, at the Minneapolis
Athletic Club to honor the outstanding senior women athlete from each of
the Minneapolis city and suburban high schools for the athletic
achievements.
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