"It’s not about Olympic champions, celebrities or sports people, it's about people who have made an important contribution to the community."
These are the words of Sir Chris Hoy MBE speaking on the
Olympic Flame promotional video and one of those people whom he describes is our very own Jo Kalies, who alongside the excellent teaching, support and coaching she provides to d'Overbroeck's students, works as a volunteer at Summertown Stars AFC, the largest youth football club in Oxfordshire. There, she not only manages and coaches the girls' under 12 team, but has also set up a football team for the visually impaired.
Next year, on 18th May, the Olympic Torch Relay will begin in Land’s End and over the following two months, the famous flame will be carried by a succession of 8000 runners on its way to the Olympic Park in London, where, on the 27th July, the games will be formally opened. Jo has been nominated to carry the torch - when it reaches Oxford on 9th July - by Po Yung, a former colleague here at d'Overbroeck's, who writes:
"I used to work at [d'Overbroeck's] College with Jo Kalies where she is a Sports Co-ordinator. I don't know anyone with as much energy as Jo and also capacity for giving. Her life
is sport as well as giving this gift to others. Apart from her day job, Jo gives up her Saturday every weekend to coach football to young girls who are blind or partially sighted. She also manages the girls Under 12's and Under 15's squad. She is an FA Level 2 qualified coach and recently qualified for her UEFA B Coaching license. She is also disability officer for the club she works for and this year she has won Oxfordshire Coach of the Year awarded by the FA. She has even written a book on exercises for children in her spare time. She runs her own business coaching football as she believes strongly in its importance in children's lives. She deserves to be recognised and would value the honour of being a torchbearer."
Being a torchbearer is an honour for which Jo feels privileged to have been nominated. "I feel so many people in the world do inspirational things," she told me when I asked her how it felt to be described as 'inspirational'; "I just really enjoy what I do."
Family, friends and colleagues are certainly proud of both her achievements and her nomination. If she is selected I asked her, will she be nervous when the big day arrives? "Definitely. I will be really nervous on the day. I go bright red from two minutes on a treadmill let alone carrying a torch around Oxford."
Like all the other nominees, Jo will have to wait until the end of the year to find out if she’s been selected. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope she receives the honour she so richly deserves.
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