Eminent sports administrator Sir Craig Reedie, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and a vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has been named the 2016 Eagle Award winner by the United States Sports Academy.
The award recently was presented to Reedie at London’s East India Club by John S. Hunter, a distinguished educator and leader in sport and physical education in the United Kingdom and a member of the Academy’s Board of Visitors.
The Eagle Award, the United States Sports Academy’s highest international award, is presented to a world leader in sport to recognize that individual’s contributions in promoting international harmony, peace and goodwill through the effective use of sport. The recipient of this award must have tempered strength with keen judgment in using authority wisely as a means of bringing nations together through sport for the betterment of mankind.
Reedie has been heavily involved with WADA since its founding in 1999, having served as chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee since the organization’s formation and as a member of WADA’s Executive Committee and Foundation Board. He was elected president of WADA in 2013 and recently was re-elected for a second three-year term.
Reedie has been a tireless and courageous advocate for the anti-doping movement. Amid great public pressure and scrutiny, he played a key role in preserving the athletic integrity of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where he was instrumental in the investigation and disqualification of numerous athletes due to doping. This included more than 100 Russian athletes – nearly one third of the delegation – who were ultimately banned from competition. Reedie provided strong leadership during the tumultuous situation, calling for clean play across the Olympic competition.
Reedie’s efforts toward fair and healthy competition have been further illustrated by a second independent investigation commissioned by WADA and conducted by Canadian Law Professor Richard McLaren. Released this month, the report indicates that more than 1,000 Russian athletes across more than 30 sports benefitted from a state-sponsored doping program from 2011 to 2015, impacting numerous competitions including the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, among others.
Reedie’s sports administration career spans five decades beginning with a stint as secretary, then president, of the Scottish Badminton Union from 1964-79. In 1985 Reedie was responsible for the admission of badminton to the Olympic program. In 1992 he became chairman of the British Olympic Association and led the organization through the Olympic Games of Atlanta, Sydney and Athens, and the Olympic Winter Games of Lillehammer, Nagano and Salt Lake City.
In 1994 Reedie became a member of the IOC. Since that time, Reedie has served on several IOC Commissions including the Evaluation Commissions of 2001 and 2009, the Coordination Commissions for the Games in Athens and Beijing, the Marketing Commission, the Program Commission and the Ethics Commission. He was elected as a member of the IOC Executive Board in 2009 and became a vice president in 2012. He was chair of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Reedie was a leading member of the London 2012 bid team which won the right to host the Olympics in London and is a non-executive director of the London Organizing Committee. He became a board member of the Olympic Lottery Distributor in 2006.
Reedie was educated at Glasgow University where he earned a master of arts degree and a law degree, and later was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his accomplishments, especially those related to sport leadership. Reedie also held other sports appointments including membership and deputy chairmanship of UK Sport. For many years he was a senior partner in the Glasgow firm of financial advisors D.L. Bloomer and Partners. He lives in Bridge of Weir, Scotland.
The Eagle Award is part of the United States Sports Academy’s Awards of Sport, which each year serve as “A Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete.” The Academy presents the awards to pay tribute to those who have made significant contributions to sport, in categories as diverse as the artist and the athlete in several different arenas of sport. The awards honor exemplary achievement in coaching, all-around athletic performance, courage, humanitarian activity, fitness, and media, among others. The Academy’s American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA) annually recognizes these men and women through its Sport Artist of the Year, Honorary Doctorates, Medallion Series, Distinguished Service Awards, Outstanding Athletes, and Alumni of the Year awards.
Based in Daphne, Ala., the United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission Sports University created to serve the nation and world with programs in instruction, research, and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports. For more information about the Academy, call (251) 626-3303 or visit www.ussa.edu.
Founded in 1984, ASAMA is dedicated to the preservation of sports art, history, and literature. The ASAMA collection is composed of nearly 2,000 works of sport art across a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, assemblages, prints and photographs. The museum is open free to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. For more information, go to www.asama.org.
By Eric Mann
Eric Mann is the communications assistant at the United States Sports Academy. Reach him at emann@ussa.edu.