Israeli women's basketball coach Orna Ostfeld has been awarded the 2005 European "Women and Sport" trophy by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
At a ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ostfeld was recognized for her dedication to and advancement of women's sports in Israel. She was chosen from among 68 candidates throughout Europe for contributing "to greater participation by young women at all sporting levels," the IOC said in a press release.
Speaking from Switzerland, Ostfeld, who coached Anda Ramat HaSharon team, told Israel Radio that she won the award "not only for excellence in sports, but also for my attempt to bring about a cultural change and social justice."
Despite having coached her team to four State Cup titles in the past six years and holding the Guinness Book record for the most points scored in a single game (108), Ostfeld was honored by the IOC primarily for founding "the largest women's basketball school in Israel." In 1980, she was among the founders of the Ramat HaSharon Sports Association.
In other cultural news, an Israeli film - Walk on Water - which was screened in at least ten U.S. movie theaters in March, entered a recent weekend list of top grossing films at no. 29. Eytan Fox's film earned $63,000 over the March 3-5th weekend. Starring Lior Ashkenazi, the movie depicts the relationship between a Mossad agent - son of Holocaust survivors - and the two grandchildren of a notorious Nazi, whom the agent is trying to track down. Walk on Water premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004 , and was also a big hit in Israel. The film will be filmed in more U.S. cities on March 18.
At a ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ostfeld was recognized for her dedication to and advancement of women's sports in Israel. She was chosen from among 68 candidates throughout Europe for contributing "to greater participation by young women at all sporting levels," the IOC said in a press release.
Speaking from Switzerland, Ostfeld, who coached Anda Ramat HaSharon team, told Israel Radio that she won the award "not only for excellence in sports, but also for my attempt to bring about a cultural change and social justice."
Despite having coached her team to four State Cup titles in the past six years and holding the Guinness Book record for the most points scored in a single game (108), Ostfeld was honored by the IOC primarily for founding "the largest women's basketball school in Israel." In 1980, she was among the founders of the Ramat HaSharon Sports Association.
In other cultural news, an Israeli film - Walk on Water - which was screened in at least ten U.S. movie theaters in March, entered a recent weekend list of top grossing films at no. 29. Eytan Fox's film earned $63,000 over the March 3-5th weekend. Starring Lior Ashkenazi, the movie depicts the relationship between a Mossad agent - son of Holocaust survivors - and the two grandchildren of a notorious Nazi, whom the agent is trying to track down. Walk on Water premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004 , and was also a big hit in Israel. The film will be filmed in more U.S. cities on March 18.