Dr. Bálint Filep, President of Széchenyi István University, was awarded the Ferenc Kemény Award in recognition of his outstanding work in the field of sport. The award ceremony took place on 6 May, on the Hungarian Sports Day.
The award, named after Ferenc Kemény, a founding member of the International Olympic Committee, has been presented since 2012 to those who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Hungarian sport at national and international level. This year, three people, including Dr. Bálint Filep, President of Széchenyi István University, received the award at the International Sports Diplomacy Conference on the Hungarian Sports Day, held at the Puskás Arena. The awards, along with other sport-related honours, were presented by Ádám Schmidt, State Secretary for Sport, Gábor Schmidt, Deputy State Secretary, and Tamás Deutsch, President of the National Federaiton of Hungarian Sport Clubs.
Dr. Bálint Filep, President of Széchenyi István University (centre) received the Ferenc Kemény Award on the Hungarian Sports Day (Photo: dr. Ádám Schmidt Facebook)
Dr. Bálint Filep has played a decisive role in the ambitious growth of Széchenyi István University, which also includes the field of sports.He has been helping the development of the institution and the region since the 2000s as a student leader, from 2005 as the Rector’s Secretary, from 2014 as the Chancellor of the University and since 2020 as its President. The University has also implemented significant infrastructural developments in the field of sports in the past two decades. On the Győr campus, in addition to the Győr Municipal University Sports Hall, the University Gymnasium was built, as well as the University Sports Park, which includes a basketball court, artificial turf football pitch, running track, beach volleyball courts and teqball table. Students now have a choice of almost 20 sports to choose from for their PE lessons. Young people can also develop their talents in the 13 differenc sports at the Széchenyi István University Sports Association (SZESE) (judo, volleyball, handball, e-sport, basketball, arm-wrestling, table tennis, orienteering, triathlon, chess, auto-motor sports).
In addition to recreational and community sports, the institution has set the support of elite athletes as a strategic goal, and in recent years has developed a dual career model programme, which offers young people the opportunity to study and graduate alongside elite sport. The University has also built up very close links with a number of professional sports clubs, which it supports.
„Ferenc Kemény, an outstanding representative of Hungarian sport and a founding member of the International Olympic Committee established in 1894, greatly contributed to the development of Hungarian and international sport, and the award named after him is a tribute to his contribution to education, scientific work and the creation of conditions for a healthy lifestyle. Although I was the one to receive the award, it is a credit to our whole community: it also recognises the work of the former leaders of our institution who have been particularly supportive of sport – András Várnagy, József Kuti, Tamás Szekeres – which I was partly able to help and continue together with my fellow leaders, colleagues and our sports director Tamás Gyömörei. Our goal, to quote the Roman poet Iuvenalis, is to have a sound mind in a sound body!” – said Dr Bálint Filep.
