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Jordan Sidoo Wins The Province Newspaper’s 2014 Head of the Class Adversity Award

Jordan Sidoo’s passion for giving back to his community has become more and more evident as he continues to develop into an admirable young man. On this website we have focused often on his drive and determination to ensure that local children have food in their bellies and safe places to play while at school. Jordan has always been very humble about his accomplishments and prefers to maintain focus on those whom he strives to support.

For that reason it may come as a surprise then to learn that Jordan faced enormous physical challenges from the moment he was born. From an early age Jordan showed incredible grit and determination to overcome those challenges and become a respected competitor in the athletics program at St George’s School that will soon lead to further competition at the NCAA level.

Jordan’s perseverance and grit were evident to those around him and earlier this year he was nominated for The Province newspaper’s Head of the Class Adversity Award. After two weeks of voting wrapped up last month, the results were announced today: Jordan won!

As part of the awards announcement, Jordan’s in-depth profile was published in The Province’s online sports blog today, revealing from his perspective the challenges he faced as an athlete in his youth. Jordan shared that he was born with the most severe case of club feet that the hospital had seen, and that he persevered through surgeries, braces and physio to not only recover, but to clock a 12 second 100m dash by the time he was 12. Through a series of events Jordan eventually was asked to become the cox for St George’s School rowing team. And after four years of excelling in that role, Jordan will be going to one of the NCAA’s top rowing programs at the University of California-Berkeley.

The Adversity Award is part of The Province’s annual Head of the Class section in which it highlights some of British Columbia’s most accomplished athletes. Each year the Head of the Class Reader’s Choice Awards accept nominations for Coach of the Year and for the Adversity Award. Nominees of the Adversity Award are Grade 12 students who, according to The Province, “were to have shown a positive attitude and determination in overcoming extraordinary personal challenges.”

Jordan Sidoo

This year’s four finalists, including Jordan, were chosen from those submissions by The Province editorial department. The Province then turned the voting over to its readership.

Jordan’s brief bio was posted on The Province Head of the Class website along with the other finalists for consideration by the public:

Jordan Sidoo – St. George’s School
Born with severe club feet, Sidoo of Vancouver’s St. George’s School, defied the odds of his doctors to excel at three sports. In 10th grade he broke his arm in three places playing basketball but has since rebounded, joining the school’s rowing team as a coxswain. Sidoo was recently accepted to join the rowing program at prestigious Cal-Berkeley, which annually resides near the top of the NCAA rankings.

After two weeks of open online voting, the numbers were tallied and the results announced today. Read the full story.

Congratulations on your accomplishment Jordan!