Banquet Honors Community's Athletics & Arts Achievements

Banquet Honors Community's Athletics & Arts Achievements

A glamorous and memorable night, as Western Academy of Beijing honored its athletes and artists in an annual award ceremony.

The WABX Awards Banquet is a celebration of the accomplishments our students have made in sports and artistic endeavors, as well as the contributions they’ve made to our school community. Coaches or directors from each team or club presented three awards: Most Valuable Player/Member, Most Improved Player/Member, and The Coach’s/Director’s Award.

The WABX Athletics and Activities Department also named the Athletes of the Year, Artist of the Year, Sportsmanship Award, and Tiger Spirit Link Champion.

Congratulations to all of the winners (listed below). Special thanks to the members of the WAB faculty and staff who dedicated their time, energy, and knowledge to the development of these students in their extracurricular activities.

Artist of the Year: Himang Park

Himang is a truly dynamic performer, natural leader, and excellent team player. He represented our school as a member of the APAC Strings and APAC Choir groups. He played the lead role in our musical productions of Les Miserables and Spamalot. Himang is a dancer whose performances include a special presentation at China’s National Center for Performing Arts. On top of this, he is the lead singer of one of WAB’s most dynamic bands. And he has used his talent and passion for the arts for good through the launch of the Dream Concert series, a platform for songwriters and performers to raise money for charities related to the arts.

Sportsmanship Award: Thomas Rasmussen

Thomas is the perfect competitor. He speaks with other athletes, cheers them on, and congratulates others. He is the first to shake hands with the winner. He always has a smile on his face and spreads this attitude among his teammates and opponents. As a defending APAC high jump champion and top seed going into this year’s competition, Thomas interrupted his own high jump preparation and to congratulate his friend and teammate on making what would end up being the winning jump. He went on to win his second straight APAC long jump title.

Female Athlete of the Year: Eliza Byrne

Our Female Athlete of the Year is a three-sport varsity athlete and captain. She has earned awards in all three sports for her performance and leadership. Eliza constantly leads by example and is always a positive influence and supportive of her teammates. She is an amazing athlete and representative of our WAB community, as well as an outstanding role model to all.

 

Male Athlete of the Year: Sun Woo Park

A proven leader, Sun Woo has shown incredible dedication to his development as an individual and as a teammate. His passion is infectious, and he inspires those around him. Sun Woo’s coaches saw him as a multi-skilled player who is capable of competing at the highest level across different positions in different sports. He played a crucial role in his two varsity teams achieving second place in APAC tournaments, and he won an APAC gold medal in the individual team’s badminton championships.

Tiger Spirit Link Champion: Christina Rasmussen

Without our parent community, and specifically our Tiger Spirit Link group of parent supporters, WAB students would not be able to host or participate in the many special events they do each year. The parent community does an amazing job of contributing to our sports and arts events each year. Christina has served as the driving force and coordinator of the Tiger Spirit Link for many years.

She has spent countless hours sorting out storerooms, coordinating volunteers, and staffing the Tiger Snack Shack – all of this while raising an APAC champion. This year, we want to offer special recognition to Christina’s extraordinary contributions to our artists and athletes over her years at WAB.

To learn more about the more than 400 extracurricular opportunities available to students through our WABX program, visit this page.

  • News