Olympic Gold Medal Ice Dancers in Hunt for 'the Oscar of Sports'

Fans, media and others may cast votes online for their pick to win the an AAU amateur sports award. Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who grew up together in the Bloomfield Hills area and trained together at Canton, are among the nominees. (Photo via Creative Commons)

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and e-alerts.

Olympic gold medal ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who grew up in Oakland County and trained together in Canton, are among 14 finalists for what is known is “the Oscar of sports awards,” the 85th Annual Amateur Athletic Union James E. Sullivan Award.

Older than The Heisman, the AAU Sullivan Award honoring outstanding amateur athletics has been awarded annually since 1930. It salutes the founder, past president of the AAU, and a pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan.

Besides athletic prowess, the award recognizes athletes’ leadership, character and sportsmanship. Voting is open to anyone – fans, media and others – at www.aausullivan.org.

Davis and White began skating together when they were 8 and 9, respectively, and posted their second unbeaten season in 2014, the same year they brought gold medals home from the Sochi Olympics. The full list of nominees for the AAU award is on the website.

Voting will close on March 15 with the selection of six finalists, who will attend the awards ceremony on April 19 at the New York Athletic Club.