AUSTIN, Texas—Today, the Austin Downtown Founders Lions Club honored two Austin ISD high school athletic teams—along with their coaches, school communities and fans—with Sportsmanship Awards.

The Lions Club presented awards to Bowie’s football team, which is coached by Jeff Ables, and Anderson’s girls basketball team, which is coached by Katrina Hall.

Bowie earned the honor in 2011 as well. This is the third time the Anderson team has earned the honor during the past decade. The team won the award in 2010 and 2011.

“These school teams have coaches who teach good sportsmanship and hold players and fans accountable to maintain these standards,” Bill Martin, club president, said. “We…appreciate the model they set for others.”

The Lions Club members believe teaching good sportsmanship is an important component of team sports, Martin said. The awards are designed to encourage good sportsmanship and to recognize teams and their fans who demonstrate it consistently throughout the year.

The club’s members have honored AISD athletes for more than 40 years. They only consider team sports for the awards: football, basketball, baseball and soccer for boys and volleyball, basketball, softball and soccer for girls.

To select one boys and girls team, the club asks athletics officials, including referees and umpires, to vote for teams that demonstrate the best sportsmanship based on the behavior of players, coaches and fans. Officials pick the top three teams in the sport they officiate during the year. Club leaders explain they also use a point/percentage system to compare the teams fairly.

Each year, more than 14,000 young athletes participate in AISD’s sports programs, including baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling.