EMERALD’S burpees pro Julie ‘Hoffy’ Hoffman rubbed shoulders with the sporting elite for the Women’s Health I Support Women In Sport award gala last Wednesday.
And to top things off, she took home the Local Heroine award for her inspirational work supporting HeartKids.
The event, which saw Olympic cycling gold medallist Anna Meares take out the 2012 Women’s Health Sports Woman of the Year, was also attended by sporting greats Sally Pearson, Dawn Fraser, Leisel Jones, Giaan Rooney, Stephanie Rice and Lauren Jackson.
Hoffy said she was chuffed to receive the award, which she didn’t expect to get.
“I was sitting at the table praying almost that they didn’t call my name out – just being there was more than enough because I did feel out of my comfort zone,” she said.
“In the end, I was hi-5ing them all like we were all besties and I realised I wasn’t out of my league so it was a great night.”
She said it was a great way to get more exposure for HeartKids, which will allow her to do more promotional activity in a bid to raise more money for children with heart disease.
One such way will be through a ‘burpee kids’ month, which will encourage children to raise money at their schools.
Hoffy said she had also planned another burpees challenge for next year.
“Next year, I’m talking about running a burpee kid month complete with special shirts to bring as much awareness to schools as I can as to what HeartKids do,” she said.
“I’m going to try and get 20 kids from each school and get them there on burpee day in their school top, representing their school.”
After raising $53,000 last year, Hoffy has set a new goal of $70,000 for next year.
She said she looked forward to the events next year and hoped to garner as much awareness for HeartKids as possible.
“It’s a passion, and I hope to be doing it for a long time yet,” she said.
“It’s just a start, I want it to be recognised, I would like burpees and HeartKids to be somehow connected.”
