Together Stronger: The Future of Sport: A Review of the 5th World Conference of Women and Sport

Abstract

I had the opportunity to attend the 5th World Conference on Women and Sport in Los Angeles, California on February 16-19, 2012. The World Conference on Women and Sport is sponsored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was hosted by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG).The IOC World Conference on Women and Sport takes place every four years to examine the progress made within the Olympic movement and identify ways to improve and increase the participation of women in the world of sport. Approximately 750 participants with representation from 140 countries attended sessions devoted to leadership views on women in the world of sport, partnerships for progress, the business of sport, sustainable responsibility, Title IX, empowering women and girls through education, and growing up in a gender-balanced society. Participants included members of the media, educators, researchers, athletes, coaches, administrators, and representatives from National Olympic Committees, International and National Sport Federations, global companies, and the United Nations system. The theme for the 5th World Conference was Together Stronger: The Future of Sport. I am faculty in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. My research focuses on the social psychological experiences of women and girls in sport and their barriers to involvement. It is from this perspective that I write this conference review. Due to the number of concurrent sessions, I will highlight only those that I attended. A complete listing of presentations and presenters can be found at the conference website (www.wom-enandsport2012.com). Thursday's Opening Ceremony began in the evening at the Nokia Center and started with video footage from the Olympic Games. As this was the first set of images presented, it was surprising that all of the images appeared to be of male Olympians, a disturbing oversight for attendance at a conference celebrating and encouraging women's involvement in sport. As Christine Brennan, USA Today columnist and conference presenter, stated in her post-conference column, When an opening video flickered before [conference attendees] ... it was an IOC highlight reel of Olympic performances, but something was wrong with it. It included footage of one great male athlete after another. There were almost no women in it. Out of 34 athletes who appeared in that film, there were the recognizable images of just four women, and they went by so quickly that many conference attendees didn't think there were any at all (Brennan, 2012). As Brennan accurately suggested, When you watch footage like that, as I did as a speaker at the conference, you have to give the IOC credit for honesty: It didn't even try to fake its concern for the achievements of women in sport. Or perhaps it is simply cluelessness; the IOC doesn't know, or perhaps doesn't care, about how awful that opening video looked (Brennan, 2012). Welcome and opening remarks were made by Larry Probst, USOC President, Anita DeFrantz, IOC Women and Sport Commission Chair, Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles, and Jacques Rogge, IOC President. The 2012 Women and Sport Awards were then presented, with India's Manisha Malhotra winning the World Trophy for her commitment to helping disadvantaged girls progress through sport. The five continental winners included Peninnah Aligawesa Kabenge (Africa-Uganda), the Bradesco Sports and Education Progamme and Centre (Americas-Brazil), Zaiton Othman (Asia-Malaysia), Aikaterini Nafplioti-Panagopoulos (Europe-Greece), and Roseline Blake (Oceania-Cook Islands). Each recipient was recognized for her role in getting more women and girls involved in sport as athletes, administrators, leaders and members of the media (for more information on each recipient, go to http://www. …