An important event took place this morning at Croke Park when the Liberty Insurance Women’s Network hosted a business breakfast on the subject of Women in Sport. Mags Darcy of Wexford Camogie, Annette Ní Dhathlaoí of Liberty Insurance, Jacqui Hurley from RTÉ Sport and Rob Hartnett from Sport for Business considered how those in leadership positions can help keep Women’s sport moving forward.
There was a real energy and feeling of possibility in the room, packed full of business and sporting leaders as well as journalists and people who care passionately, at many levels about how sport is viewed and reported.
There were many points to take away from the day and Joan O’Connell has gathered some of the reaction on twitter on ‘Storify’ which you can see below.
When you look at the big picture it can sometimes be too vast so we always like to cut to some key take aways and some key actions to take away and get done.
In no order of importance the ten things I took from this morning were:
1. Sport is for everyone. Until we get to parity of esteem we have to talk about Women’s sport but the end game is that it’s sport some of which is played by men, some of it by women.
2. Smart business has already spotted that you can achieve much more engagement and attachment through Women’s sport for less money than you can in almost any other form of marketing.
3. Liberty, Continental, Aon, AIB, Tesco and more are already there in Ireland. BMW, Investec and mega brands are there worldwide. There is a window for others to get involved but it won’t last forever.
4. We don’t follow sport because it happens. We do so because of the great stories it reveals about things that matter. Women in sport need to stand up and tell their story as well as perform. Fiona Coghlan has done that. Others need to. That’s nut just for Women. Think of David Beckham or Brian O’Driscoll. They have their story told well.
5. We have to start young. Go to as many of your daughter’s games as your son’s. Bring your kids to see elite women in sport and let them see that sport is for everyone.
6. Irish Sports Council research shows that 86% of boys aged 16-19 played sport last week. The figure for girls was 63%. That’s wrong. It’s not the responsibility of government, media or sponsors. It’s down to what we as individuals can do.
7. We need to stop looking at our shoes and thinking about what others might say. We need to look higher, be bold in support of athletes that happen to be women.
8. In America women who competed at sport through their college years are twice as likely to be in positions of top level business leadership than those who didn’t. Sport is about so much more than fitness, so much more than a result on a scoreboard. It’s how we can best learn lessons of life. We can’t shut out half the population from that.
9. The greatest advances will come through integration and collaboration. Men and Women playing in the same stadium, appearing side by side on billboards. Governing bodies need to be brave in scheduling this to happen. Sponsors need to push for it.
10. Young girls need role models like our sporting heroes, our writers and broadcasters, our senior business women. They have to see that life’s opportunities are open to all and those who can need to step forward and be proud of what they’ve achieved. It’s not an Irish way, it’s not a comfortable way but that’s no reason to leave it to others.
#WomeninSport was the top trending phrase on Twitter this morning. People are watching for what happens next. Here’s the ‘Storify’ collection of what was said.
The breakfast is part of a Women in Sport week on Sport for Business leading up to the All Ireland Camogie Championship Final at Croke Park on Sunday.
On Tuesday we looked at how Irish Rugby is building on the success of the Rugby World Cup to encourage new young players into the Women’s game.
“People were often concerned it was too rough but the World Cup showed that when we got hit we bounced back up and played on. No injuries, no players being helped from the pitch, just sport being played at a higher level than many had previously given us credit for.”
On Wednesday and Thursday we looked at how two major sponsors of Women’s sport saw the opportunity and decided to get involved. Tesco and Continental Tyres are following the lead of Liberty in their game changing approach to dual sponsorship of the All Ireland Hurling and Camogie Championships and their giving parity of esteem to both.
Liberty Insurance and the Camogie Association are members of the fast growing network of sporting and business leaders in the Sport for Business community. Sign up today for a 14 day free trial and see what we can do for your organisation.
