Women in Sport Conference

'Breaking down the Barriers for Women in Sport'

WOMEN were the main topic of discussion at the conference held in February 2007 at the Johnstown House Hotel, Enfield which was chaired by Ladies GAA president Geraldine Giles.

Organised jointly between Meath and Westmeath Local Sports Partnerships, the conference speakers discussed the main theme - Breaking down the barriers for women in sport - and while the debate widened out considerably, it was a worthwhile venture.

Irish Sports Council CEO John Treacy outlined the challenges facing women in sport and posed the question - "How do we get more women involved." "There is a tremendous drop off in participation by girls in sport at primary schools' level and we must create a sporting experience that they will enjoy, the fun aspect is very important," he added.

Speakers included UCD Director of Sport and former Dublin footballer Brian Mullins, former Olympic athlete Maeve Kyle, who competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic games, Ashbourne resident Liam Moggan from the National Coaching and Training Centre and Grania Willis who became the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest from the north side in 2004.

Mullins focussed on the important role which primary school teachers have in introducing children to sport.

"We are always very quick to produce expensive reports on subjects like the lack of language skills and science, but at the earliest stage in a child's development the decision about physical education is totally at the discretion of a teacher in a primary school," he commented.

Mullins also accepted a point from the floor that the method applied by the Department of Education towards sport and physical activity at that level is totally ad hoc.

"We haven't got it right at primary level, but it's a difficult problem to resolve if the proper approach is adopted," he added.

Picking up on this theme, Moggan, suggested that the things that make the difference to participation in sport and physical activity are not being funded and that very little value is put on the efforts of the volunteers.

Kyle suggested that the media is not very kind to women who are involved in sport, but also suggested that the future of sport for women is very much within the control of women.

Willis outlined how focussed she had to be to achieve her goal of making it to the top of Mount Everest. Senator Mary O'Rourke closed the conference.