The first day of presentations [15 June] was a bit tough, and not just because it began with a recital of all sorts of statistics about the practice of sport... I wore with pride my FGG shirt, and couldn't help but think that the presence of a visible member of an LGBT organization made quite a few people a bit uncomfortable.
But part of the reason to attend these conferences is to remind officials in mainstream sport that there are LGBT athletes in their organizations, and that there are LGBT sports organizations serving thousands of athletes around the world.
An important element of any conference of this sort is a social program, and during our boat trip this evening, it was much easier to make contact with people. Among the great conversations I had was with Professor Doctor Gudrun Doll-Tepper, former president of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education and current Vice President for Education of the German Olympic Committee. As a researcher and professor, her specialty is inclusive sport, for which in 2009 she received an award from the International Paralympic Committee. We had a great discussion on the issues related to women's leadership in sport, and I'm counting on continuing this exchange after the conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment