Franco: "You women represent the values ​​of sport in an exemplary way"

The president of the CSD underlines the role of women in the second day of the cycle 'Gender Equality in Sport'

MADRID, 7 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), José Manuel Franco, stated that women represent the "values ​​of sport in an exemplary way" on the second and last day of the 'Gender Equality in Sport' cycle, held in the headquarters of the CSD in Madrid on the occasion of International Women's Day.

José Manuel Franco, who has acted as moderator of the 'Four decades, four voices' panel discussion, has highlighted the important role played by women athletes in the evolution of sport and society in Spain.

"You women represent the values ​​of sport in an exemplary way and the work of encouraging our minors to practice sport must be a task for everyone. Institutions have a material and moral obligation to facilitate sports practice for all children and all girls who are willing to do so, eliminating all kinds of barriers. There is still a lot to be done, but conformism is at odds with sport," Franco said.

This debate table has had the testimonies of the swimmer Mari Paz Corominas, the judoka Conchi Bellorín, the skater Sara Hurtado and the pelotari Isabel Rodríguez, who have discussed the evolution of women in sport through their personal reflections.

"My support was my family and my school. My own mother was in charge of making the uniform with which I paraded in those Games in which the Spanish delegation only had two women. Something really difficult to compare with what we see now", Mari Paz Corominas, the first Spanish woman to reach an Olympic final, has confessed at the Mexico 68 Games.

For Conchi Bellorín, current member of the CSD leadership team, "there is still a lack of visibility for women in sports management positions." "It's still hard for women to take the step of leaving the family to go play sports. It's something we still have to make progress on," he said.

Sara Hurtado, ice skating coach and the best Spaniard in this discipline throughout history, has reflected in her speech on the formative work with the minors. "It is very important that children see sport as a tool for their own lives. They should look for what they are passionate about while learning to take care of their bodies," she said.

For her part, Isabel Rodríguez, one of the first professional Spanish pelotaris, has emphasized the change in mentality that society has experienced towards women athletes. "They saw us as women, we even fought against our own families. Parents and education from school are the key to supporting and promoting women in sport," she said.

In the first of the debate tables, entitled 'The day after goodbye', the general director of ADO, Jennifer Pareja; the director of competitions of the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB), Elisa Aguilar; and the captain of the women's tennis team, Anabel Medina.

"You never retire as an athlete. All my experience as a top-level athlete has helped me manage my daily life in a different way. Sport gives me tables that help me to face the situations of your day to day," said Anabel Medina , current captain of the Spanish MAPFRE Tennis team in the Billie Jean King Cup.

"I consider myself privileged, I dedicate myself to what I like the most. My 20 years as a basketball player continue to contribute to me, they help me to understand and empathize with the players. The withdrawal must be prepared not the day that you retire, but much sooner," said Elisa Aguilar.

For her part, Jennifer Pareja recalled that her withdrawal "was not as expected". "I was crying for eight months, but sport gave me the necessary tools to overcome that situation, which is why I think it is essential to know how to take advantage of the opportunities and values ​​learned in sport," she stressed.

This Tuesday's day ended with a panel discussion dedicated to sports for people with disabilities. The pilot Lydia Sempere and the athletes Desirée Vila and Adi Iglesias have exchanged testimonies about the reality of female athletes with disabilities.

Lydia Sempere, a car driver with profound bilateral deafness, has recognized that sport has helped her to overcome her problems and, above all, to believe in herself. "Unfortunately, I have not had many references for women with disabilities in the motor world, although it is true that the figure of María de Villota inspired me a lot," she commented.

Adi Iglesias, a Paralympic sprint athlete who has only 10 percent vision due to albinism, has assured that she has "never" felt alone in athletics. "We have to continue giving visibility to women in sports for people with disabilities to achieve real equality," she stressed.

For Desirée Vila, also a Paralympic athlete who competes in the long jump and 100-meter discipline, "it is essential to work from the base, so that girls have role models."

For her part, the deputy deputy director of the CSD's 'Women and Sports' department, Susana Mayo, presented the conclusions at the end of the day. She recalled that one of the main axes of the new Sports Law is the promotion of inclusive sport and sports practiced by people with disabilities, "particularly attending to the specific needs of women and girls with disabilities."

"This Law aims to facilitate the integration of all athletes under the same federation and the elimination of obstacles that segregate those according to their conditions. From the CSD we have worked and will continue working to try to alleviate the existing inequalities and to guarantee a sports practice under equal conditions, both for men and women and for athletes with and without disabilities", concluded Mayo.

With this Tuesday's conference, the cycle 'Gender Equality in Sport' ends, which this Monday included the intervention of José Manuel Franco and Bárbara Fuertes, deputy general director of Women and Sport of the CSD, and which hosted the presentation of the studies 'The visibility of female athletes on radio and television' and 'Sport and language bias'.

Franco recalled that the Executive has allocated a historic budget of 1.8 million this year to promote the role of women in sport and that throughout the legislature, and from the EU Recovery and Resilience Funds, They will invest 80 million for this purpose.