SUPPORTING WOMEN ATHLETES FROM EUROPE

The project to improve the support for women athletes in Europe was successfully implemented and its achievements have surpassed our expectations. The project was delivered under budget (with a spend of €54,650 compared to a budget of €73,320) and achieved all its stated objectives, though there was a slight delay in the publication of the booklet. The project has led to the player associations:• becoming more aware of the issues facing women athletes;• considering their current support for women athletes compared to their peer group;• and developing about best practice in the support of women athletes. All of the planned activities were delivered. Specifically: the kick off meeting was held in Madrid on 25-26 January 2017; the big conference was held in Athens on 14-16 June 2017 and the wrap up meeting held in Dublin on 26-27 October 2017. All these meetings were well run, met their desired objectives and were attended by slightly more participants then originally planned. The research into both player association support for athletes and into women athletes’ experiences was completed and presented to the Big Conference. This research helped to focus the work of the project with regards to the agenda for the conference and also the best practice booklet. The research also highlighted the difficulties faced by women athletes and their lack of employment rights. With the approval of the EC, the publication of the booklet of best practice was delayed to enable the knowledge learnt at the Big Conference to be included within the document. This was published in January 2018 (a bit behind schedule) and has been distributed on social media and will be posted to all EU Athlete members when it is finally printed. The delays were in part due to a desire to get the finished document as perfect as possible by the working group – and to be fair we feel they have achieved an excellent document. Whilst the dissemination plan with regards to the booklet has fallen behind schedule the Big Conference significantly surpassed our expectations with regards to sharing information about how best to support women athletes, the involvement of existing women player associations within EU Athletes network and the creation of new player associations. The conference was rated highly by the participants that responded to the feedback questionnaires.Since January 2017 and in connection to the SWAFE project, 4 new women’s player association has joined EU Athletes (WGPA, AJUB, AMBM, Cyclists’ Alliance). Cyclists’ Aliance was set up during the project with the support from EU Athletes and its members. Its representative has attended the dissemination project in Athens and have said that they found it very valuable and helpful. The project has also helped to facilitate and encourage a wider cultural shift in the Player Associations on how they support women athletes. It is satisfying to note that since the project started, two more women have been elected onto the board of EU Athletes, bringing a total of 3 out of 8. The follow-up research to the participants in the big conference showed that 70% of associations said that they had made progress in the support of women athletes since the start of the project. Furthermore, 54% of associations said that the number of women athletes within their associations had increased since the start of the project. The budget under-spend was due to good financial project management and the ability to negotiate translation services in Athens at a cost that was significantly less than was budgeted for. Other costs were broadly in line with budget.