Dual Career for wOmeN Athletes

Background The Dual Career for Women Athletes (DONA) project addresses a sport & Dual Career (DC) related specific issue in a holistic & comprehensive manner. It focuses on young women athletes' (12 - 20 y.o.) encouragement for staying in clubs while starting and/or continuing their education by proposing a new DC Methodology for grassroots sport organizations. The DONA approach is based on relevant theories, research & practical experience regarding DC and gender differences in the Member States. Objectives The main objective of the DONA project is to investigate, develop and test the DC methodology for successfully approaching and enhancing women’s athletes DC in a form of a club-based pilot project, involving volleyball clubs from four different European countries: Spain, Malta, France and Italy. Implementation The project was implemented by 7 entities (Universities, Training NGO & sport clubs) from 7 EU countries within the period of 36 months. The project Activities were structured in 3 Phases. The Preparation phase (1) led to development of the DONA Pilot Programme that was implemented & evaluated during the Implementation Phase (2). During the Dissemination Phase (3) the partners developed the reports, conclusions and recommendations on promoting the DC approach for female sports. Achievements The Partnership developed, implemented & evaluated a holistic Pilot Programme for creating a supportive DC environment within grassroots sport organizations. The Programme allows to prepare athletes from an early age for the different transition periods ahead with developing the needed skills and competences. Based on the results of the Pilot tests the Partnership proposed a set of recommendations on application on DC approach. The project involved 323 athletes and 53 coaches.