Discussion round: The role of women in sport

Top-class speakers gathered on Wednesday evening at the Trevi Cultural Center in Bozen's Kapuzinergasse. The former skier Isolde Kostner, the sports shooter Valentina Turisini, the former cyclist and bobsledder Antonella Bellutti, the young cycling talent Alessia Vigilia and the two referees from the Bozen section Laura Sberna and Arianna Bazzo. Moderator Daniele Maganin asked the speakers about the role of women in sport. To begin with, the interview participants were asked general questions about sport, how they got involved in sports, what emotions, joys, sacrifices and disappointments they experienced during their career. All athletes agreed that sport supports them in life, because situations that you experience in sport can also be found again and again in everyday life.

Isolde Kostner The former speed specialist Isolde Kostner, who won three Olympic and three World Cup medals, said in this context: “There are certainly situations in sport that are comparable to life. The difference, however, is that success in private life, for example, can take much longer. In sport it can be that you won a double downhill on Saturday and were the star, but only came 15th on Sunday. “Saturday’s success is almost forgotten on Sunday.” Kostner also gave deep insights into the topic of fear: “My biggest weakness in the fast disciplines were the jumps. I was afraid. I braked often during the first training session, but less so during the second training session. During the race I always thought that the fear of the jump only lasted a second, then I was over the jump and the fear was gone again. That helped me alot". Antonella Bellutti The two-time gold medalist in cycling in 1996 and 2000 Antonella Bellutti said: “It is always nice to come back to Bolzano, where my sporting career began. Sport requires great passion. But to get to the top, you also need the necessary talent. Today you have to specialize in sport at an early stage. Once you're at a certain level, the calendar determines your life. There is then little time left for other things.” Valentina Turisini The silver medalist in shooting at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Valentina Turisini, said: “Sport has taught me that you can also exceed boundaries in a positive way. Even today, as a national shooting coach, I help my athletes to exceed these limits. For me, my sport was always a great joy, for which I was willing to make sacrifices that ultimately weren't sacrifices for me." Alessia Vigilia The Junior World Championships silver medalist in cycling Alessia Vigilia says about her sporting activity: “Sport is like life. Nothing is given to you, you have to work for and fight for everything. But if you enjoy your sport, then everything becomes easier. I won silver at the last Junior World Championships. I missed gold by just six seconds. But I still emphasize today that I won silver and didn't lose gold, also because my teammate Elena Pirrone won the gold medal." Laura Sberna and Arianna Bazzo The focus Sunday after Sunday is particularly on the two referees Laura Sberna and Arianna Bazzo. Both referee the male-dominated football in South Tyrol. Arianna Bazzo: “In the beginning you were closely watched as a referee. Meanwhile, footballers have become accustomed to women officiating their games. It's always a great satisfaction when the players congratulate you on your personal achievement after the game. Every woman and every man can learn the rules, we are absolutely the same. Where women have deficits is in the physical area. That means a woman will have a hard time refereeing in Serie A because things move very quickly there.” Laura Sberna confirmed what her colleague said and added: “The important thing is never to give up, even if there are setbacks. I started as a referee 15 years ago and the experience has helped me a lot in my studies and in many other situations in life." Equality in sport between men and women Everyone involved agreed on equality in sport between men and women. Men and women must have the same opportunities to practice their sport. There have been laws regulating this matter for decades, but so far only very small steps have been taken in this direction. Admissions to sports groups also need to be better regulated. Antonella Bellutti said that the decision as to which sport should be supported in the sports groups and which athletes should be accepted should be decided by the Ministry of Sports and not by the individual sports groups. Pink quote

Bellutti spoke out in favor of the so-called pink quota. “At first when people were talking about this, I wasn't convinced. Now I'm leaning more and more towards this quota, also because it will probably help us move forward. People get used to everything. I compare it to smoking. In Italy there is a law that says smoking is no longer allowed in bars and restaurants. At the beginning there were a few hecklers, but now everyone has gotten used to it and no one gets upset anymore. The same will happen with the women's quota. As soon as everyone gets used to it, no one gets upset anymore.” Comparison is often not desirable either

Isolde Kostner tried to use an example to show that the comparison between men and women is often not desired: “Lindsay Vonn, probably the best skier of all time in the speed disciplines, wanted a comparison with the men a few years ago. She suggested the World Cup venue Beaver Creek as the slope, because both men and women complete a World Cup downhill run on this slope. However, those responsible did not give Vonn permission to compete with the men. The American probably wouldn't have won, but I can imagine she would have finished in the ten. That would have made her beat a whole bunch of men and that shouldn't happen. A few years ago, Deborah Compagnoni was considered the world's best giant slalom player. She trained from time to time with the Slovenian men's team. The well-known racer Jure Kosir also started there. He was certainly better in the slalom than in the giant slalom, but Compagnoni also outpaced the men by more than a second in the training runs. Of course there was an attempt to hide this from the press.” You can't compare men with women everywhere

Alessia Vigilia When it comes to comparing men and women, he says: “You simply can’t compare men and women in certain sports. I also often experience that athletes of the same age want to make comparisons with me in terms of the kilometers completed, the speed and the training intensity." Problem: Sport is still a male domain

Valentina Turisini said: “Sport in general is still a male domain. Those responsible are mostly men and therefore trainers are also mostly male. I am lucky that my association president, Ehrenfried Obrist from Kalter, is very open. He assesses his trainers based on their skills and performance. That's why I had the chance as a woman to take on the position of head coach in sport shooting."

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Discussion round: The role of women in sport

On Wednesday evening a panel discussion on the topic: “The role of women in sport” took place at the Trevi Cultural Center in Bolzano. A total of six Olympic medals and five World Cup medals were gathered on the podium. There are also other women who “provide their man” in sport.

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