Edition 2007

The third edition of the AISTS Sport Management Seminar for Women, held from June 4-7 2007 in Lausanne , Switzerland , was yet again a resounding success. The seminar provided a unique opportunity for women to take part in a comprehensive education programme to help them reach higher positions in the sports world, as well as share this amazing experience with other women from accross the globe.  This year, 80 participants representing 62 countries attended the seminar, coming mainly from National Olympic Committees, National and International Sports Federations. Olympic Solidarity once again gave invaluable support by awarding 29 scholarships to participants coming from NOCs.  The allotment was as follows: 7 to African NOCs, 6 to American NOCs, 7 to Asian NOCs, 2 to Oceanian NOCs, and 7 to European NOCs.

The group was composed of managers and project managers, assistants and secretaries, directors and presidents. Ms. Lilamani de Soysa from the ITTF, initiator of the project and Dr. June Canavan from Australia , the moderator of the week, brought a wealth of experience to the participants. By encouraging interaction between participants and speakers, they contributed highly to the learning quality of the seminar.

The programme was composed of various topics divided over 4 days. The main topics were: “Sports Marketing, Sponsorship, and Media Management” presented by Bjorn Walliser from the University of Nancy II in France and Mrs. Saskia Faulk form the University of Lausanne . They spoke about marketing through sport and of sport, the sponsorship process and the marketing process. “Gender Issues in Sport” was given by Dr. June Canavan from Australia who inspired and encouraged the participants with her presentation on the development of women in sport. “Leadership and Gender”, in which Professor Antonakis from the Business School (HEC) University of Lausanne spoke about stereotyping and leadership, gender in culture, the role congruity theory, prejudice towards female leaders, female and male leader’s gender differences in organisations. “Communication”, with Kerry Choun from BCD, who spoke about the essentials of communication skills and the importance of the presentation as well as the structure of the speech. “A case Study” managed by Mr. Lars Haue-Pederson and Mrs. Caroline Andersen from TSE Consulting, Lausanne . “Project Management” with fundamentals taught by Dr Claude Stricker, AISTS and followed up by the computer simulation game of a sport event project management conducted by Mr. Igor Kokcharov from STS, Lausanne . The participants could lead their own project in groups,  experimenting with live issues of managing a project and the consequences of bad or good solutions on the costs, motivation, quality and schedule.

The IOC hosted the cocktail for the Opening Ceremony, which was held at the Olympic Museum in Ouchy. The ceremony included a welcome message from Ms. Clarissa Brack (Project Officer Dept. of International Cooperation and Development, IOC) and Ms. Catherine Laville (Project Officer, NOC management Programmes, Olympic Solidarity, IOC), where they spoke about the IOC promotion of women in sport. 

Besides the classes and workshops, additional activities were organised, such as an evening sports session along the shores of Lake Geneva; the Montreux Volley Masters (International Women’s Volleyball tournament) with a cocktail in the VIP tent; the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Cycling Center in Aigle with different presentations from the staff including a visit of the facilities, where some participants had the chance to try out track cycling. Two of them cycled for the first time in their lives! The Closing Ceremony was also held at the UCI where all participants received their certificate from the hands of UCI President Pat McQuaid after the dinner at the restaurant “La Musette’’. 

This seminar will be held again next year in the summer. We encourage all International Sports Federations including their national federations and NOCs to use this platform to educate future women sports leaders.