Women in sport seminar

Do girls and women participate in sport and physical activity to the same extent as boys and men in Malta? Is such participation increasing or decreasing? Why do male coaches outnumber female ones?

These are just some of the issues and questions that will be considered in the second seminar being organised by the Women in Sport Commission of the Malta Olympic Committee titled 'Women in Sport: Meeting the Challenge'.

The seminar will take place tomorrow and on Saturday at the Coastline Hotel.

It is known that women are under-represented at most levels in our sport. In 1999 the Women in Sport Commission was set up to tackle such shortcomings by promoting and encouraging the participation of Maltese women in all aspects of sporting life in accordance with International Olympic Committee policies.

The commission emphasises that women can give a valuable contribution to the sports sector, whether as athletes, officials or administrators.

Through such conferences, representatives from sporting organisations can help to raise these issues and put them on the social agenda.

At present, female representation in sport and physical activity is disproportionate to their percentage in the population.

This year's foreign guest speaker is Dr Rodoula Tsiotsou who received her Masters in Sports Management from Ohio University.

She has been the Marketing Manager for the Hellenic Basketball League and is currently the Marketing Director for Athens daily sports newspaper "Champion".

Other speakers include Dr Janet Mifsud (National Commission for the Promotion of Equality), Dr Lucienne Attard (Chairperson, Women in Sport Commission), Liz Said (Member, Women in Sport Commission), Rose Ann Gatt, Ivan Riolo, Marie Therese Zammit (MOC Director - Elite Athletes) and sports journalists Henry Brincat, Paul Grech and Joanna Spiteri.

One may obtain more details on the seminar from the Malta Olympic Committee offices at Tal-Qroqq (tel. 21-332801) or moc@nocmalta.org.