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International Women’s Day

She Sports Switzerland reflect on International Women's Day

It was 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City and demanded the right to vote. The right to vote for women, a seemingly ordinary matter today, was achieved through a long and arduous journey of challenging an existing unjust system. That first step in 1908 is where the roots of the International Women’s Day were laid.

That was 112 years ago. It is impressive that a movement that began in 1908 remains so strong today. But the fact that this movement has been required to live on, as we move into the third decade of the 21st century, is proof that the fight for equality has still not been achieved and that is why we have to continue keeping the flame alive. Celebrating the International Women’s Day, represents a small part of that fight.

There are two primary motivations behind celebrating The International Women’s Day on the 8th of March every year:

To celebrate women’s achievements
To raise awareness about the lack of equality for women

At She Sports Switzerland, our vision has always aligned with these values, and this year as we celebrate the International Women’s Day, we are embracing #ChooseToChallenge, the theme of IWD 2021.

As a way to contribute to the theme, the She Sports Switzerland team took up the challenge to speak up and celebrate the women who have inspired them. These women have chosen to challenge the norms of the society, shattered glass ceilings and inspired us to do, and be better. Each one of us has many such female role models, who have had valuable contributions in making us who we are today. Some of them contribute directly to our personal evolutions on a daily basis; others, we see from afar, but their actions inspire us to be better every single day.

It is our hope that by initiating this conversation, we can empower you, dear reader, to shine the light on women who have inspired you; not just today, but every day going forward. Because celebrating women who change the world (even if it is our own little corner of the world they impact) will empower and inspire others to take action. It is a linchpin in the fight for equality; a fight which is not over yet. But every little step we take, inches us closer to the finish line.

Until then it’ll require initiative from each of us, and we are here to support you through it all. After all, we are your team.

She Speaks with Deepthi Bopaiah

Eight years ago, Deepthi Bopaiah, working at a bank, was sitting with her bank colleagues and watching the 2012 London Olympics on a TV screen in a pub in Bengaluru, India. Lamenting about the lack of success at the Olympic level for India was a regular pastime for many in the country, but Deepthi felt that something could be done about this situation.

Fast forward to 2020 and Deepthi is the Executive Director of GoSports Foundation (GSF), a leading non-governmental organisation based out of Bengaluru that helps to support and facilitate the journeys of junior, emerging and elite athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic levels. From representing leading athletes in their sport to being awarded the ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award – National Sports Encouragement Award’ by the President of India, Deepthi and GSF have come a long way, supporting over 120 athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic level.

We sat down with her (virtually) to discuss the journey she’s been on over the last eight years, the lessons gained from her athlete career and corporate life, and her advice for those looking to seriously have a career in sport.

What is the aim of GoSports Foundation in Indian sport?

While we’re thinking of getting athletes to achieve their potential (winning at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and ultimately, at the Olympics), I think it’s also a lot beyond that. It’s about creating role models for Indians. So, if you have to be a role model, your sport will take you to one level where people will be inspired, and they’ll congratulate you [for your successes]. But if you have to have a legacy of your own, you have to stand for something and you should be something much more than your sport and beyond your sport as well. You have to really cherish excellence, and you have to be excited about that journey of excellence. That’s what GSF is about – we’re using sports as a vehicle for excellence. For us, [winning medals] is a great outcome we work towards but that’s not the only thing. Because at the end of the day, you don’t want to have a gold medallist who cannot survive in the real world.

“Because at the end of the day, you don’t want to have a gold medallist who cannot survive in the real world.”

You have represented your state, Karnataka, in both tennis and basketball. How would you say being an athlete has helped in transforming the journeys of these athletes under GSF and understanding what needs to be done for success?

A large part of who I am, all the learnings [and] life lessons that I’ve had is only because of sport. I think my life would have been very different if I did not play sport at whatever level that I played. I think even when I joined GoSports, the whole mission and vision was very exciting that we want to just create Olympians. Can we be part of Olympic athlete journeys and Olympic Paralympic athlete journeys? Just the idea of finding raw talent and being able to create a support system around them so that if they’re talented, they should get a helping hand to move to the next level. Just the power of sport and what it does for countries and nations and just having an Indian flag, flying high is [exciting]. It’s very easy to keep saying the same thing about [how] I love the national flag flying high. But when you see the kind of effort that is required – I think sport is one thing [where] there are no excuses, there are no shortcuts. You have to go through the grind, and you have to do certain things a certain way and be disciplined to see results.

“The power of sport and what it does for countries and nations and just having an Indian flag, flying high is [exciting].”

What is one memory that sticks out over the last eight years? Something that made you realise that this was going to be a successful endeavour…

It’s been quite a journey in terms of where we were when I joined [in 2012]. We were like three people and15 athletes. And today we’re 21 people in the team with 120 athletes.

But I think the first memory was actually this event we did with Rahul Dravid (former Indian cricketer) when he was just retiring from international cricket. We were having these conversations with him about how he can be involved in GoSports. And I still remember that conversation very clearly when he was saying: Yeah, we can do something but what exactly do we do? Because [he] was in the cricket world and what can [he] do, when we actually coined this whole mentor role actually for Rahul, we actually coined that collectively as a team and started the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. And then when we found a donor – Aditya Birla Group – as well to fund a project, so it all came together at the right time with the right set of athletes. I think that was one of my earliest memories because you obviously grown up seeing Rahul and reading about all these people and then you’re sitting with them and actually having a conversation and charting out something so unique. I think that was very special.

Although India is definitely rising in terms of its sporting potential, what were some of the hurdles you’ve faced, as the head of a nascent organisation and as a woman in a male-dominated industry?

Yeah, I think sports administration in India is completely run and managed by men. I was [in] one of those meetings in the government offices and there was like 15-20 people and I was the only woman there. Age also doesn’t help you sometimes. I think what helped is the minute we started putting out our proposals, when we started showing the quality of work, they knew you meant business. I think it’s very important to just say that, to be given a voice, and to just be able to share what you have on your mind. And growing up, I’ve never had these issues where it’s a boy, it’s a girl, because we’ve played sport. It’s very different I feel, but coming into this world of administration, it was slightly challenging, I would say in the start, but I think the minute you showed what you could deliver and what you bring to the table, I think all changed.

I think what I was [also] able to bring is the whole empathy side of it, and I think women naturally bring that. If you use it to your strength, you can just really catapult it and move forward because the minute you build a relationship, and you’re able to connect to that person, I just feel that you’re able to get a lot of work [done]. For most women, we actually shy away when very different types of responsibility comes in, because we’ve never done it in the past. In some sense, I just jumped right in. Initially [I knew you won’t] get the recognition or there were things that we’ve done and they will not acknowledge what you’ve done. Those are things which should not stop you, but you just constantly push yourself to try and keep reinventing that you get so good and so big that you cannot be ignored.

“Athletes want to know you care and athletes want to know they can reach out to you.”

What should be remembered about working in sport administration?

I think the first thing they want to see is do you care? And do you really care about their [athletes’] journey? A lot of the people around want medals but are not keen on creating an ecosystem for the athlete to develop and thrive.

But in a job like ours, we may not succeed, we will never be out there saying it’s all us. I think if you’re okay with that to be in the background, and make sure that someone else shines and you still know it’s your work in some way, shape or form. I think that was very exciting to all of us as an organisation, because we have been quite conservative in putting ourselves out there for many years.

Athletes want to know you care and athletes want to know they can reach out to you and athletes. I’ve had athletes call me at three in the morning [when] unfortunately one of our athletes’ dad passed away and the first person she called was me. And I was touched at that point of time. Obviously, if you were a typical administrator, I don’t know if that would have happened if you’ve had not built a relationship and just given money. I think that is a very valuable asset for people to bring into sports administration, because for many years, athletes have been right at the end and below that have been coaches.

Our GSF team is more [like] the entourage. You need to manage the athlete to take them forward. I was there at the Rio Olympics and Paralympics and just seeing what support and care and attention can do and how you win medals, the proof is there.

Do you consider yourself a role model for those looking to enter this particular field?

I definitely consider myself as somebody who’s been through a difficult path and made a niche for myself, in some sense. If it inspires more people to come in… I have had a lot of young guys and girls write to me saying how they want to follow this trajectory.

On being a woman in this field

It’s situational. I would say I think it depends on who you’re meeting and how you’re meeting. But at the end of the day, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, if your work doesn’t speak, you’ll only be getting an entry because you’re a woman which [is what] people think. But if you have to last and if you have to consistently be there, then you have to be able to deliver on ground, you have to be result and outcome oriented. That’s something which I’ve learned over a period of time and again because at the end of the day, there is a result and whatever effort you put in will bear fruit at some point or the other. You may like the fruit or not like the fruit, but there will be results that are created, so it’s up to you.

More from Deepthi

Check out Deepthi discussing this and more on the ‘active CEO’, a podcast series that seeks to bring together the world’s most creative and innovative high-performance leaders, to inspire positive change here.

Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com - 20/07/2019 - Netball - Vitality Netball World Cup - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England - Pivoteers.

She Speaks with Lindsay Impett, Netball World Cup

At a time when equal pay and large crowds are being celebrated as milestone moments in women’s football, it is interesting to remember that there are sports which are really female-dominated and pull their own weight without comparison with the men’s version of the game. Netball is in the unique position of looking at ways to encourage more boys and men to take up the sport, even as the women’s game remains ever popular.

For this edition of She Speaks, we were in conversation with Lindsay Impett, Event Director of the very successful 2019 edition of the Vitality Netball World Cup.

The 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup

The Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 was a great success, I am delighted to say. Every session met or greatly exceeded its target capacity and the feedback from the fans showed how much they enjoyed the high quality sport, top level event presentation and additional activities in both the fan-park and throughout the city. Sky and the BBC provided an exceptional broadcast seen by over 3 million spectators in the UK alone. Our teams, our volunteer community and the International Federation provided hugely positive feedback on their experiences.

I have been lucky enough to work in Australia, South Africa as well as across a variety of events in the UK. I got my first break while volunteering at the Commonwealth Games in 2002.

Role at the World Cup

Netball World Cup 2019 Ltd. was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary of England Netball, to focus on the organisation and promotion of the event. My role involved leading the company and overseeing the delivery of the event. On a daily basis, it was about managing the project timeline, budget, risk and readiness, but in a wider context it was about building the team and creating a culture that allowed them to thrive, to grow and deliver to the best of their abilities. The performance of the staff on the event is something I will always be very proud of.

Netball is the only sport where there is little or no comparison to the established men’s version of the game for female athletes. This is a real strength of our sport and we need to maintain this while developing the mixed and men’s games.

Netball’s unique position

For the first time at the Netball World Cup some of the teams played warm-up matches against men’s sides. I believe it is important to develop the men’s and mixed games, whilst keeping netball as a leader in women’s sport. Netball is the only sport where there is little or no comparison to the established men’s version of the game for female athletes. This is a real strength of our sport and we need to maintain this while developing the mixed and men’s games.

From Netball court to the boardroom

Netball is the ultimate team sport. Even though you need a captain or a leader, it is very difficult to win without each and every member of the team. I believe in valuing my team and what they can do, to deliver the best performance.

Key Performance Indicators for the ‘best performance’

When England Netball moved to Loughborough in 2017, one of the first decorations we installed was a large wall with information about the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019. The detail that kept me focused right from the beginning – when I was the sole member of the organisation – was a target of selling more than 60 thousand tickets. We smashed this KPI selling over 112,000 tickets for the event.

Equally important to me, however, was the objective of 100% staff retention throughout the duration of the project. Again, without the right team in place it is impossible to achieve the KPIs.

Netball has seen global growth in recent years with countries such as Argentina and Zambia developing their coaching networks.

100k+ tickets! How did you generate enthusiasm in a crowded year that included the Women’s Football World Cup and the men’s Cricket World Cup.

Early in the planning process, we decided to move the event from 5^th to 12^th July to avoid Wimbledon and the men’s Cricket World Cup. We wanted to ensure that the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 had its own platform and space to shine. We found that other sporting events such as the Women’s Football World Cup in France accentuated the narrative around female sport, which only benefited our event.

Is the sport growing in popularity globally?

Netball has seen global growth in recent years with countries such as Argentina and Zambia developing their coaching networks. In the UK, off the back of the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup, England Netball have seen a rise in the number of enquiries about clubs, more back-to-netball attendance and an increase in ‘session finder’ use (on the website).

In fact, one person was so keen that she emailed England Netball from inside the (Liverpool) Arena while watching a World Cup match, in search of her nearest playing opportunity! England Netball have done a great job in tapping in to the various reasons why people want to play and creating a product that meets that need. Other member nations are also adopting this approach.

Does ‘being the only woman in the room’ apply in Netball?

Although our volunteer community of Pivoteers was made up of a high percentage of females, our delivery team at the event had a good gender mix. Our Head of Sport Competition was Ian Holloway and I don’t believe there are many people in the UK who could have run our netball competition better. It wasn’t about male or female for us, it was about who was best placed to do the job at hand.

Professional journey so far

I have been lucky enough to work in Australia, South Africa as well as across a variety of events in the UK. I got my first break while volunteering at the Commonwealth Games in 2002. I pushed myself forward and introduced myself to the representatives of Fast Track. Having been an athlete myself, I knew Fast Track ran track and field events and I knew this was the direction I wanted to go in. Fast Track then gave me opportunity and experience in a wide range of event operations and this set me up for all the jobs that followed!

I have since worked at Wembley Stadium and been involved in a variety of events including Youth Olympics, World Masters Games, FIFA World Cup, the London 2012 Olympics, European Archery 2016, the Rugby World Cup and even a medieval pageant! Each role has provided me with new skills as well as contacts and I take experience and value from every thing I do.