SWOST: Women's interest in Olympics is growing 05.08.2021.

Hong Kong: A survey released Wednesday shows that women are becoming more interested in the Olympics and will start in the Japanese capital at the end of next week, so about as many women as men are enthusiastic about sports festivals. ..

Data analysis firm Nielsen Sports said that 45% of women in the world’s largest economy are interested in the Games, which will be held from July 23 to August 8 this year.

This figure is only 3 points less than the number of men who were interested in an event that was postponed for a year due to a pandemic when the survey was conducted in May.

Lindsey Douglas, head of the Nielsen Sports brand, said: “While this year’s Tokyo Olympics differ in many ways from previous Olympics, the potential for increasing gender equality in sports remains important.

“Men and women have about the same chances of winning medals, and the Olympics provide the most gender-balanced fan base of any major event.”

According to a Nielsen survey, the Olympic Games are the most popular sporting event in the world, with 47% of respondents in 13 of the 15 wealthiest countries interested in or very interested in the Summer Olympic Games. I have.

That number far exceeds the NBA, the next most popular non-Olympic event. In the NBA, 33% of people are interested. However, only 17% of women are interested in the US Basketball League.

At the Tokyo Olympics, more medals will be awarded to women as the International Olympic Committee () Edge close to gender equality.

Women’s events account for 156 and 494 gold medals available in Tokyo, and men’s events account for 165 gold medals out of a total of 530 gold medals.

The IOC has also introduced an additional mixed event that allows more women to win medals.

Women’s interest in the Olympics is growing, the research report says.

SWOST: Pink offers to pay fines for Norwegian women’s beach handball team 27.07.2021.

European Handball Federation fined players €1,500 for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms

Pop star Pink has offered to pay the “sexist” fines handed out to the Norwegian women’s beach handball team after they refused to wear bikini bottoms while playing.

The European Handball Federation, the sport’s governing body, fined the team €1,500 (£1,295) last week for “improper clothing” at the European Beach Handball Championships.

The American singer voiced her support for the women’s team for refusing to follow the official rules forbidding female beach handball players from wearing shorts like their male counterparts.

She tweeted “I’m very proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team for protesting the very sexist rules about their ‘uniform’. The European handball federation should be fined for sexism.” She added that she would be “happy to pay” the team’s fines.

According to uniform regulations in the rules of the game, women must wear bikini bottoms and a sports bra when playing official games. Men can wear shorts and a vest shirt.

The Norwegian Handball Federation subsequently said that it was prepared to cover the fines, backing their players’ kit choices in a post to the team’s Instagram page.

“We are very proud of these girls who during the European Championships raised their voices and announced that enough is enough!

“We at NHF stand behind you and support you. Together we will continue to fight to change the rules for clothing, so that players can play in the clothes they are comfortable with.”

In an Instagram post on Sunday, the Norwegian team thanked Pink and wrote: “Wow! Thank you so much for the support.”

Player Katinka Haltvik told the Norwegian media outlet NRK that her team’s decision to wear shorts instead of bikini bottoms was “very spontaneous” and that they “felt threatened by the regulations”.

“People cheered on us for going in front of several teams and taking the brunt. Not all teams can afford to pay such fines,” Haltvik said. “[Handball] should be an inclusive sport, not an exclusive one.”

WoW Europe Conference 02.07.2021.

How we help children get through the Covid 19 pandemic and how important it is to do sports every day - this is a topic on the agenda in the civilized world. Representatives of 10 countries participating in the "WoW EUROPE" Project (Romania, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the Republic of Northern Macedonia) shared their observations and national experiences in the "Health through Sport"workshop an event that took place on Friday, July 2, 2021, from 9:00 o'clock, at the K1 Amphitheater Hall in the UMT Conference Center in Timisoara.

The main topics of discussion were "Physical and motor development in children in digital times", "The impact of the Covid19 pandemic, by reducing physical activity and sports, on the physical condition of children". Romania presented a sensitive subject, through the University Lecturer Doctor Mihaela Varga from the Politehnica University Timisoara: "Obesity, nutrition, physical activity and sports in today's children".

"Through this workshop, we aim to help raise awareness of the benefits and role of both sport and physical activity for children's health and to improve the exchange of good practice between athletes, federations, clubs and institutions in the field of sport and education for children to promote sport among children from the countries of the participating organizations ", says Beatrice Mercado, president of the Junior Sport Association, the initiator of the event.

For all those present, the discussions benefited with a simultaneous Romanian-English translation and were broadcast live on the "WoW EUROPE" Project Facebook page.

Together with the Junior Sport Association, six of the international organizations participating in the project had representatives on the spot. So, in Timisoara, there were personalities from LSIIDP - Board of Directors of Sports Educational Institutions in Latvia (Latvia), VšI Sportuokime kartu (Lithuania), ADCS Carvalhais - Associação Desportiva Cultural e Social de Carvalhais (Portugal), Physical Activity Promotion Agency (Slovenia) ), Club Pitch & Putt Barcelona Teià (Spain) and Turkish Sport for all Federation (Turkey).

Details about the 10 international organizations participating in the "WoW EUROPE" Project, here: https://woweuropeproject.eu/participanti.

The following personalities were present for this event and made statements on behalf of Romania: Beatrice Mercado - President of the Junior Sport Association; Marius Dumitru and Alina David - Managers of the “WoW EUROPE” Project; Ruxandra Adam - reprezentant of the Timis County Council; Marin Popescu - General Inspector at the Timis County School Inspectorate; Prof. Dr. Ing. Liviu Marsavina - Pro-rector of the Politechnica University of Timisoara; Adrian Tal - Executive Director of the Politehnica University Timisoara Sports Club, Loredana Ianculovici - Director of the Timis County Directorate for Sports and Youth.

The event was also attended Constantin Osain - School Inspector specializing in sports, but also many physical education and sports teachers, parents of athletes children, nutritionists, media representatives, athletes, coaches, club presidents - most of them being ambassadors of the "WoW EUROPE" Project, were present at the event.

The event is memorized HERE.

SWOST: One third of the population admits that gender inequality in Latvia is an unresolved problem

32% of the population consider gender inequality to be an unresolved problem in Latvia. In addition, 41% of respondents indicate that this problem has only been resolved in certain areas. People have identified the provision of equal pay and the reduction of stereotypes about so-called male and female occupations, as well as specific gender roles in everyday life, as the most important areas in which companies should work to improve gender equality.

According to the representatives of the company "Mars", gender inequality has been a topical problem for several years. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations Organization (UNO) estimated that it would take more than a century to close the gender gap.

The UNO is now reporting that the pandemic has delayed progress in reducing gender inequality by 25 years. And the impact of this problem is particularly devastating among women.

A recent survey in Latvia found that, according to 32% of the population, gender inequality in Latvia is still an unresolved issue. The largest share of respondents who consider gender inequality to be a topical problem is among the youngest population aged 18-29 (45%). Meanwhile, 41% consider it a solved problem only in certain areas. 15% of respondents indicate that this is a solved problem, but that further work is needed to ensure that it does not recur.

Among respondents who believe that gender inequality is a problem, 22% are men and 8% are women.

The majority of respondents, or almost 40%, indicated that equal pay was one of the areas where employers should pay the most attention to improving gender equality.

By contrast, 26% said that companies need to reduce stereotypes about so-called male and female occupations and the specific gender roles in everyday life. But 12% stressed that organizations need to think more about additional support for new mothers. 10% of respondents agree that companies need an equal gender presence in management positions.

The survey was conducted by Mars in cooperation with the research company Norstat Latvija in March 2021. More than 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 74 took part in the survey throughout Latvia.

BMX: Promotion of the Project Ambassadors 05.07.2021.

Since LSIIDP is closely participating with the Valmiera Children's Sport School, where one of the sports implemented is BMX, LSIIDP has good opportunities to appoint more than one or two BMX riders as the project's "Training to Win" ambassadors. The project team consequently consists of the LSIIDP Project Manager Sandija Zaļupe and three members of LSIIDP, who all are employees of Valmiera Children's Sport School: director of the sport school Līga Dzene, BMX coach Olafs Lakučs and another BMX coach Ivo Lakučs. Both coaches appointed the most appropriate BMX riders for the promotion of the project "Training to Win":
  • Līva Lizete Glāzere, a 17-year young BMX female Elite rider,
  • Edvards Glāzers, a 20-year young BMX male Elite rider,
  • Mikus Dāvids Strazdiņš, a 22-year young BMX male Elite rider,
  • Kristens Krīgers, a 24-year young BMX male Elite rider.
Their visit cards may be found HERE.

Hopefully all of the project ambassadors along with another 2-3 Latvian BMX riders will be able to participate in the Battery Test of the project that will be held in Portugal just after the European Cup 2021 of BMX.

Battery Test is the second Intellectual Output of the project that will be mainly managed by three project organizations: the main project partner BMX School Zaragoza from Spain, another serious organization of Spin Fundacion Universidad San Jorge and the Portuguese Federation.

The BMX Battery Test consists of three parts:
  • Part I: Physiological and biomechanical profile of BMX Rider.
    • Force/velocity profile.
    • Physiological profile.
    • Stabilometry assessment.
    • Biomechanics profile.
  • Part II: Psychosocial variables for BMX performance.
    • Motivation, stress control, mental skills, cohesion, resilience.
    • Riders environment analysis: life balance.
  • Part III: Coaching skills
    • Leadership.
    • Problem solving skills (applied to sport situations).
    • Athlete-Coach-Family relation management.
    • Professional development skills.