Watch #SIGAWoW episode 8 on demand
The first edition of #SIGAWoW in 2022 brought together athletes, former athletes and even a renowned sports psychologist around one of the taboo subjects for many: The career transition in sports.
The end of the career is often a problem for athletes. And even more so for women, who, in addition to struggling with closed doors, still carry on their shoulders the difficulties caused by lower incomes (if not the total lack of income), as well as restrictions on motherhood.
After a rich career, filled with honours, former basketball player Sonja Petrovic was appointed Sports Director of the Serbia Olympic Committee. An opportunity she worked on, mainly by preparing herself for the post-career:
“When I look back, I wouldn’t have imagined my transition to go so smoothly. I do, however, consider I was pretty aware of what was coming next. You never know how much you are paid back, and for how long. I always knew I had work today, and tomorrow could be different. Even though it wasn’t easy, I finished university in Serbia during my career abroad. I grabbed the chance to learn new languages while playing in other countries. My dad was probably my biggest mentor. If you seek opportunities, you will always find them. During the last year of my playing career, I finished my FIBA Time Out master, where I met a lot of great people, like Radmila Turner and Elizabeth Cebrian, who were a kind of mentors to me”.
Jodie Cunningham, St Helen’s and England Rugby League Player, RLWC2021 Ambassador started her transition while she is still playing…
“It was through an injury, prior to the World Cup in 2017, that I got the chance to work in sport. I was going through rehab, and one day I was speaking in a public event. The CEO of the following World Cup was among the audience, and he came to me and said he wanted me to be a woman ambassador. My route into administrative roles in sport came by chance, and gave me experience…”
Sonja and Jodie share one experience: they both saw transition come, and found ways of not being surprised.
If there was a secret recipe for happiness and women to forge a career in Sport after leaving the pitch, that would be the one they followed. At least, that’s Kirsten Van Heerden’s expertise. Sport Psychologist at Newton Sports Agency, former South African national team swimmer, shared her tips:
“Having athletes sharing their stories, like SIGA is doing, is part of what we can do to actually prepare. When athletes wake up for the reality of life after sports, it is usually too late then in some respects, to start preparing. Athletes must always be aware there is another life apart from sports. I suggest plugging into networks of athletes who have gone through the same issues. Ultimately you need to start preparing for transition at the early stages of the career”.
Ona Carbonell, Spanish artistic swimmer, twice Olympian, also joined WoW and shone with her bright ever-present smile, more than a facial expression, a life philosophy…
Recently, Ona complained about not being able to take her son to Tokyo-2020, something that forced her to quit breastfeeding. Clearly, being a mother is one of the biggest challenges women athletes find during their career.
“Not being able to take my child to Tokyo wasn’t close to being the worst moment of my career, but it was a tough year mentally and physically. I gave birth, wasn’t sleeping and had to recover shape after 9 months of pregnancy. Women have extra power; we can do whatever we want. When I decided to go to Tokyo, I looked for information with my coach, and there wasn’t enough information about breastfeeding and training”.
Katie Simmonds, SIGA Global COO, and #SIGAWomen Managing Director also received former football player Natalia Pablos, and Water Polo Olympic medallist Anni Espar, both from Spain – and invited by SIGA’s media partner Diario AS, which shared WoW the live feed on their website.
Are you encouraged to think about life about sport while still competing? Katie asked. Anni Espar answer was prompt:
“When I was younger, I was focused only on Water Polo, but now I am also thinking about my future. Currently, I am working for BIWPA, Barcelona International Water Polo Academy. What I do is help athletes from all over the world to study and play Water Polo in Barcelona”.
Natalia Pablos played football for the Spanish National team, Rayo Vallecano, and Arsenal. Now that she hung up boots, she speaks about transition and how it is harder for women, even in football:
“Most of my career I was trying to study and play football at the same time. It was hard. I left the national team for 4 years, because it was hard to study and to balance things. You can’t forget that your future is as important as the football career. It is impossible to compare the money men earn with the women’s salaries in football. So, there is more pressure on women to prepare a career. All women have to prepare the future.”
The next WoW will be on 6 April. In March, 8-9, we will be live from New York with #SIGAWomen Summit on Female Leadership. Early bird passes available here.
Re-watch #SIGAWoW Episode 8
ABOUT SIGA
SIGA is the world´s largest coalition in the field of sport´s governance and integrity. Supported by more than 100 international multi-industry supporters, SIGA is an independent and neutral organisation whose mission is to bring about meaningful reforms and enhance the integrity of all sports through a set of universal standards operated by an independent and neutral body. SIGA is the only organisation to bring together sport, governments, academia, international organisations, sponsors, business, rights holders, NGOs and professional services companies, from every region in the world, around a common cause of fostering greater integrity throughout sport.
Click on the hyperlinks for the list of SIGA Members and Committed Supporters and SIGA Partners.
For more information on SIGA, including its vision, mission and reform agenda, please refer to the website: www.siga-sport.com.
To contact SIGA, please email: comms@siga-sport.com.