FE&MALE Sports Conference sets the course for the future

This event sends an impressive signal for women in sport in Austria! At the second edition of ADVANTAGE LADIES of the FE&MALE Sports Conference on Wednesday as part of the WTA 500 Upper Austria Ladies Linz tournament, renowned international speakers discussed the topic of gender equality in depth. Together, they developed important approaches and aspects to further advance the equalisation of women and men in sport. The main topics of the largest Austrian symposium for women in sport were #Participation ("Fe&Male Empowerment"), #Ppolitics ("Equality is a must!"), #career ("Fe&Male as fuel").

In cooperation with the federal sports organisation Sport Austria, the Austrian Tennis Association (ÖTV) and the Reichel Business Group (RBG), women's minister Susanne Raab, geneticist Prof. Markus Hengstschläger, former tennis pro Andrea Petkovic, tournament ambassador Barbara Schett and Advantage Ladies ambassador Teresa Pellegrini, who is the cox in Austria's men's eight, discussed the future of women's careers in sports organisations under the motto "Better Together". The active and former female athletes provided exciting insights into the everyday lives of female athletes, coaches and officials, highlighting opportunities and prospects for women as well as challenges that need to be overcome on the road to gender equality.

Quotes from the FE&MALE Sports Conference ADVANTAGE LADIES

Women's Minister Susanne Raab: "The Upper Austria Ladies Tennis Tournament is one of the most important women's sporting events in Austria and a fixture on the Austrian sporting calendar. Sport inspires and moves. The tennis players at the tournament are role models for everyone, because they show that you can get to the top with hard work. Every girl and every woman should know that she can become what she wants to be and be active in the area that interests her. Of course, this also applies to the world of sport."

Tournament Director Sandra Reichel: "This year, the Advantage Ladies FE&MALE Sports Conference is showing the way to achieving gender equality in sport. This year's motto "Better Together" reflects our conviction as to why it makes sense to pursue this goal. The internationality of the speakers also raises the event to a new level and corresponds to the upgrade that the Upper Austria Ladies Linz tennis tournament has also experienced to the WTA-500 category."

Sport Austria President Hans Niessl: "The Advantage Ladies FE&MALE Sports Conference as part of the WTA 500 event in Linz is simply ideal for this sociopolitically important topic, also in terms of media coverage. The second edition also provided plenty to talk about and impressed with its high-quality content! Sport Austria contributed its expertise and placed great emphasis on the perspective of organised sport."

ÖTV President Martin Ohneberg: "The FE&MALE Sports Conference provides a very important impetus for women's tennis. As the claim 'Better together' says, we must succeed in achieving equality between men and women in sport together. With the Ladies in Tennis project, supported by the Ministry of Sport, the ÖTV has been campaigning even more strongly for women's tennis and for more women in tennis for almost two years now."

Quotes from the panels:

Andrea Petkovic (former tennis pro, author, mentor): "The concept of talent in tennis has changed. You can see that with Novak Djokovic. Others may play better, but he, for example, is always able to adapt. I had a very good career, but I didn't achieve what I dreamed of as a child. I wasn't good enough for that and I didn't have enough talent. Tennis is a complex sport where you try to train every parameter. For example, I have a very high level of concentration, which I developed as a young player. In tennis, women don't train less or are put under different pressure. We may train with different weights in the gym, but the intensity is the same. Nevertheless, women at the peak of their career can't win against men at their peak because they play much more powerfully and with more rotation. In boxing, if a heavyweight fights a flyweight, he will probably win. That doesn't make him the better boxer. It's similar in tennis. Today's female tennis player is an athlete through and through. The trend in tennis is different for men. They are becoming much slimmer and weigh less. Of course, self-confidence plays a decisive role. The best in the world are all mentally strong. You can certainly get more out of them in terms of play. I've always noticed that boys and men go into competitions openly. Girls and women tend to be more reserved. I always wanted to win at all costs. From my point of view, it's a much healthier atmosphere on the pitch. That's when I realised what a big role socialisation and self-confidence play."

Prof Dr Markus Hengstschläger (geneticist, author): "Genes are often overrated in sport, but they are certainly not irrelevant. It's about realising potential. Of course there is a genetic difference between men and women. The crucial question is: How much is genetically predisposed? What is triggered by the environment? It's mainly about socialisation, the environment and society. If two people train the same amount, then genes can make the difference. There is a bridge between training and genetics. The training, nutrition and mental state of the athlete play a crucial role in determining which genes we have will be utilised. We have to realise that things are not a given, but that what we make of them is crucial. A women's sport is a women's sport because we believe it's a women's sport. It's all in the mind and has to do with social influences. But the most important thing is self-esteem and there is a big difference between men and women. But that has absolutely nothing to do with genes. And we have to change that."

Sarah Fischer (Austrian weightlifter): "For me, every training session was always like a little competition because I wanted to be better than my brother. I didn't know any different. And that increased my performance in every training session. Unfortunately, it's difficult for me to appear in the media with my sport because my performance isn't recognised in the same way as it is for men."

Theresa Baumgartner (captain Ice Cats Linz AG): "Of course, the environment has to be right to be able to play your sport professionally at a high level. This also includes the support of the family and the work of the coaches and trainers. I'm passionate about my sport and want to be a role model. I've always wanted to reach the next level, get better at every training session and play in the Bundesliga. It's also important that clubs, schools and the media are held accountable so that young girls can show what they're made of."

Teresa Pellegrini (coxswain of the ÖRV men's eight): "Being a woman in a men's race is something special and I was very happy about the request from the federation. You have to be brave and show others what you can do. Especially in rowing, the women have celebrated the greatest successes here in Austria. I think it's also very good for the team that I'm there as a woman and can bring a new perspective."