2nd March 2010,

DSA Hosts Successful Women in Sports Workshop

DSA received a grant of $9,000 from the Australian Sports Commission Women in Sports Leadership Program to help address the distinct lack of Female representation in management and board positions within the Deaf Sports community.

DSA hosted a two day workshop on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th February, which was attended by 15 females involved in deaf sport, where they discussed and identified factors limiting existing participation and to develop practical strategies to develop more female leaders in the future.

The workshop was facilitated by Henny Oldenhove from the Australian Sports Commission and featured information and sessions on Professional development, organisational change, issues facing deaf and hard of hearing women in sport and more.

“The workshop was a great opportunity for women involved in deaf sports to discuss a number of issues in deaf sports, particularly getting more deaf & hard of hearing people involved in sport and improving how deaf sport is run and managed. Once we discussed a number of leadership attributes and styles many realised that they were in strong positions to influence change so look out at your next committee meeting!” said Henny, “All participants really enjoyed the chance to get to know each other, share common issues and solutions and build a strong community of support between each other and their sports. In a sense a new network was formed and one that can greatly benefit deaf sports”.

Henny also added “Whilst I have had some experience working with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, having the whole group together just showed that language should not be an obstacle and that what we have as common as women in sport is much greater than what separates us! I hope that in some way every participant strengthened their belief of their potential as leaders and will contribute to deaf sport for many more years to come.”

The workshop also included group discussions and role-plays which provided the participants the opportunity to develop skills needed for certain situations.

Lisa Westwood, a former Deaflympian and current Board Member of Deaf Netball Australia mentioned that “The Women in Sports Workshop was a very valuable learning experience, a lot of us learnt about leadership styles, how to solve conflict and how to create opportunities. The weekend also gave us the chance to build on our networking system amongst other women. After this weekend, I feel richer with knowledge on how to be a successful leader in my community”.

Workshop organiser Irena Farinacci indicated that the workshop was a success mainly due to the commitment, enthusiasm and dedication of the participants.

“It was fantastic to see a group of dedicated female participants who have a common interest in supporting one another in achieving their goals” said Irena, “It was also an important milestone for Deaf Sports Australia who are keen to promote deaf and hard of hearing women in sports”.

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