The City Council reaffirms its commitment to equality in sports

The Tenerife Island Council, through its Sports Department, presented today, March 5, the most important initiatives being carried out to promote equality in sports through its “Women and Sports” program, which works to promote equality in sports in a cross-cutting manner across all its activities throughout the year.

The Regional Minister of Sports, Yolanda Moliné, officially presented the “Guide for Incorporating a Gender Perspective into the Organization of Sporting Events, ” developed in collaboration with the Sports Department of the University of La Laguna, in collaboration with the Tenerife Violeta Strategic Framework for Action on Gender Equality Policies and the Evensport Sports Events Association. This is a practical tool designed to help those who manage sporting events—regardless of their size or type, whether in public or private organizations—to reduce the gender imbalances that still exist today in the field of sports in general and in sporting events in particular. In addition, this guide is available in a practical, printed version, which is currently being distributed.

The island’s Director of Equality and Diversity, Patricia León, said that “the Island Council works in a horizontal, collaborative, and cross-cutting manner across all areas, striving to ensure that gender-sensitive action is not limited to a single department but is carried out by all departments, just as the Sports Department has done so well”.

Ana Gaspar, a specialist with the Cabildo’s Sports Department, explained that “the guide is a highly practical tool for anyone who decides to organize sporting events, and it addresses a social need.”

In addition, Moliné also presented the fifth edition of the Women and Sports Conference, which aims to promote sports participation among women on the island. To this end, introductory sports activities will be organized, primarily in sports that—due to their nature—are more beneficial for women, help them better balance family and professional life, or are more motivating in helping more women lead active and healthy lives through physical activity. This season also brings many new developments. The first—and most important, as Yolanda Moliné explained—is that the age requirement for participation has been lowered to 14, since it has been shown that it is during adolescence when the highest dropout rate from sports occurs. This initiative aims to encourage young women to participate in sports other than those offered by federations—activities they can balance with their academic studies and social lives.

A total of 16 sessions, most of which will take place on Saturday mornings, began last Saturday and will continue through mid-June. The schedule is available at deportestenerife.es.

8M Campaign for International Women’s Day

Yolanda Moliné also presented the initiatives that the Sports Department is carrying out in observance of International Women’s Day. On the one hand, in the programs being implemented in schools, such as “Active Schools” and “Active Recess,” training sessions and activities are being held over the past few weeks that focus on promoting the active participation and leadership of girls, so that they—with the help and guidance of sports coaches—can take the initiative to organize the activities they choose for these weeks and lead them themselves. In addition, group photos are being taken during these weeks, featuring a banner with the slogan “Active Schools for Equality.”

On March 8, as Ana Gaspar explained, the campaign “How Sports Have Changed My Life” will be launched, in which women from across the island have chosen to participate by sharing what sports have meant in their lives. Specifically, a video will be shown featuring some of the campaign’s participants, who will share their personal stories of how sports have changed their lives. In addition, the “Women and Sports” program’s website will feature all the stories from participants who have chosen to share their experiences. The goal of this campaign is to create anonymous role models who can inspire other women—who have not yet embraced sports as a way of life—to take that first step.