FEI Talks Gender Equality at SportAccord Conference

Just one week after IOC President Thomas Bach announced a 23% increase in female representation on IOC commissions, Lisa Lazarus, FEI’s Chief of Business Development and Strategy will be addressing the SportAccord Convention held in Belek (TUR) this week on the topic of women in sport.

Lazarus features on the first panel in tomorrow’s (April 9th) session, “A Women’s World, the journey towards sporting equality,” alongside Amanda Bennett, Head Coach England Women U20 team, Rugby Football Union, Marzena Bogdanowicz, Managing Director b-focused ltd, Donna de Varona, President DAMAR Inc and Neşe Gündoğan, Secretary General of the Turkish National Olympic Committee.

Moderated by Charmaine Crooks (CAN), five-time Olympian and recipient of the 2006 IOC Women in Sport Trophy, the panel will debate sporting equality on the field of play, in the media, in sponsorship spend, and on the boards of national and international sports governing bodies.

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Gender equality in horse sport

“Equestrian is one of the few sports that can boast gender equality on the field of play, with male and female athletes competing against each other and sharing the same podium,” Lisa Lazarus said.

“One great example of our top female athletes is American Jumping rider Beezie Madden, who will be heading to the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final in Lyon, France next week to defend her title.

“Last year Beezie Madden became the fifth woman to claim the FEI World Cup trophy in the world’s oldest individual Jumping series, and is currently the highest ranked female athlete in the Longines Rankings, the world rankings for Jumping riders, having consistently held a top-five place for almost a year.”

Women in leadership

“The FEI is also one of the International Federations that has a history of strong female Presidents,” Lazarus added. “HRH Princess Haya, the third consecutive female FEI President, was appointed in 2006 following the FEI’s first contested election. The former Olympian is a UN Messenger of Peace and IOC member and is currently on three IOC commissions – Women and Sport, Entourage, and Marketing.

“HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, FEI President from 1986 to 1994 and now honorary FEI Vice President, was announced last week as President of the IOC Nominations Commission. HRH The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón (ESP) succeeded The Princess Royal as FEI President, and remained in the role for eight years until 2006 when HRH Princess Haya was elected. In 1996, Doña Pilar was the first FEI President to become an IOC member.

“The FEI is very proud to have been the International Federation to field the first female athlete from Saudi Arabia at Olympic level when Dalma Rushdi Malhas won individual bronze at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in the Jumping.

“And it is a matter of great pride for us that the first female IOC member, in 1981, was Flor Isava Fonseca, member of the Venezuelan Jumping team at the 1956 Olympic Games and founder and first president of the Venezuelan Equestrian Federation.”

The general theme of this year’s SportAccord Convention conference programme is Sport’s New Frontier. Topics such as creating better sporting equality; integrity, and what today’s youth really think about sport, will be debated during the two conference days.