The Power of Sports to Unite Us[Podcast Series]
[:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Stephanie Geosits
Stephanie Geosits is Founder of All About Sports
She has spent a career working at all levels of sport and physical activity, is a recreational athlete, and a huge sports fan.
[1:14] Inspiration for entering the sports industry
“And I think that my passion for sport also comes from the fact that it is so universal. It's global. I just returned from the U17 Women's World Cup in Morocco, and I saw teams from all over the globe. The final eight teams were from four different continents, and each had its own language, and it was just an amazing confluence of these young women and the power of sport to unite us.”
[2:46] Behind the scenes look at the U17 Women’s World Cup
“So it's a celebration of these young women and their hard work and dedication, and the people around them who work with them to develop them not only as athletes, but the really important piece that I think people sometimes overlook is, these young women are future leaders, and certainly data has proven that women who take part in sport are able to carry the skills learned into life and be very successful.”
[5:22] Founding All About Sports
“Sport governance is so critical to all levels of sport, and really provides the foundation for successful sports organizations and systems, and I strongly believe that all of the crises and endemic problems that we've seen throughout the history of sport are all rooted in governance issues.”
[8:49] Addressing governance issues in sports
“When we talk about governance, we talk about the role of a board of directors, we talk about risk management, strategic planning, and really delivering on a mandate to provide a strong organizational structure so the athletes, coaches who are coming into these organizations, being part of these organizations are having number one, first and foremost, safe experiences, and they are provided with environments where they're not only able to excel, but they're resourced and empowered to excel by virtue of these organizations being properly run and and managed.”
[11:07] Protecting athletes and coaches
“So it's one thing to write a policy. It's another thing to enforce it and live every day with the goal of protecting your athletes, your coaches, your employees.”
[12:47] Averting crises with good governance
“I think more and more people are realizing that the best course of action is to be proactive and address any governance shortcomings before something horrific happens.”
[15:38] Challenges and opportunities in the field
“Walking soccer is something that I don't think 20 years ago was really thought of, but as our populations age and are living longer, there's a need to keep people active, and it's programs like this, innovations like this that I think are huge opportunities when we look at how we keep people moving and healthy and ensure that they have access to opportunities like this.”
[21:02] Increasing sports participation
“So, it's how do we get more people to fall in love with it at an early age and stay with it and keep having those positive experiences?”
[25:18] Why sports matter
“So I think sports matter because of the elements that we discussed, better health outcomes, keeping people active, keeping people engaged, socially, together, is critically important around mental health, particularly as we age. But I also think that sports do unite us, and it's especially important living in contentious times.”
