IT was the culmination of an extremely busy time for Scottish Women in Sport last Friday as we hosted The Business of Sport conference in Edinburgh.

 

With over 150 delegates attending the pressure is always on to ensure that the day runs smoothly, speakers deliver their presentation in time, programmes are ready and printed and that the delegates arrive, are happy and well-fed.

I think it is fair to say we delivered the brief and perhaps a little bit more.

Every presenter was in excellent form, although I know each delegate had their own particular favourite on the day, yet there can be no doubt who won the award for the most enthusiastic, energetic and quirky presentation.

This must go to Emma Dodds who travelled from Austria to be with us, just the night before. Emma, who hails from Australia is currently touring Europe working with tennis coaches and managed to squeeze us into her busy schedule between Austria and Poland.

She bounded onto the stage wearing an outfit that consisted of half a trouser suit with heels and half tennis outfit with trainers, holding a tennis racquet she lobbed a ball direct into the audience.

She then commenced to tell us about the language of sport and how, when you get it right, it can be transferred into the business arena.

Emma will travel back to Scotland in early June to participate in the Rally for Bally.

This event remembers Elena Baltacha, the former British No 1 tennis player who died from liver cancer at the very early age of 30.

She was born in Ukraine and raised in Scotland and her many friends keep her memory alive and organise this annual event to raise money for charity. It’s a great day where celebs take to the court to showcase their tennis skills, or not as the case may be, and patron Judy Murray is on hand to give her support.

The event this year is already a sell out and will take place on Saturday June 3 at the Western Health and Racquets club. I’m sure this will be another sure fire success.

Our other speakers all complemented the topic, The Business of Sport, each of them with their own specific take and all of them eliciting debate, from those in attendance.

We plan in a long networking lunch on the day, as one of our main aims is to bring like-minded people together and give them an opportunity to meet, chat and debate with each other.

Through all this, the delegates kept those who couldn’t attend up to speed through the various social media channels, actively using the #wemeanbusiness hashtag, spreading the word.

It was a heart-warming day for me, to have a packed auditorium engrossed with the presenters and clearly enjoying the day, and many have, since then, taken the time to pass on their thanks.

It’s a good feeling to know that you have helped people and that you can hopefully continue with that support which, as always, is dependent on finance.

So it is back to the fund-raising events for SWiS, to help us continue with our work for women in sport in Scotland.

Whilst all this is extremely pleasant and enjoyable, reality hit with an almighty clash as the events in Manchester dominated all our thoughts.

Sport is there for young people to enjoy, to help them make their way in the world, supplying them with some of the many attributes required to take the step into adulthood. This step has been denied to so many and in such a cruel way and sport itself is recognising this tragedy and will show their respect at the many events which are to be held over the weekend.

It’s a small token that tells those affected they are not alone, they will not be forgotten and for this sport can be commended.

From both the Scottish and English football Cup Finals, the Women’s Super League, the Manchester Marathon, the Indianapolis 500 in US, Premiership Rugby, in fact all sports will ensure that this weekend is one that is marked with respect for all those affected by these events.

Rest in peace.