The fifth and last protagonist of the series of reports on “Women who move sport” is Susana Closa, a woman who lives and breathes sport and management. Susana Closa has had a long and rich career both in sport and in management. She is the manager of the Barcelona Institute of Sports (IBE), a position she has held since mid-2019, where she works to promote public policies to strengthen the sport industry: “the public administration has seriously encouraged public policies aimed at making the sport industry available to everyone.” “The goal,” explains Susana Closa, “is to normalise the pursuit of sport and make it a normal part of people’s lives”: “Now we have all made it a part of our lives. Not just as a healthy habit but even as a recommendation by the WHO (World Health Organization).”
Susana Closa started her relationship with sport at an early age: “When I was a little girl, I was always doing somersaults at home. And, from those somersaults, I eventually ended up in a gym. And I started doing artistic gymnastics.” From there, I went onto jumping on a trampoline: “When I stopped doing artistic gymnastics, a friend of mine who did trampoline jumping said to me, “Since you do somersaults, why don’t you come and train with us on the team? And that’s how I got into the world of trampoline jumping, which is what has guided my entire career and my links with the sports industry.”
Susana Closa is in a profession – sports management – in which women are still the minority. Although she believes that being a woman has caused her no problems in her working life, she is aware that gender can be – and is – a barrier for other women wanting to dedicate their lives to the world of sport: “I’ve personally never had any problems but, based on the culture of this country, it is a clear and verifiable fact that this is a male-dominated industry.” In spite of this, she believes that this has gradually changed and that the public administrations are working to reverse the situation: “We have evolved, and gender and equality policies have done so too. Sport is not male or female. Sport is sport. And it can therefore be practised by both genders. If we don’t make an effort to make women’s sport visible, it will hard for it to become a normal part of life for us and evolve.” In relation to this, Susana Closa explains the importance of Barcelona City Council holding the Women and Sport Award: “The value of the award resides in showing something that is sometimes invisible.”The ultimate goal is therefore “to ensure that the future of women in sport in Barcelona becomes completely normal. We will not mention it again. On the contrary: we will talk about these women who will come out and be our example.”
Women and Sport Award, 13 years with sportswomen
The series of reports on “Women who move sport” has acted as a prelude to the 13th edition of the Women and Sport Award. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the winners of this year’s award were announced in an online ceremony held on 17 December.
The goal of the awards is to highlight the achievements of women united in their passion and devotion to physical activity and sport. They have also opened up a new means of disseminating and introducing stories and reflections on the role of women in sport, in order to help achieve a more equal presence in all age ranges and all fields of sport and physical activity.