DAMASCUS - The women in sports and the women that chronicle their exploits were again brought into focus during the annual 4th Arab Women Sports Journalists Meeting here.
The four-day event presented by sponsor ART Sports Channel for the Arab Sports Confederation attracted 38 participants from 13 Arab countries namely Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and host Syria. By their sheer numbers the gathering of lady sports scribes in the Arab world reflected the growing interest in the specialized field of sports journalism.
Held over nine sessions, the meeting which ended on Tuesday made a number of recommendations aimed at, among others, encouraging more women to take up sports and spreading awareness on the role the journalists play in sports and how they could improve themselves.
Prominent personalities in Arab sports and the field of journalism spoke as resource persons during the meeting.
The mediawomen who came for the not-to-be-missed event included first-timers. Some who traveled by car from Lebanon and Jordan braved the freezing cold and the bad roads. Still others managed to slip out of strife-torn Iraq and Palestine.
"It is a meeting and a celebration for all of the Arab sports women journalists in the Arab nation. That is why our participation means a lot to us and we did not want to miss it," said Iraqi Elham Aneed who came with her compatriot Jinan Murad. "Considering Damascus as the 2008 Capital of Arab Culture it was a great opportunity for us to attend the meeting here and enjoyed the cultural tours that accompanied it," said Raya Ramal from Lebanon.
Moroccan Hanan Al-Shafaa added: "These meetings are getting better year after year and to prove that you could see the increasing number of mediawomen."
Al-Shafaa said Moroccan Nawal Al-Moutawakel, the first Arab woman to win a gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in the 400 meters and Minister of Sports, opened the door for many Arab women to get into sports and supported them emotionally and financially. "Hopefully we get to see more examples like her," Al-Shafaa said.
Merfat Roushanah from Egypt's Radio drew inspiration from Hassan Sharar's lectures on interviewing sportsmen live and Othman Al-Saad's lecture on the way decisions are taken in the Arab Federations.
"The choice of speakers was excellent and the variety of topics suited the women from the print and broadcast media," she said.
Jordanian Nemat Al-Matari, of Monte Carlo Radio in Paris, was overwhelmed by the experience. "The important thing is meeting the other sports media women in our nation and we hope to keep in touch and help each other by exchanging experiences on a regular basis," she said.
The main speakers were president of the Syrian Sports Journalists Committee, Mohammed Abbas, head of Public Relations at the Syrian Olympic Committee, Salam Allawi, secretary-general at Arab Sports Confederation, Othman Al-Saad, Sports and Youth Ministry Counselor and Head of Sports at New TV channel in Lebanon Hassan Shararah, president of the Syrian Journalists Federation, Elias Murad, president of the General Federation and Syrian Olympic Committee, Faisal Al-Basri, secretary-general at the Arab Federation for Sports Journalism,Mohammed Gadri, president of the Sport Association of Arab Women, Nour ElHouda Karfoul, and executive editor of Woman & Sport Magazine in Syria, Maha Bader. The lectures also tackled sports marketing. Also, there was a free discussion of the experience in the male-dominated field and the difficulties the women sportswriters face in the practice of their profession.
Among the 18 recommendations made at the end of the ninth session was the setting up of annual prizes for the outstanding works of the Arab women sports journalists.
The participants also batted for a bigger slice of the action in the Arab nation's sporting activities by way of coverage and a wider representation in the Woman & Sport Magazine published by the Arab Sport Association. Mohammed Abdulqader, president of the Arab Sport Press Association, announced the fifth meeting would be held in Qatar in February 2009.
Al-Saad said the Council Ministry of Youth and Arab Confederation would mark the start of Celebration for the Arab Sportsmen on May 26. The legendary former Syrian swimmer and now deputy-president of the Syrian General Sport Federation, Feras Mualla, is to be honored for his feat in becoming the first to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Cyprus to Latakia, Syria in 42 hours at a time when swimathon was not yet in vogue.
Mualla recounted the extraordinary achievement in interviews he granted to the women scribes who were invited at receptions by Al-Majd, Qasioun, Al-Nidal and Al-Mouhafazah football clubs.
The Saudi secretary-general of the Arab Sports Confederation, Othman Al-Saad, was among the guests and he appreciated the fact that a Saudi journalist attended the meeting.
Despite the growing number of Arab women journalists specializing in the sports beat access to the sport venues, let alone locker rooms of athletes for interviews, remains an obstacle in their professional development.
