Every Athlete Voice Matters

By Caradh O’Donovan, World Champion Kickboxer, Irish Karate Athlete.

11 April 2020: While we are currently battling a global pandemic, we could be forgiven for wondering if sport really matters now. As someone who lives and breathes sport, I hope we come to the point where it becomes relevant again. Concern for public health rightly takes precedence and we need to be cognisant of the fact that sport administrators are still working on getting back to the business of sport. A business often ran by those who may have once called themselves athletes, but who are now far removed and not necessarily batting for them.

So who is? The Olympic movement would have you believe the representation from their Athlete Commission is a weighty influence on decision making. The IOC Athlete Commission has spent little time on my radar in the past with an exception being last year. That’s when I and my team needed help. A governance dispute within Irish Karate, my National Federation, resulted in athletes becoming convenient leverage for point-scoring between leadership who could not share power. Because this power struggle was preventing athletes from competing at 2019 European Championships, I thought the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and European Olympic Committee (EOC) Athlete Commissions surely would assist us. I reached out. More than a year later they have yet to respond.

The stonewalling led me to wonder if these positions are sought out as a means to fuel self aggrandisement and promote the interests of the IOC rather than supporting athletes with less privilege. On the other hand, my own NOC Athlete Commission were quite supportive. So I was left sitting on the fence in determining if these athlete groups were little more than fluff?

It was Global Athlete who delivered the answer to that. Within days of their launch last year, sinking their teeth into governance disputes was probably not on their radar. But when I made contact, they acted. Without hesitation. While the posh politics ran beneath the public view in the Irish Karate governance impasse, Global Athletes’ visible support helped get us over the line and back to competing. Thus, prompting the beginning of my journey with the Start Up Group.

There are of course bigger challenges for athletes in sport and yet many of their voices are not heard through the established pathways. And so many aspiring athletes never get their sporting journeys started in earnest because of this. While many athletes have faith in the Athlete Commissions established by the Olympic and Paralympic movements, many others do not feel they fit the mould.

It begs the question; why should athletes not be permitted to choose their own athlete representatives? Surely there is a place for every athlete to have their say. There is no voice too small or insignificant that it doesn’t deserve to be heard. Every athletes’ voice matters. And the more our voices become collective, the more we force power holders to listen and act. Whether it’s Global Athlete or other, I urge every athlete to use their voice and work with a group that they feel will represent their best interests. The more voices we hear, the more this ‘sports lockdown’ period can be used to ensure sport looks a little healthier when the field of play resumes.

Caradh O’Donovan, World Champion Kickboxer and Irish Karate Athlete.