On Monday, the Council of Ministers adopted an amendment to the Sports Act. The project assumes many changes regarding women. It provides, among other things, that women will constitute at least 30 percent on the management boards of sports associations. In addition, the period for receiving a sports scholarship by members of the national team after the birth of a child will be extended to 12 months.
“Today, the Council of Ministers adopted an amendment to the Sports Act. The project provides that, among other things, women will constitute at least 30 percent on the management boards of sports associations,” wrote the Minister of Sport, Sławomir Nitras. “An ombudsman for the protection of players' rights will also be appointed to combat violence and discrimination in sport,” he added.
Changes for women. What's in the project
The announcement on the ministry's website indicates the “key points of the amendment”.
This includes “balanced gender representation in the authorities of Polish sports associations (PZS)”. The point is that “in the case of management boards with 2 to 5 members, their composition must include not less than one woman and not less than one man; in the case of PZS management boards with more than 5 members, the representation of each gender should be at least 30%; similar rules apply to internal control bodies.
The amendment also provides for “support for pregnant and postpartum athletes.” As we read: “the participation of representatives of national team players in the boards of the PZS will be guaranteed; the period of receiving a sports scholarship by members of the national team after the birth of a child will be extended from 6 to 12 months; it will also increase – from 50% to 81.5%/ – the amount of the scholarship received during this period; sportswomen will have the same rights as women working full-time.
Other solutions
On the website listing the government's work, it is written that the draft amendment focuses primarily on introducing solutions into the legal order that will contribute to reducing negative phenomena in Polish sport, such as discrimination, violence or unequal treatment.
The project also provides for support for solutions that improve the situation of athletes on the labor market after their competitions, by introducing into the Act solutions that motivate them to continue their education during their sports career.
It was also proposed to add a provision to the Sports Act, which would indicate that a person acting as a sports referee enjoys the protection provided for a public official when performing tasks related to conducting sports competitions.
The project adds a new entity in the form of the Institute of Sport – National Research Institute to the list of current entities that may receive funding for tasks related to preparing the national team to participate in the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Deaf Games, World Championships or European Championships.
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