EWS-CONFERENCE Helsinki 9.6.2000

Money stinks - sport stinks too ?

Aalto, Päivi &Puronaho, Kari

University of Jyväskylä Finland

(Sponsored by Ministry of Education)

Aims of the study

To estimate, how much money was

spent in Finland on women’s sport

in 1998

• Households

• Sport clubs

• National sport federations (NSFs)

• Municipalities

• The State

• Employers

Research Material • 500 balancing of the accounts

• 30 annual reports

• 80 analysis of sport facilities

• interviews in the ministry of Education, in sport institutes

• 50 interviews in municipalities

• 40 interviews in sport organisations

• 10 contacts with Statistics in Finland

• 5 interviews in media organisations

• over 200 sources from research, statistics and litterature….

HouseholdsOver 2 million households; they spent 6.600 mill. FIM on sport – 40 % to women’s sport

• Sport shoes (43 % women)• Sport equipment (29 % women)• Travelling (35 % women)• Spectator sport (25 % women)

• Clothing (55 % women)• Sport fees (53 % women)• Sport guidance (63 % women)

71 % of men but only 61 % of women had enough possibilities to sport activities (Suomi 2000)

25 % of men but 28 % of women thought, that sport fees are too high (Suomi 2000)

Sport Clubs More than 7.000 sportclubs; about 1,1 million members; hundrets of thousands of volunteers

• Sample 507 sport clubs, with 161.000 members; 37 % female

• They spent 189 mill. FIM on sport - 2.400 mill. FIM in Finland

• Sport clubs spent about 27 % on women’s sport

• Normally the share of female members was the same as the share of the money spent on women sport

Biggest budgets• 20 biggest sport clubs in sample

spent more than 80 % on men’s sport, 10 biggest more than 86 %

• ice-hockey, ball-games, golf, athletics, skiing

Sport Clubs

Increasing budgets (1998-2000)• 14 out of 100 concentrate on

men• 4 out of 100 concentrate on

women

More money than members• self-defence and shooting• female top-athletes/teams

NSFs

73 national sport federations (NSF); the main task is to promote competetive and top-sport

• We examined 29 NSFs; 251 mill. FIM - 33 % to women’s sport

• Female members 34 %

• Normally there was a relation between number of female members and the share spent on women’s sport

• Variation depends on success in top-level competitions; if you had successful female athletes, NSFs spent also more money on women’s sport

• Success means in general more possibilities to get e.g. sponsorship agreements and income

Municipalities 452 municipalities; 29.000 sport facilities, more than 6.000 persons working in the area; the main task is maintenance and construction of sport facilities and development of sport

• Jyväskylä 47,2 mill. FIM - 40 % to women’s sport

• County of Jyväskylä 9,3 mill.FIM - 36 % to women’s sport

• 5 big cities and 9 middle-sized towns

• Interpolation to all municipalities in Finland 2.300 mill. FIM - 40 % to women’s sport

• Sport investments on women sport in municipalities are based on the use of facilities

Sport Facilities and Women• Ski jumps 0 %

• Shooting galleries 15 %

• Motor sport areas 15 %

• Ice-hockey halls 19 %

• Artificial ice fields 20 %

• Ball fields 20 %

• Tennis courts 27 %

• Track and field arenas 29 %

• Bowling alleys 32 %

• Cross-country-skiing centers 35 %

(Suomi 2000)

Sport Facilities and Women

• Finnish baseball fields 36 %

• Water sport areas 37 %

• Exercise and ski tracks 39 %

• Sport halls 40 %

• Ski resorts 40 %

• Ice sport areas/fields 42 %

• Outdoor recreation areas 55 %

• Swimming halls 59 %

• Horse sport areas 59 %

(Suomi 2000)

Municipalities

• The question of gender has not been under discussion in municipalities

• Decision-makers have mainly been men

• Demand/Supply > 1, means quite often commercialization

• The public sector has not supported women sport enought

• women gymnastics, aerobics and gym activities are more and more commercialized

• Also the price of commercialized women’s sport is often high

State

The Ministry of Education is responsible for the general management, development and co-ordination of the sport sector

Sport construction 87 mill. FIM - 40 % to women’s sport

• Sport institutes 119 mill. FIM - 46 % to women’s sport

• Sport organizations 133 mill. FIM - 35 % to women’s sport

• Municipalities 89 mill. FIM - 40 % to women’s sport • Sport sciences and others 55 mill. FIM -

Scholarshps for athletes 2,5 mill. FIM - 17 % to female athletes

The Finnish Sport Budget in 1998 was 497 mill. FIM; about 40 % to women’s sport

State

Sport facilities

• biggest state supported investments in 1998 concentrated on ice-hockey arenas 16,3 mill. FIM (women 19 %) and swimming halls 28 mill. FIM (women 59 %)

• Horse sport areas got 0,2 mill. FIM (women 59 %) and outdoor recreation areas got 0,2 mill. FIM (women 55 %)

• All the others (44 mill. FIM) were facilities used mainly by men

Employers

• 50 % of emloyees in Finland are women - 62,5 % of women and 69 % of men were working in 1999

• Sample 2.935 households• Employers supported sport for

about 10 % of the respondents

• Employers spent an average of 29 FIM/month/man and 19 FIM/month/women

• WHY ? • Are women more fit than men ?• Is it a bad investment to finance

fit women in this case ?

Financing of Women’s Sport in Finland

• Households 40 % (2640 mill. FIM)

• Sport clubs 27 % (622 mill. FIM)

• NSFs 33 % (101 mill. FIM)

• Municipalities 40 % (920 mill. FIM)

• The State 40 % (199 mill. FIM)

• Employers 40 %

• We can estimate, that Finnish households, sport clubs, NSFs, municipalities and the state spent about 11.000 mill.FIM

• 4.100 mill. FIM (38 %) was spent on women’s sport

Women do

what ever

they want !

”Power”

1) Resources

2) Personalities

3) Organizations

(J.K. Galbraith

1973)

”If we have a problem and we can solve it,

there is no reason to worry about.

If we don’t have a solution to a problem,

it doesn’t help, if we worry”

Dalai Lama

If you want to change the existing system

(”LONG WAY”):

• Activities - Service Quality - Values -Appreciation - Resources (Female decision-makers, volunteers and money) -Activities…

• Betting - people are interested in money

He, who pays the piper, calls the tune ?

She, who pays the piper, calls the tune !

If you want to change the existing system

(”SHORTER WAY I”):

• More independence inside official sport organizations (e.g. separate budgets)

• Enlarge existing or create new sport organizations and wake up the sponsors !

• Target: ”Sport smells instead of stinking”

If you want to change the existing system

(”SHORTER WAY II”):

• AGREE = Act of Gender Related Evaluation of Effects (e.g. financial support to activities and sport facilities)

• 2000-2004: 55 % of new sport facilities for women - based on needs)

If you want to change the existing system

(”SHORTER WAY III”):

• More conscious professionals to maximize the benefits and minimize the negative effects

• Ombudsman for Equality in Sport 2001-

EWS-CONFERENCE Helsinki 9.6.2000

Money stinks - sport stinks too ?

Aalto, Päivi &Puronaho, Kari

University of Jyväskylä Finland

(Sponsored by Ministry of Education)