The Steering Committee of SCORE ("Strengthening Coaching with the Objective to Raise Equality") project met in Brussels on May 19, 2015. The main aim of the meeting was to agree on the one hand on the content of the SCORE toolkit “Awareness Pack”, and on the other hand on the draft programme for the Education for Mentors.

The meeting started with an update on the EU activities in the field of gender equality and sport by Mrs Paola Ottonello from the Sport policy and programme Unit, European Commission. She presented the EU Proposal for Strategic Actions on Gender Equality in Sport 2014-2020, which was drafted by the Group of Experts nominated by Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, previous Commissioner responsible for sport. This Proposal defines four main areas for actions in sport: decision making, coaching, fight against gender based violence and gender stereotypes, and media. The proposed actions for improving gender equality in coaching have been a starting point for the SCORE project. Furthermore, Mrs Ottonello reported that gender equality is currently discussed in the Expert Group on Good Governance in Sport which is drafting recommendations, possibly followed by a pledge of the board.



The toolkit "Awareness Pack", introduced by Work Package leader Mrs Julie Mackintosh from sports coach UK, will contain tools targeted at sports organisations and female coaches. The specific tools for both target groups were discussed in the meeting. In addition, the toolkit will contain some facts about the current situation regarding the numbers of female coaches in project partner countries and information on the Education for Mentors programme. Also the training sessions, to be organised in eight countries to raise awareness on the toolkit, were discussed.

Mrs Satu Kaski, Finnish Coaches Association, presented the draft programme of the Education for Mentors. The main aim of the Education is to facilitate the creation of mentoring systems in the partner organisations involved in the Education. The Education will contain four days, organised in two separate sessions. After going through the Education programme, the mentors will assist potential female coaches in their respective countries in developing the mentees' professional and personal growth.



The Steering Committee also discussed the evaluation of the SCORE project and the discussion was led by Work Package leader Ms Carole Ponchon from EOSE. There will be a mid-term evaluation in the end of 2015 focusing on the project management and arrangements, and a final evaluation where the focus will be in assessing the impact of the Project.

At the same time, the project website has been launched, joining the already existing social media channels through which the partners are promoting gender equality in coaching. During the summer the materials will be developed and in the next SCORE partner meeting in October those will be approved to start the implementation phase of the project.



"Strengthening Coaching with the Objective to Raise Equality" – SCORE is a European project supported by the Erasmus+ Sport Programme and led by the European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO). European University Sports Association (EUSA) is a partner in the project. SCORE promotes gender equality in coaching, and focuses on increasing the number of employed and volunteer female coaches at all levels of sport as well as enhancing knowledge on gender equality in coach education. The SCORE project is a two-year project and will be finalised by the end of 2016.

More information can be found at the official website www.score-coaching.eu.