Possibly the biggest thrill of my life occurred when I was lucky enough to go to the Women And Sport Leadership Seminar, and meet two of my childhood sporting heroes - Denise Lewis and Sally Gunnell! I don't think I've ever felt so invigorated and inspired by a seminar in all my life. An early Monday morning dreary three-hour lecture, is what I usually connect with the word "seminar". However, I can definitely say all that has changed since sitting in on the Women and Sport Leadership seminar. Why?...you ask
 | | Sally Gunnell and Jaskirt Dhaliwal |
Apart from meeting inspirational figures in sport like Denise Lewis, Sally Gunnell, Sue Campbell - the Chair of UK Sport, and Heather Rabbatts - the Deputy Chair of Millwall FC, the seminar made me want to push myself to the best I can be, and to achieve success in sport media, which is still hugely dominated by men. Just look at the number sports writers for the national newspapers, especially the tabloids. Even better: Think of the last article you read or heard of in the media representing women in sport who weren't either involved in tennis or athletics? Can't think of one?...Me neither. What struck me most, as an aspiring sports journalist, was the idea that the representation of women in sport, especially in the media on a national level, is shockingly low.
 | | Denise Lewis and Sally Gunnell |
Success stories, such as Welsh cyclist Nicole Cooke, winner of the women's Tour de France, and current number one in the world road race rankings, were highlighted in the conference. Before then I hadn't even heard of Cooke's huge achievement, and frankly I felt disgusted with myself for not knowing, but on a wider scale, why and how had did this story go unnoticed? Cooke is the first Briton, male or female, to reach the top 20 of the world rankings, let alone top them. This is a fantastic feat, yet she hasn't got the recognition she deserves, and this is really sad, but just one example of the lack of coverage for successful sportswomen. Unfortunately England is obsessed with football, and so that always takes priority over any other sport. But with the 2012 Olympics in London, surely this attitude has to change? 2012 will see the biggest sporting event in this country, and so perhaps it's time, for the media in particular, to begin to emphasis and cover a wider range of sports. If we as a country are truly going to produce the best athletes to compete on that stage, it makes logical sense that we need to highlight successful athletes from other sports now, so that those aspiring to 2012 will have role models to look up to, and the best coaching and preparation possible. Denis Lewis, who was at the seminar, spoke about not only being a woman in sport, but being a black woman in sport. This was hugely significant, because even as the representation of women in all areas of sport is getting better, the number of ethnic minorities celebrated by the media, is still very bad. Thus her words of encouragement and advice to make an impact in any field involved in sport, were like gold dust for me.
I felt incredibly proud, as a young British Punjabi woman, to listen to Denis Lewis speaking about how we can make an impact in sport, and that we, be it disabled, black, Asian, or even women, can break ground and become leaders like her and Sally Gunnell. I left that seminar that day feeling an adrenaline rush of excitement at the possibilities ahead. In every walk of life there are obstacles, but some of the women I meet and heard from that day had shown that if you want something bad enough, then you can make it yours. I dream of reporting at the London Olympics, the biggest sporting event that will take place in our country this century, and right now I don't see why I can't. | 
