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By Owen Morgan
Welsh international athlete Kate Seary is taking inspiration from an ancient Olympian to champion the rights of modern day sportswomen.
Kyniska, Princess of Sparta, won two Olympic gold medals in the four-horse chariot race in 392 and 396.
By becoming the first female Olympic medallist, Kyniska paved the way for other women to follow in her footsteps and excel in sport.
Now, Seary, has joined forces with Scottish international runner Mhairi Maclennan, to launch Kyniska Advocacy with an aim to carry on the legacy of their ancient sporting predecessor.
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“It was our common values, passion, drive, and the poor state of women’s sport that brought us together,” says Seary of her new venture with fellow founder member Maclennan.
The two athletes had a passing acquaintance through the racing circuit, but it was their shared desire to improve the lot of women in sport which really united them.
Seary says: “Women’s sport isn’t where it should be, isn’t where it deserves to be, and quite frankly, continues to be seen as the piece on the side.
“Well, we’re tired of it!
“We’re tired of men’s standards being the ‘normal’, bored of policies made with only men in mind, exhausted of being sexualised, sick of being paid less, worn out fearing for our lives, done with being disrespected, finished with being the ‘nice to have’, but mostly fed up of being on the sodding BBC red button.”
After hours of lockdown zoom calls and late night ideas messaged to and fro, Kyniska Advocacy was set up to challenge the status quo in women’s sport.
“And that’s why we take Kyniska, the first ever women to win a gold medal at the ancient Olympic games, as our inspiration,” says Seary, who represented Wales over 1500m at last weekend’s Loughborough International.
“We’ll be fighting to be in the room no one else has been in before, to take up space that wasn’t traditionally made for us, and doesn’t yet wholly celebrate us.
“We’ll be doing this by working with sport’s governing bodies, politicians, the media, coaches, volunteers, and fellow athletes to shine a light on the issues women face in sport every day and seeing actionable policy change, based on equitable needs, to make things right.
“We want a collaborative approach, everyone working together to create change as we believe a more equitable sport is a better, more enjoyable sport for everyone.”
Welsh indoor 1500m champion Seary and Scottish 10k Cross Country Champion Maclennan feel women are not able to practice sports freely and fairly.
They say they are advocates for progressive policies in women’s sport, bidding to achieve change by fighting one campaign at a time.
The two athletes have already enjoyed some campaigning success having raised a massive petition earlier this year calling for UK Athletics to adopt a zero tolerance policy regarding any physical or sexual misconduct towards athletes.
This resulted in UK Athletics CEO Joanna Coates committing to a change to the coaching licensing terms and conditions to implement life bans for coaches in abuse cases.
Although both are international athletes, Seary and Maclennan want to achieve equity in women’s sport “from grassroots clubs to the Olympic Games and everything in between”.
Kyniska’s stated vision is:
A sporting community which fosters a safe environment and has the protection of women at its heart.
Sport where decisions are made with women in mind, by people who understand us and where women have a seat at the table.
A world where men’s sport isn’t the default standard for women’s sport.
We are fighting for equity in sport; sport tailored to different needs.
The organisation’s website says: “We are looking to incite cultural change specifically through the medium of policy to improve women’s sport. We want changes to both the government and national governing sporting bodies’ policies and legislations.
“Currently, advocacy organisations have successfully raised awareness about equal opportunities and visibility issues in women’s sports.
However, we still don’t believe that women participate in an environment where their safety, protection and equal rights are prioritised.
“We will fight for new and better policies and legislation until that environment has changed.”
Seary, who has a background in government and policy, and fierce campaigner Maclennan have enlisted an impressive array of big hitters from the world of women’s sport to support their fight.
Kyniska’s list of ambassadors include:
Nikita Parris – English professional footballer named the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2019. She was included in The Guardian’s list of The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World in 2018 and 2019.
Stephanie Twell – Scottish Marathon Record Holder, two time Olympian and five time British 5000m Champion
Sammi Kinghorn – double World Champion and World and European Record Holder Wheelchair racer.
Nabila Tejpar – two-time Ladies British Rally Champion who competes all over Europe and is one of the only Asian female drivers on the circuit
Kyniska also boasts a talented creative team and even has its own poet in residence in the shape of another international distance runner – Swansea Harrier Verity Ockenden who studied English and Italian at Swansea University.
The organisation will be officially launched during a virtual event on Friday, May 28, where you can find out more about its goals and ambassadors.
Details of how to attend can be found on the Kyniska website https://www.kyniskaadvocacy.com/, where a link can also be found to the organisation’s Crowdfunder page.
