It has taken a century – which is said to be soon – for a woman to become president of the Spanish Basketball Federation. A fact that makes basketball a pioneering sport in the federative world of our country, where there are practically no women in the highest position of responsibility. Elisa Aguilar, a former basketball player with a long career within the Federation, will be in charge of writing the new pages of this centenary institution. “I finished my sporting career in 2013, with 222 games, European champion, being the oldest and most accomplished member of the team, and two months later I entered the Federation as an absolute rookie,” she comments with a laugh, remembering her transition from the fields to the offices.
“Now I can say that I know absolutely this whole sport. I am proud to have reached this position, elected by a General Assembly that understood that she was a person qualified to occupy the most responsible position in our basketball,” says the brand new president. “It is a brave decision that sends a very powerful message to all of Spanish society and all of Spanish sport. For my part, I have a clear objective: I want my sport to continue growing and be number one at all levels.”
In its roadmap, in addition to working hand in hand with the regional federations and educational bodies to promote grassroots sports from schools and institutes, and encourage interest in this sport so that "more basketball is consumed", there is the support women's basketball as a way to spread the positive values of this sport - professional and amateur - among girls. But also, to achieve a more egalitarian society, without 'boy things and girl things'. The paradox arises that this sport is the one with the most federative licenses among women in Spain, far above others, such as tennis or soccer. However, many drop out when they reach adolescence.
To investigate the reasons for this turning point and establish measures to alleviate it, Basket Girlz was born, an Endesa project that has the support of the Higher Sports Committee and the Spanish Basketball Federation. This company has been dedicated to promoting this sport at all levels for more than a decade, from both teams in all their categories to club competitions for both men and women as well as the Spanish Federation of Sports for People with Physical Disabilities. A passion for the sport of basket that even has a project with its own name: the Basket Lover community.
During this time they have identified the transformative potential of this sport and the values it brings, from self-esteem to effort, the desire to improve, equality and integration. Faced with all these benefits, the high rate of abandonment of sport in adolescence, more pronounced in the case of young girls, sets off alarms and requires finding the causes to remedy it.
Ignacio Asensi, head of Sponsorships at Endesa, thus identifies the three main reasons for this flight of female talent between 12 and 18 years old. “The first is not being able to combine it with studies, because they end up dedicating more time to the lesson material than to basketball. Then there is the family part, which either puts too much pressure on the girls to train and play a lot, or, on the contrary, there is no support to take them to training, competitions...”, he explains. The third leg is located in the need for “the conditions of female athletes to be equal to those offered to boys, so that they have the same opportunities.”
For Begoña de Santiago, a Estudiantes player in the Endesa Women's League, with good daily organization there is no need to choose between the passion for sport and the need to train for the future. These are not words in the wind: she herself combines her role as a professional player with her studies in Medicine (and she is already in her fourth year of studies). “I try to keep everything up to date. Whenever I can I go to class, like the rest of my classmates. At the same time, I try not to skip any training. When I have to prepare for exams, I take hours elsewhere so as not to leave any of the two things that I like the most aside,” she explains.
In the future she sees herself linked to both passions. “My dream is to be the doctor of a club or the National Team. As an athlete you understand more what a player feels when he has a physical problem or an injury,” she emphasizes.
Taking stock of all these years linked to basketball, Aguilar recognizes that “it has been worth it” and does not hide her efforts to ensure that in every school, in every municipality, boys and girls have the opportunity to dribble a basketball and Discover everything this sport can provide. “I would encourage all the girls not to give up, to continue playing, even if it is not at the highest level, for everything that playing as a team gives you,” adds Marta Gómez, a player for Baxi Ferrol in the Endesa Women's League.
Precisely one of the obstacles for the sport to catch on among the female population is the lack of role models at an early age due to the low visibility that women's sport has had for decades. Without visibility, there is no fan, without fans, there is no youth team, and without a youth team, it is more difficult for victories to come. “We have to make women's basketball more visible. Make the games known, encourage people to come watch them. We have the example of women's football, which is doing very well and the fields are filled with 50,000 spectators," highlights the Baxi Ferrol player.
Even so, they recognize that they are on the right path. “Four years ago we barely filled the Magariños and today it is too small for us. Many days there are no tickets, the pavilions are full,” concludes the Estudiantes player. And she encourages everyone to dare the challenge of sneaking the ball through the hoops with three implacable arguments: “It's sport, it's health and, above all, it's a fun time with friends.”
