The First Female NOC SL Executive Committee Member

The entire sports world or in a broader sense of the word – the entire world is now determined to look at new ways of bridging the gap between the man and the woman and present a balanced playing field where both genders and have equal opportunities in their given field of activity. In a way, the International Olympic Committee has presented and launched the norm that at their events there should be equal representation. At the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, they made sure that they walk the talk and had a balanced track. 

Still in the South Asian hub the uptake is rather slow, there is a pronounced reluctance to break the shackles of gender balance.  

Yet, at the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, the new wave of thinkers led by its President Suresh Subramaniam and the Secretary General Maxwell de Silva have taken a bold stance of accepting and giving equal opportunities to the fairer sex by throwing the challenge at renowned golfer Niloo Jayathilaka to get elected as one of their vice presidents and arguably the first woman to occupy a seat in that hallowed hall, but certainly the first woman to be elected into its realms since the IOC accepted NOC SL constitution in 2017.     

“I was pleasantly surprised that it was all the males who voted for me. Most of the federations were represented by males in the voting and when they elected me, I was humble and it was like a victory for the female. Because men actually voted and fortunately, they have recognised whether it is a male or a female who has the capacity to take a body to another level and therefore they voted for me. I know that we have to accomplish in terms of gender balanced in sport. I think the glass ceilings were shattered when I came forward for the election. For instance, take a game of golf; there either you win or you lose, but you give your best shot.  It’s the person that I am and I took up the challenge and came up for the election in this environment and it’s a very happy moment to be elected. The most important is that it was the mandate given by the respective federations.  

“I take this as a challenge and I am taking it in a very positive manner. I think with the team at the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka we can change the dynamics of sports and at the next elections I would like to see more females facing the ballot box representing different sports. Fifty percent of the population is not represented at the sports administration. It is imperative; we need to make that huge change where you empower these ladies to come forward and be in the forefront of the decision-making process. Then only we can bring in the problems faced by the female athletes and what needs to be done because it is they who know the real issues.  Because a male representative may not be so sensitive to those issues. I mean the problems faced by the female athletes and what needs to be done, be it training or when you go overseas; for selections cannot be really fine-tuned by a male. A female could feel and see the subtle needs and they can bring in that empathy and the change that is required for these athletes to become super high-performing individuals.” 

She said that she is not willing to take this proposition as a male or a female. She said that any task that she has undertaken she has not seen it as a job that not cannot be accomplished by a woman and you need a male to do it.  She said that that was not the way she operates. She said that if she is given a job, she would give two hundred percent and only look at the goal set or the mission that she has set upon.  

Jayathilaka added “I think that we have a good team and if all of us get together brining in a lot of systematic changes -- that is what is needed in sports administration in Sri Lanka today. In fact, we have written to the Ministry of Sports to enable female administration in the respective federations. At least two females to represent their respective committees. Then only that the change could occur. If the federations do not recognise females in to their own bodies, how can they come up into the ranks of National Olympic Committee or Ministry committees – they cannot, because they are not being given that opportunity. Likewise, I feel now that the door is opened, there may be females who will grab this opportunity and be in the future administrations. They will feel if she can do it why can’t I do the same. If you have the talent, you can achieve it.  My mindset changed when I saw Rohini Nanayakkara the General Manager of the largest Bank in Sri Lanka – Bank of Ceylon, Marianne Page a person who has brought in some of the largest investments to Sri Lanka – those kind of young females and I am sure even in the sports world there will be females coming forward and say if Niloo could be elected -- the mindset will be changed and I am sure it will change. The litmus test for this situation was taken by me”. 

Finally, Niloo Jayathilake gave a brief account of her golf career. She said “Starting as a junior, I won the junior open. Then I progressed to representing Sri Lanka Asian tournaments and the most interesting win was when I won the Pakistan women’s open. I only think of a very few Sri Lankans who have won tournaments beyond Sri Lanka. To win a tournament outside Sri Lanka, beyond the local domain is an achievement that I would always cherish. I also have won the Sri Lanka stroke play championship twice along with wins at many club tournaments. But what is most interesting is that I am still competing even at my age. I am also involved in developing junior golf in the country and taking golf to different parts of Sri Lanka. It is indeed a hectic task, but I get the energy because it is giving back my sports to what it has given to me and it has been a pleasure”.