Episode Notes
What would it take to increase the power of figure skaters so they can influence the decisions that govern their sport? Where else in the Olympic movement is progress being made? What can we learn from sports where players’ unions and collective bargaining are common? To answer some of these questions, I turned to Rob Koehler, the Director General of Global Athlete, an organization that helps athletes to organize and speak out on the issues they care about. Rob was previously the Deputy Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the most senior of many positions he held at WADA between 2002 and 2018. He was also vice-chair of the WADA Independent Observer team at the Sochi Olympics. Rob is based in Montreal, Canada.
I hope this episode gives you a taste of what is possible when athletes organize and use their voices to push for fairer sport!
Transcript is available here.
You can follow Rob on Twitter at @RobKoehler2 and Global Athlete @GlobalAthlete.
You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast
 
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Resources
Olympic Commercialization and Player Compensation: A Review of Olympic Financial Reports. Report by The Ted Rogers School of Management in partnership with Global Athlete - April 2020 https://www.globalathlete.org/research-and-surveys/olympic-commericalization
R2O: Effective Athlete Representation in Global Sport 2023. Survey by the World Players Association June 2023. https://uniglobalunion.org/report/r2o-effective-athlete-representation-in-global-sport-2023/
Athletes Germany
https://athleten-deutschland.org/en/english/
Rule 40: Do athletes control their image during the Olympics
https://athelogroup.com/blog/rule-40-and-the-olympics/
Rule 50: Athlete expression and protest
https://olympics.com/athlete365/athlete-expression-rule-50/
Open Letter to the IOC: 
https://www.globalathlete.org/our-word/open-letter-ioc-russia-belarus-june-2023
Open Letter Call for Skate Canada and the Government of Canada to Address Abuse in Figure Skating
https://www.globalathlete.org/our-word/open-letter-call-for-skate-canada-and-the-government-of-canada-to-address-abuse-in-figure-skating
Canadian Parliament Standing Committee on the Status of Women report, Time to Listen to Survivors: Taking Action Towards Creating a Safe Sport Environment for All Athletes in Canada, Recommends the “Government of Canada establish an independent national public inquiry into maltreatment in sports in Canada”.
Athletics Association
https://athleticsassociation.org/
THE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION WELCOMES RETURN TO 32 EVENTS IN NEW DIAMOND LEAGUE FORMAT https://athleticsassociation.org/updates/the-athletics-association-welcomes-greater-inclusivity-in-new-diamond-league-format
International Swimmers Alliance https://www.internationalswimmersalliance.org/
Aspen Institute, Project Play “Children’s Rights in Sport” 
https://projectplay.org/childrens-rights-and-sports
Sharon Stoll, “What Kind of Character do Athletes Possess” https://thesportjournal.org/article/what-type-of-character-do-athletes-possess/
Evan Bates speaks out https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2023/06/23/olympic-skaters-still-missing-medals-500-days-later/70349368007/
ISU Athletes Commission https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/about/athletes-commission
ISU Statement on support for Ukrainian skaters and Russian/Belarussian Participation, June 2023
https://www.isu.org/isu-news/news/145-news/14614-isu-statement-ioc-recommendations-of-march-28-2023?templateParam=15
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