“Sportsmanship – just as a the conduct of integrity in politics, business and other societal fields – must always be lived anew. Where People are in competition with one another, where Power and (peak-)performance are at stake, there is also the danger of manipulation. Already in the Olympic games of the antique, corruption and fraud existed, that did not change until today. Therefore it is crucial to identify risks, and to meet them adequately. To that end, a commitment to ethical conduct and the living example of the leadership are essential, as well as transparency, accountability and an extensive communication about the values of an organisation and the sport respectively.”
Sylvia Schenk is a lawyer in Frankfurt on Main, Germany. She worked as a judge at the Labor Court of Offenbach (1979-1989) and as a City Councilor in Frankfurt (1989-2001).
She has been a German champion and an Olympic athlete in 1972 800 m running and has served as a volunteer in national and international sports organizations since 1975. From 2001 to 2004, she was the President of German Cycling and from 2000 to 2005, member of the Management Committee of the International Cycling Union UCI.
From 2007 to 2010, she was on the chair of Transparency Germany and from 2006 to 2014, Senior Advisor for Sport of Transparency International, and is now chairing the Working Group Sport of Transparency Germany.
She is a board member of the German Olympic Academy and an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne.