Between Profession and Passion: Becoming a Female President—The Career of Roswitha Stadlober

This chapter is about Roswitha Stadlober, President of the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) and the Federation of European Ski & Snowboard Associations (FESA). With eight World Cup victories in the 1980s, she is one of Austria’s best-known female skiers. The following text is based on two interviews held in February and March 2024. Roswitha Stadlober describes her career as a series of opportunities that she actively seized and that shaped her career path. In the interviews, she explains that sports careers, especially in skiing, are unique because they are often time-limited and heavily dependent on physical performance. A sports career is goal-oriented and measurable, as successes and failures are directly defined by competitions and results. Stadlober emphasizes that athletes develop valuable skills throughout their careers that are also useful outside of sports. These include discipline, determination, the ability to work under pressure, make quick decisions, as well as teamwork and leadership skills. These competencies enabled her to proactively shape her career, transitioning from an active career as a slalom skier to a member of the Salzburg State Parliament, founder, and managing director of the association KADA: Sport with Perspective, and later president of the Austrian Ski Association. At the same time, Roswitha Stadlober emphasizes the importance of family management within her career and highlights that professional commitment and family can complement each other well. For her, sport is more than a job—it is a calling that shapes her career just as much as her family.