By Ana Puerto / Motosan
Anyone involved in the world of motorcycling knows Izaskun Ruiz. A journalist not at all oriented towards sport in the beginning, she discovered a passion for this field over time. After many years in this environment, she has covered a large number of world events: the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the athletics and swimming world championships, in addition to the MotoGP and the Dakar.
Izaskun Ruiz is currently editorial director at DAZN, a platform broadcasting different sports in Europe and which arrived in Spain to cover MotoGP at the beginning of 2019. On the circuits, she moves into the pitlane to interview riders or team members , in addition to collecting declarations after qualifying and races. She is also in charge of coordinating MotoGP content published on the platform, work which she carries out at the DAZN offices in Barcelona.
How did you get into the world of motorcycling?
For me, entering this world is more something that happened with my professional advancement. I didn't study journalism to be a sports journalist, I just wanted to study. It was a vocation, above all for the very essence of journalism, which is the act of communicating. When I was little, I was told that I would sit in front of the TV to watch the newspaper and I would be amazed. I said I wanted to be like Rosa María Calaf, war correspondent. That's why I studied journalism.
Then, I worked in different media, both in internships and first contracts. Little by little I got closer to the world of sport which had always appealed to me. Plus, I competed until I got to university, so I had always been connected to the world of sports. The two worlds came together in a logical way as I grew professionally. That's how I found myself doing sports journalism, and specifically in the world of motorcycles. It's true that when I arrived in the industry (before I watched as a spectator, like a sport among others), it was the first time that I went to a circuit. The first time I saw motorcycles live, in Estoril, it appealed to me.
Can you tell us a little about your work, inside and outside the paddock?
The most important part of our work takes place on the circuits, it is the most intense part, both in terms of number of hours and in terms of volume of work. But another job awaits us outside the circuits, an office job in the editorial office in Barcelona, where we go after each Grand Prix and where we prepare the content for the next one. In my case, being editor-in-chief, I also have the responsibility of coordinating the work of all the editors currently working at DAZN. I coordinate the work, the content, the videos that we make. I also manage all contacts with the press officers to arrange interviews for the next GPs.
How does this job, which requires many hours of travel and on the circuits, influence your personal life? How did you experience it at the beginning?
In the end, more than a job, it's a form of life and it conditions everything else, especially when traveling. I think that travel brings a lot of things, it opens the mind, it's fun... The thing is, it requires sacrifice, especially over the years. You have to find a balance, which allows you to compensate and feel lucky to do this job and continue to enjoy, learn and have fun. I found it and it allows me to say that the sacrifices it requires are worth it.
How have you adapted to a sport that has long been considered “masculine” but which has more and more female visibility? Have you noticed any changes in recent years?
Yes, I have noticed changes. It's obvious that there are more and more women in the paddock but for me the most important thing is not that there are more of us, but that women's positions are diversifying and moving up in the boxes. We are seeing an evolution even if we must not lie: there is still a lot of work to do and barriers to break down. But I must say that from the first moment I arrived in this world, I always felt well welcomed and respected from a professional point of view, both by my colleagues and by the entire paddock. I believe that in this sense motorcycling is welcoming and gives everyone an opportunity to show their worth if they really want to, and regardless of whether they are male or female. Everyone has their own responsibility to chart their own path, establish rules and show their level, and that's how you get respect, whether you're a man or a woman. »
Read the original article on Motosan.es
© Photos by Izaskun Ruiz.
