Interview to Sonia Galazzo , Italian volleyball player
by Amina Sofia El-Maghraby
Sonia Galazzo, born in Venice, class 1997, is a young volleyball player. She started playing at a very early age and she says « I grew up in the gym, with volleyball and the teams that my mother used to coach ».
Despite being so young, Sonia has a long career as a volleyball player behind her. Up to when she was 13 years old, she used to play for her hometown team, coached by her mother, and then began to travel around Italy. From 14 to 18 years old, Sonia has played in different volleyball clubs between the cities of San Donà and Rome, winning various championship.
At the age of 18, Sonia returned to Veneto, her region, to play in B1 Series as a first-team for Jesolo and the following year she moved on to play for Lardini Filotrana with whom she was promoted to A1 Series, winning the Italian Cup. In the past two seasons, Sonia moved to Como playing in B1 Series for the Tecnoteam AlbeseVolley. The team was first in line for the promotion to the A2 Series but unfortunately, due to the Corona Virus outbreak they had to pause their dream.
What did the lock down mean for you and your job?
« It was a big problem. It messed up everything. The championship has been canceled, we have had no salary guaranteed, those who were lucky received 80% of the salary and others did not receive anything at all. Luckily, the government launched the “Sport and Health Allowance”, that provided athletes and sports people with a reimbursement of € 1800 spread in three months which gave us a bit of relief.
On a practical level, however, it blew up all our sacrifices. Me and my team we were winning the championship and we could have finished first, instead everything was canceled. The year ahead is a question mark. »
Sonia would have never thought one day to reach the goal of playing in A Series, « it came by itself », she says. And she continues «Volleyball has been something that has being part of my life since I was very little, and growing up, it just followed is path. I didn’t even watch games on TV, I just liked to play. I found myself playing in A Series without thinking that I was going to the top. I play for passion, for myself, I have it inside. »
Have you ever had to face obstacles during your career?
« During these years as a volleyball player, I have encountered various obstacles, and unfortunately not always I was lucky enough to find good people on my way. Leaving home at 14 years, it means that you find yourself alone facing the world.
I had to give up everything, for example at school I could not participate in trips, group work. The fact that I was playing in A2 Series at such young age, affected my presence at school. In fact, I could not attend the last two years of high school in order to be able to take part in the morning training».
Having to leave home so early, made her missing a “normal” life, a life that sees a young girl go out with friends in the evening, watch a movie with her family.
Sonia explains, « I could not even go home for Christmas, and spend time with my family, since recently A2 Series games take place also on Christmas day. Even if I am now able to return more often, and I am happy to see all the people I know, sometimes I feel like a fish out of water because I am constantly on the move».
But it is thanks to these experiences that today she became a strong and determined young woman.
During your career as an athlete, have you ever felt that you were treated differently from a male colleague?
« In the men’s series there are certainly more benefits and the salaries are much higher in proportion to women.
What I can tell you is that for sure I have felt to be treated differently from the audience, especially I recall an unpleasant episode happened while playing for the Italian beach volley tournament.
Most of the male fans who come to watch female beach volleyball tournaments they do it because the aesthetic aspect of the game, not because they have an interest in the sport itself. They see us as objects.
During the Absolute Italian Beach Volleyball championship in Cirò Marina the commentators had to intervene against some fans who continued to rant with embarrassing and inappropriate comments ».
One thing that hurts Sonia and that suggests that unfortunately, a different treatment between male and female volleyball players really exists, is the reaction of people when they ask her “What job do you do?” and she reply “The volleyball player”, they think that she is doing nothing with her life. « Unfortunately», says Sonia, « who has such a closed mentality doesn’t think that being a volleyball player means giving up on many things, being alone, living a difficult life, that requires a lot of sacrifices, far from everything and everyone. They just think that we are nothing, that we simply play a sport we like ». Obviously this approach does not apply to men and their careers in sports.
