Women's Euro 2013 on the BBC and Murray V Williams - how far has equality within sport developed?
A tennis match between one of the greatest women to have ever played the game and 2013 Wimbledon champion and US Open title holder, Andy Murray - yes please!
The 1970's and the 90's saw its fair share of male v female tennis matches but in recent years this format has not been revisited on a professional level. But why not? Doesn't holding, what is being sold as, a 'Battle of the Sexes' match celebrate the evolution of equality within sport. Vary rarely women face men on a one-to-one basis in sport and in tennis, at least for charity, there is no reason why not to hold such an occasion.
Serena Williams has an insanely powerful serve that comes with an equally unforgiving forehand that could challenge any of the men's top 10 - thus there is no worry of male domination. With Murray, the world number 2, facing the female no.1 it could possibly introduce the world of female tennis to thousands of occasional viewers who rather watch the male competition and who would not know the difference between Bartoli and Sharapova - a chance to sell the sport to thousands.
This announcement comes in the wake of an increasing wave of female sport that has now been picked up for television. The BBC have announced that they will be televising each English game in the Euro 2013 and the BEEB have also played host to numerous women's FA Cup finals. The wind is changing, or is it?
There are still numerous sports that are being dismissed by television companies due to the fact that they are played by women. 'There will be no interest", is the main concern by many; No interest due to the lack of awareness of the players and their history. Many imagine any sport that is played by a woman, such as rugby or football, to be played on a much slower pace than the men's game and with girls running around the field with their arms flapping about while they worry over their nails. That sought of thinking should have been left with their flares in the 1970's. 21st century female sport is ruthless, relentless and of an incredibly high standard. Having personally played international and regional standard rugby for many years I can testify that in no way shape or form is the women's game 'slow' or 'boring'. One big hurdle in changing the public's perception of female sport is the problem of Sporting governing bodies being deprived of funds to develop their respective sport with the vast majority of money being poured in to the men's game.
I challenge you to go see for yourself the high standards of female sport wherever you are. With the female game very rarely being professional, the drive and commitment the women possess is something that could be said to have been lost in the wake of the male professional era. By not being paid to be there the girls are on/in the field, track or pool out of their own initiative thus their performance is filled with unrivalled passion and drive.
There is no reason, other than financial, not to air female sports on free-view television. Note I stated free-view rather than solely television because Sky Sports are doing a much better job of televising women sports with hockey and net-ball being shown regularly on their TV listings.
In countries such as New Zealand and Australia, two great sporting nations, female sports are held in high esteem. The female international rugby team, rugby 7's, hockey and net-ball teams are all seen as stars in the eyes of the nation. If they can do this then why can't we emulate the steps they took to get there in order to develop our own Northern hemisphere female sporting world.
The only way female sports will be able to develop fully is by gaining more exposure and thus attracting more and more interest to the game - increased television time would be a great start but there is also so much more to do.
The 1970's and the 90's saw its fair share of male v female tennis matches but in recent years this format has not been revisited on a professional level. But why not? Doesn't holding, what is being sold as, a 'Battle of the Sexes' match celebrate the evolution of equality within sport. Vary rarely women face men on a one-to-one basis in sport and in tennis, at least for charity, there is no reason why not to hold such an occasion.
Serena Williams has an insanely powerful serve that comes with an equally unforgiving forehand that could challenge any of the men's top 10 - thus there is no worry of male domination. With Murray, the world number 2, facing the female no.1 it could possibly introduce the world of female tennis to thousands of occasional viewers who rather watch the male competition and who would not know the difference between Bartoli and Sharapova - a chance to sell the sport to thousands.
This announcement comes in the wake of an increasing wave of female sport that has now been picked up for television. The BBC have announced that they will be televising each English game in the Euro 2013 and the BEEB have also played host to numerous women's FA Cup finals. The wind is changing, or is it?
There are still numerous sports that are being dismissed by television companies due to the fact that they are played by women. 'There will be no interest", is the main concern by many; No interest due to the lack of awareness of the players and their history. Many imagine any sport that is played by a woman, such as rugby or football, to be played on a much slower pace than the men's game and with girls running around the field with their arms flapping about while they worry over their nails. That sought of thinking should have been left with their flares in the 1970's. 21st century female sport is ruthless, relentless and of an incredibly high standard. Having personally played international and regional standard rugby for many years I can testify that in no way shape or form is the women's game 'slow' or 'boring'. One big hurdle in changing the public's perception of female sport is the problem of Sporting governing bodies being deprived of funds to develop their respective sport with the vast majority of money being poured in to the men's game.
I challenge you to go see for yourself the high standards of female sport wherever you are. With the female game very rarely being professional, the drive and commitment the women possess is something that could be said to have been lost in the wake of the male professional era. By not being paid to be there the girls are on/in the field, track or pool out of their own initiative thus their performance is filled with unrivalled passion and drive.
There is no reason, other than financial, not to air female sports on free-view television. Note I stated free-view rather than solely television because Sky Sports are doing a much better job of televising women sports with hockey and net-ball being shown regularly on their TV listings.
In countries such as New Zealand and Australia, two great sporting nations, female sports are held in high esteem. The female international rugby team, rugby 7's, hockey and net-ball teams are all seen as stars in the eyes of the nation. If they can do this then why can't we emulate the steps they took to get there in order to develop our own Northern hemisphere female sporting world.
The only way female sports will be able to develop fully is by gaining more exposure and thus attracting more and more interest to the game - increased television time would be a great start but there is also so much more to do.
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