In fact, a book on the history of sport at Sydney University was the first title I worked on when I joined Sydney University Press. (And it must have been the first book on sport that I have ever read!) A mighty volume, Sydney University Sport 1895–2007: more than a club by Geoff Sherington and Steve Georgakis is bursting with stories of the early days of clubs and games at the University.
I picked up Sydney University Sport a few days ago to read about the history of women’s cricket at the University. The first women’s club was founded in 1926, close to 40 year after the first women’s cricket games took place in Sydney. In the early days, women’s cricket was thought to be “something of a joke” and attracted lots of ridicule in the media. And looking at the image of women’s sport in modern times, things haven’t changed that much.
Over a century after women first started playing cricket in Australia, the sport still maintains a ‘blokey’ image, lacks ethnic diversity and attracts little attention in the media. The effect is dire for sponsorship opportunities, the ability for clubs to attract audiences and new players – a pessimistic outlook for the future of women’s cricket in Australia.
The limited media exposure of women’s sport is not restricted to cricket. The reporting of women’s sport is “deficient in the extreme, despite the increased quality of the performances of women athletes” says Janice Crosswhite OAM, president of the Australian Womensport and Recreation Association Inc. Outside of the Olympic or Commonwealth Games, women’s sport takes up approximately 1% of television coverage (except for ABC TV), even less of radio air-time, and between 4–10% of space dedicated to sport in print.
This is a surprising statistic for a country where sport is described as a “national religion”. And it contrasts sharply with sport participation data which is identical for both genders. According to ABS, 66% of females aged 15 years and over reported that they had participated in sport and physical recreation at least once during the 12 months prior to interview in 2005–06. Males also showed a participation rate of 66%.
As a result of limited media exposure, women’s sports suffer from poor public perception, their clubs have poor sponsorship prospects, attract small audiences, and young girls are deprived of the opportunities to be exposed to sporting role models. Instead, they are bombarded with news of aggressive behaviour and drinking excesses of members of male sport-teams. Not surprisingly, Australian research shows that only 8% of teenage girls claim to have a sport role model.
The development of local clubs and junior teams is vital to the future of team sport, and it is beneficial to the wellbeing of young players, far beyond the obvious issues of health and fitness. Long-term participation in sport and club membership enables children to learn the ideas of fair play and teamwork.
They develop self-motivation and a sense of belonging to a community. At the same time, they can have fun and meet new friends, which according to Richard Light, the author of Sport in the lives of young Australians, are the most important reasons for joining a sporting club and ongoing participation.
While I can’t say I had an epiphany and have become a sport fanatic just by reading these books, they have certainly widened my perception and understanding of sport. Would I have become a different person if I were encouraged to be more sporty as a child? Who knows. As I was not, I now need to work hard to motivate myself to stay physically active. What would I do without all those books on benefits and significance of sport?
