Why summer can be ‘era-defining’ for women’s sport

Senior figures believe a summer filled with major sporting events could be “era-defining” and contribute to the development of change that would encourage more women and girls to play sport.

The Red Roses want to make the same kind of impact as their footballing counterparts in 2022 when England hosts the Rugby World Cup in August.

The Lionesses’ victory at home helped boost girls’ soccer participation.

On a special Radio 5 Live program called “Names Will Be Made” to celebrate BBC Women’s Summer of Sport, Sally Horrox, director of women’s rugby at World Rugby, said, “The World Cup is going to raise the bar for women’s rugby.

It will be a truly defining moment, I believe.

It will become a mainstream sport, which will greatly affect girls around the world.

Meanwhile, the footballers under Sarina Wiegman are preparing to defend their European crown in Switzerland.

After the success of 2022, it’s incredible to think where the sport is right now, and the Euros this summer will give us another opportunity to continue the growth of women’s football in this country, said Kelly Simmons, a former director of women’s football at the Football Association.

There were 80 girls and women’s teams when I first arrived at the FA, and today there are more than 3 million girls and women playing the sport.

Olympic 800-meter champion Keely Hodgkinson, a world record holder, will compete at the September World Athletics Championships.

The summer of sport is a “unique opportunity to really make change,” according to British Olympic Association chair Dame Katherine Grainger, and it is a chance to work on ways to break some of the barriers that women face in the sport.

If we were to meet in a year, Grainger said, “This is now different,” and I would want us to all take a seat.

Although the mother of three, age 38, Cassie Patten can still recall how angry she was at a male coach’s decision to stop training while on her period.

The 2008 bronze medalist described how a male coach “looked me in the eye and said, “I’m so disappointed in you,” while she was unable to work through period cramps. You have no idea, I said.

And many of her fellow guests, who were mostly famous and those just beginning their elite sports journeys, shared this theme.

Boxing champion Tia Miah-Ayton, 18, said, “I can put on three kilos on my period, and I can’t fight if I don’t make my weight.”

Being predominately male coaches who have little knowledge of a woman’s body was cited as a barrier to participation and top performance.

Although there were improvements, many believed there were still needs for more female coaches.

Olympic champion in track cycling Sophie Capewell outlined how a better understanding had contributed to the development of the women’s team.

We aren’t as consistent, she said, and periods have had a significant impact on our ability to communicate. It wouldn’t have been possible to have a conversation openly a few years ago.

Research on women’s sport was “woefully lacking,” according to Dr. Pippa Bennett, the UK Sports Institute’s director of clinical governance and chief medical officer.

Dr. Emma O’Donnell, a physiology expert, advocated for higher-quality studies into the impact of menstrual cycles on performance.

We are still not much closer to the solution, she said, despite 40 years of research.

And other body issues that female athletes face were discussed.

The University of Plymouth’s biomechanics professor, Professor Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, explained how the right sports bra and support can affect performance. She claimed that it can shorten a marathon run by 4 cms, or 1 mile.

She cited a “disappointing lack of research in this area” and referenced a study in which 46% of women questioned said they had quit the sport because of breast-related issues.

She did claim that big companies were now funding research in this field.

Even though there have been similar improvements as the sport becomes more inclusive, guests have complained that men’s sports kit has remained a problem.

Body image was also viewed as a hindrance to sport, with athletes who contravened social norms, something that guests agreed could change with more recognizable role models.

Women are 30% more likely to be victims of online abuse than men, according to research cited by World Rugby’s Horrox, which is another problem that women athletes are particularly susceptible to.

Some of England’s Lionesses announced last week that they would not use social media during the summer’s competition, while tennis player Katie Boulter exposed the issue by revealing some of the horrifying abuse she has received from BBC Sport.

Miah-Ayton said, “I’ve had a lot of haters since my fight, and I just think about all the negative comments.”

Horrox claimed that World Rugby was one of the sports that would be conducting abuse against female players and that it would seek to prosecute those responsible.