Author Topic: Women's sport (Read 7439 times)

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **on:** 20 January, 2013, 06:29:09 pm »

There was a lot of talk going on during the Olympics and Paralympics about women's sport and how it gets such a tiny proportion of coverage and funding even though some ladies are actually quite good at it.

BBC R5LSX and Sky Sports 4 are currently broadcasting an England v Australia netball match. England are winning by a lot. If you'd like to see women's sport get more attention, why not tune in? And maybe you could contact your broadcaster of choice and congratulate them for covering the match and ask them to do more.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 January, 2013, 06:32:42 pm »

Do women watch much sport? I always thought that armchair sport was a male affliction.

Kim · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 January, 2013, 06:47:52 pm »

While it's probably true to say that most women's interest in sport tends towards the doing rather than the watching, I suspect this may not be coincidentally related to the general lack of women's sport to easily watch.

I'm fairly sure that people are allowed to watch sport played by those of other genders, thobut.

Personally: I don't *do* sport. But I'm all for a bit of diversity in media coverage, be that women's events or less mainstream sports.

_{(And I refuse to watch netball. Might have flashbacks.)}

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 January, 2013, 06:50:19 pm »

My childhood memories were of my mum (in Oz) watching Wimbledon through the early hours. Mind you, mum was a decent tennis player herself (a couple of times she enjoyed saying "she's beaten me too!"). She liked watching swimming too. Watching netball was more a casual interest.

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 January, 2013, 06:57:53 pm »

Quote from: rogerzilla on 20 January, 2013, 06:32:42 pm

Do women watch much sport? I always thought that armchair sport was a male affliction.

Can only women watch women's sport and only men watch men's sport then?

This netball commentary isn't very good, to be honest. The two presenters are talking very knowledgeably about the game and the players but they're not telling us what's actually happening other than when goals are scored.

I hated all sport at school but as soon as I left school and started 6th form I played netball for a local league. We weren't great but we enjoyed it. I was thinking about getting back into it until I knackered my hip - it'd be too high impact for me now.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 January, 2013, 07:31:14 pm »

Quote from: rogerzilla on 20 January, 2013, 06:32:42 pm

Do women watch much sport? I always thought that armchair sport was a male affliction.

Some do.

When my daughter left Uni she did a number of jobs before starting at Teachers' Training College, including a stint as receptionist at Costa Coffee's HQ by Waterloo Station. Around that time, her then boyfriend, a sports geek and trainspotter with a First in something - politics I think - invited her to accompany him and a few other Uni types to a match at Wimbledon or Charlton - I can't remember which and it's not important. She was to be the only gurl in the entourage of a lot of highly competitive virtual top trumps sports blokes from Warwick Uni who liked to outdo one another with their knowledge of sporting trivia.

One of the guys at Costa was a walking football encyclopædia so my daughter, on the day before the match, got him to tell her all she needed to know about the two teams in question: players, club history, what (if anything) they'd won, that sort of rubbish, so when, as she knew it would, during a dull phase of the match these guys started trying to outdo one another in their knowledge of any trivia loosely associated with the match in question, she was there was facts and answers before any of the rest of them. She got a lot of sideways glances from all these blokes who were being beaten at their own game by a gurl and she carried it all off with aplomb and astraightface.

I don't think any of her companions enjoyed the match nearly as much as she did, and when they left they all felt slightly emasculated.

Kim · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 January, 2013, 07:37:02 pm »

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology we have bluffball.co.uk for achieving the same effect without all that tedious swotting-up.

Did you see that ludicrous display last night?

docsquid · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 January, 2013, 07:40:14 pm »

I love all sport and think women's sport should get equal coverage. Would love to watch netball. Sadly I'm not prepared to line the coffers of Mr Murdoch and subscribe to Sky Sports.

Kim · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 January, 2013, 08:07:23 pm »

That said, there does seem to be something of a trend for broadcasters to pick up less mainstream sports to cover as the Murdoch empire gobbles up all the popular ones. Maybe that's actually a good thing?

Tewdric · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 January, 2013, 08:13:43 pm »

Netball is right up there with darts as a thrilling spectator sport...

sg37409 · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 January, 2013, 11:07:42 am »

As distinct from the argument of coverage, the olympic womens football games at hampden hardly sold any tickets. The mens game sold a lot more.

Flynn · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 January, 2013, 12:52:03 pm »

Tennis gets a lot of coverage.

Kathy · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 January, 2013, 01:14:22 pm »

Nice article on this on the Vagenda today:

http://vagendamag.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/running-on-empty.html

Julian · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 January, 2013, 01:35:48 pm »

Quote from: Tewdric on 20 January, 2013, 08:13:43 pm

Netball is right up there with darts as a thrilling spectator sport...

It's at least as interesting as football! There's quite a lot of skill in netball - I enjoy watching it. I enjoy football too, women's and men's, although I tend to be put off watching matches by the tribal neanderthal thing that seems to be a prerequisite.

rafletcher · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 January, 2013, 01:36:43 pm »

Quote from: Flynn on 25 January, 2013, 12:52:03 pm

Tennis gets a lot of coverage.

Considering the number of tournaments played, no it doesn't. And theres pretty equal coverage on both men and women players. The 4 majors get covered but usually only Queens and Wimbledon are available throughout the tournament to non-sattelite viewers. The French Open is getting more coverage these days (well it did last year, presumably because of the small time difference so hopefully that'll continue), but the Austalian and US opens, well if you're only able to get non-Sky/Virgin coverage you'll most likely only see the Australian final, occasionally (like today) a semi if a brit is involved. No hope of seeing the US Open FTA AFAIK.

mattc · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 January, 2013, 03:09:55 pm »

Quote from: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 20 January, 2013, 06:57:53 pm

This netball commentary isn't very good, to be honest. The two presenters are talking very knowledgeably about the game and the players but they're not telling us what's actually happening other than when goals are scored.

There seems to be a bit of tokenism in the selection of commentary teams. I don't know whether decent females exist in this profession, but I've drifted away from watching a number of events due to poor commentary. happens far less often with blokes' sport.

I guess there's a viscious circle - the women don't get the commentary experience cos the men are covering the mens' game, which gets more coverage ...
But I think it sells the womens events short to broadcast them with crap commentary.

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 January, 2013, 05:32:05 pm »

Poor commentary on a radio broadcast just renders the whole listening experience meaningless.

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 August, 2013, 11:14:06 am »

The women's European hockey championships are taking place in Belgium this week. Scotland are currently playing Germany and it's on the BBC red button.

LEE · « **Reply #18 on:** 18 August, 2013, 07:35:11 pm »

Netball and Hockey need a rules makeover in order to make them appealing to an audience who don't play those sports.

Hockey in particular could be so exciting if they changed just a couple of rules to make it more like Ice Hockey.

1 - It shouldn't be an offense to touch the ball with your foot.

This rule encourages the playing of the ball against the opponent's food for a free hit. stop-start-stop start..boring

2 - Why the feckity feck can't you use both sides of the stick? That is so stupid it beggers belief.

If you could use both sides of the stick (which seems an obvious thing to allow) then you would have the most amazing dribbles and skill on show.

Rugby hasn't been afraid to change rules in order to make the game more flowing, Hockey should follow suit.

As for Netball it's even more boring than Basketball and Basketball is the second most boring game in the universe.

Julian · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 August, 2013, 08:14:59 pm »

Netball's a brilliant game. A lot more exciting than football to watch and with considerably more skill IMO.

Basketball is an Americanised abomination.

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #20 on:** 18 August, 2013, 08:17:39 pm »

Netball doesn't have enough body contact and the whole catch, stop, shoot thing is a bit twee. I spent a large part of my childhood watching it; netball is a big thing in Oz.

Pedal Castro · « **Reply #21 on:** 18 August, 2013, 08:26:35 pm »

Hockey does change it's rules, since I last coached it, we now don't have offside, and turning is allowed. Not quite a bad as rugby though, they changes the laws and/or interpretations every season.

Jaded · « **Reply #22 on:** 19 August, 2013, 10:53:03 am »

Europe's Women stuffed the US and A royally in the Solheim Cup last night. Some brilliant play and almost no coverage except on Sky.

If there's ever a sport where prize money should be equal, this is it. Although there is no prize money in the Solheim Cup.

rafletcher · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 August, 2013, 02:41:51 pm »

Quote from: Jaded on 19 August, 2013, 10:53:03 am

Europe's Women stuffed the US and A royally in the Solheim Cup last night. Some brilliant play and almost no coverage except on Sky. If there's ever a sport where prize money should be equal, this is it. Although there is no prize money in the Solheim Cup.

Thats because they paid enough to stop anyone else broadcasting it $:-\$

Biff · « **Reply #24 on:** 25 August, 2013, 11:54:37 pm »

When in London last year we went to watch Arsenal Ladies, and we noted that the skill levels were pretty much the same as the mens game but what impressed us most was how much less prima-donna twattery there was compared to the hairyarses. That alone should warrant much better TV coverage.

Author Topic: Women's sport (Read 7439 times)

LEE