WOMEN  IN  SPORT

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this booklet you should be able to:-

1] Understand Past prejudices against women participating in Sport.

2] Understand the changing attitude towards a greater participation in Sport.

3] Know those sports where men and women compete against each other.

4] know what present and future aims are to encourage a greater participation

by women into Sport.

Women have always participated in a great range of sports. Unfortunately, this has not always been recognised by the media and society.

Both physiological and sociological factors have influenced women's participation in sport at all levels. Before then age of 11, boys and girls can compete on equal terms, it is not until after adolescent development that anatomical difference make equal competition between the sexes harder to achieve. These differences are exemplified in bone structure and muscle development.

In terms of performance, the difference between mens and womens records has become less. Women's performances have radically improved. Also, it is now socially acceptable for women to train and devote a great deal of their life to sport. By having greater access to training facilities and improved training methods, women over the last two decades have been able to attain a higher level of performance..

In the past, women had fewer opportunities in life compared with men. They were expected to run a home and bring up children, in addition to a full or part-time job. They, therefore, had less free time for leisure activities. As the expectation of women in society changed, so their participation in sport increased.

During the 1st World War women took on jobs previously done by men. After the war many people had a different attitude towards women. This encouraged more women to take part in sport. Women's athletics first appeared in the Olympic programme in 1928. Progress since then has been slow but recently women's events have expanded to include 400m. 400m hurdles, 1500m 3000m, and marathon. It may not be long before we see women in 5000m, 10,000m, steeplechase, triple jump, hammer and pole vault.

Today women compete directly with men in many sports.

MAKE A LIST OF ALL THOSE SPORTS WHERE MEN AND WOMEN COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER.

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY SPORTS THAT MAY EVENTUALLY BECOME MIXED COMPETITIVELY?

ARE THERE ANY SPORTS (GIVE YOUR REASONS) WHERE WOMEN SHOULD BE BANNED FROM PLAYING?

Despite old fashioned views about what is or is not suitable for women, they are now emerging in nearly all sports at different levels. This quiet revolution has accelerated in recent years. It is based on the view that women themselves should be quite free to choose their own leisure time activities.

There is no doubt that women are breaking down the traditional male barriers in sport. They have taken part in the Henley Rowing Regatta, played Cricket at Lords and play Rugby at Twickenham. The major problem for women in sport is to overcome society's traditional view of sportswomen as different from other women. Increasingly sport is accepted as a normal activity for women. Taking part in sport is no longer seen as automatically reducing women's femininity.

In Athletics, nowadays, women athletes present their femininity by way of clothing, appearance as well as their ability in those events they take part in. Slowly professional sportswomen and top amateurs are receiving comparable appearance money in their events as their male counterparts.

The Sports Council have targeted women in their aim to encourage a greater participation in sport. They are particularly concerned about housewives and recent school leavers. They have also found that some older women have been kept out of sport very effectively by lack of local facilities, upbringing and family life. They have neither sports skills nor sporting interest. The Sports Council recent 10 year plan hopes to attract another 4 million women to sport by 1993.

There are some encouraging signs with the current interest in 'Health and Fitness' involving aerobics, step-aerobics and other dance or movement based activities. The running and cycling boom is also attracting many new women to sport and as sportswear is now very fashionable, more women are likely to feel confident when dressed for sport. The achievements of the top women sports stars like Sally Gunnell, Steffi Graf and female sports commentators like Sue Barker encourages women to take part in sport.

Women have shown that they can run, swim and cycle as far as men. They have sailed single-handed around the world, climbed the highest mountains and ridden in the Grand National.

They only have to be convinced now that taking part in sport and recreation is quite normal for ALL women.

CARRY OUT A SURVEY ON WOMEN. PREPARE A CHECKLIST AND ANALYSE THE RESULTS.

1] WHICH SPORTS ARE MOST POPULAR AND MOST DISLIKED?

A] WATCHING

B] PARTICIPATING

2] ASK QUESTIONS DESIGNED TO DISCOVER THE REASONS FOR THESE LIKES AND DISLIKES.

ANALYSE THE RESULTS AND SEE IF THERE ARE ANY TRENDS OR EXPLANATIONS.