An edited version of the following article was published in the Spring edition of the Women in Sport magazine. We welcome your comments through the form available at the bottom of this post. Email us at media@wsf.org.uk, if you encounter any problems.

THE GAME'S up ladies, we’ve been caught red handed with our slippers on, and a cup of tea in hand. New research by the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) has revealed UK women to be some of the least active in the world with only one in five of us taking part in sport or activity three times per week. Women in Australia and even the US are putting us to shame by getting active on a far more regular basis and leading healthier, happier lives as a result. Ashamed? You should be. And it’s not just the obvious physical benefits of exercise that we are missing out on. Being active is also a vital tool in maintaining mental health, with many people who suffer from depression and anxiety reporting positive effects from beginning a daily exercise regime. Why is it then that women in the UK are so reluctant to experience the natural high and improved body image that sport can bring?

Consider the facts; women’s sport receives just 5% of coverage in the UK’s sports media [link to pdf document] with world beaters like cyclist Nicole Cooke remaining almost anonymous on home soil when their success should be making them into sporting superstars. The back pages of our newspapers are full of sportsmen from the worlds of football, tennis, cricket and rugby who earn megabucks and are role models for the millions of youngsters who watch them ply their trade week in, week out. Obviously young girls are free to join the boys in their admiration of stars like England football captain John Terry and tennis star Andy Murray, but wouldn’t it be great if they also had some females to aspire to-women who feature on the same back pages as their male counterparts?

Paula Radcliffe is probably the first name shouted out when a successful sportswoman is called for and she certainly fulfils the role model criteria. As a three-time winner of the London Marathon and current world record holder for the women’s 26.2 mile race her name is synonymous with outstanding athletic achievement. Or it should be anyway. But since her failure to complete the 2004 Olympic marathon in Athens it’s not unusual to hear her called a quitter, or even a loser. This latter term was amazingly applied to Paula by Robert Philip of the Daily Telegraph in his article which suggested that seeing herself run out of third place, she decided the final three miles just weren’t worth the effort and plonked herself down on the pavement like a spoilt child. So what?-you may say. The British press are renowned for their harsh critique of any failure grown on home soil, just look at the way the footballers were pilloried after their world cup exit. But there is a difference. The England footballers are criticised right up until they win their next match-when they immediately regain hero status. For Paula the negativity has stuck despite her victory at the New York Marathon just 77 days after the Athens disappointment, when most of the experts were calling her crazy to even consider taking part.

Public opinion is split between those in awe of Radcliffe’s talent and those who cannot see beyond her Olympic sized failure in Athens, and it’s fairly safe to assume that there are not too many women out there who fall into the second category. That’s not to say that all men are so short-sighted, just the ones who know no better. I had an encounter with one such male in my local gym recently, in amongst the testosterone and dumbbells. In conversation I named Paula as an idol of mine. Snorts of derision followed by the words ‘your idol is a choker’ were thrown at me in reply. Charming. It could be that the oversized, vest-wearing dolt is a one-off specimen but as anyone who’s ever spied an ant crawling over the kitchen counter knows, where there’s one you can almost guarantee there will be more. As he swaggered off to the sunbed, I fumed.

This gym based ignoramus is blissfully unaware how opinions like his could affect the UK’s ability to develop a rich pool of female sports stars for the future, and its probably for the best-an ego boost is not exactly what he needs. But imagine a younger, less self assured female had taken my place in our conversation. What’s the point in succeeding in sport she would have thought, when your accomplishments are so quickly disregarded after a single slip? She needs proof that the sporting achievements of women are valued just as much as those of men, and she is not alone.

The battle for women in the business world to achieve parity with their male colleagues in terms of pay has been replicated in the world of professional sports and it was only in February this year that the organisers of one of the world’s best loved tennis tournaments Wimbledon, finally decided to award identical prize money to both sexes. How is it that an established organisation like the All England Club can take so very long to make such a seemingly simple decision? The Women’s Sport Foundation offers one clue in its report which found that not only are women steering clear of the physical side of sport but they’re also shunning the all important decision-making positions, resulting in just 29% of sports boards and committees being made up of women.

That’s hardly a surprising fact though. Just ask assistant football referee Amy Rayner. She received a tongue lashing from Luton’s (now ex) manager Mike Newell after denying his side a penalty in a match against QPR. Poor Mike, he was so confused by Amy’s presence-‘this is not park football, so what are women doing here? -That he felt driven to issue a stark warning for the future. ‘When we reach a stage when all officials are women, then we are in trouble.’ He certainly will be, that’s for sure. Newell’s attitude drew criticism from some quarters and the FA issued a fine but he was not sacked. As football remains in desperate need of more referees let’s just hope that half the country’s population has not been deterred from the job by the comments of one man-although as we know, where there’s one…

Are you persuaded then? Lacing up your trainers as you read? Cleaning your whistle for the big match? If not, here is one last fact just for you. 30% of Australia’s women over the age of 65 participate in some activity at least three times per week. In the UK, just 7% of our older generation remains that active. If we are serious about finding sporting role models for the younger female generation, maybe its time we looked closer to home, hey ladies?

Labels: guest contribution, women in sport magazine