Yorkshire’s Naomi Edwards (right) made it third time lucky when she won the English ladies’ close championship at Littlestone in Kent.

The 23-year-old from Ganton has twice been runner-up in this championship and finally claimed the title when she beat Derbyshire’s Melissa Reid 2/1 in the final. “It feels fantastic,” said Naomi. “I’m so relieved!

“I knew it was going to be a tough match but you have to be positive,”
added Naomi, who was one under par in the final.

She rates it as the biggest moment in her career, which has included playing in the Curtis Cup and previous victories in the English mid-amateur championship, the St Rule Trophy and the Welsh open strokeplay.

Naomi took charge early in the match and was three-up after eight holes, helped by birdies on the outward par fives, the 5th and 7th.

But Melissa (left) began a fightback with a birdie three on the 12th where she holed a superb putt over a saddle in the green. She then narrowed the margin to one hole with a par on the 15th.

But Naomi sealed the title over the tough closing holes. She was just short of the long 16th green in two and almost holed her long eagle putt, leaving the ball stone dead. Melissa’s approach to the green took a hard bounce right over the putting surface into thick rough by the next tee. Her delicate chip finished within 3ft of the hole but, in what she later blamed on a lapse in concentration, she missed the putt.

On the 173-yard 17th Melissa appeared to have the advantage. Her ball was about 20ft from the pin while Naomi’s eight-iron bounced straight through and down a steep bank at the back of the green.

From there, and unable to see even the top of the pin, she played an exquisite shot with a lob wedge to within about 15ft. Melissa’s birdie attempt lipped out and Naomi took her chance, ramming home the putt for a half – and the championship.

She puts her success down to her fresh focus on her golf. “I know where I want to be, where I want to go,” said Naomi, who is considering turning professional at the end of 2008.

Before the championship she also worked hard with ELGA coach Lawrence Farmer and came to the event with just one swing thought. “I used it through the week and it worked. Sometimes I can get too many thoughts in my head!” she laughed.

For more information, visit http://www.englishladiesgolf.org.

Labels: cup competitions, golf

This year the England women's cricket team face New Zealand in the NatWest Women’s Series - and for the first time you can buy tickets to matches directly from the ECB. Tickets are £5 for adults and free for children.

Warm-up matches

• Tuesday August 7: South Africa v England Development XI, Taunton School
• Wed August 8: MCC v New Zealand, venue TBC; South Africa v England Development XI, Taunton School
• Fri August 10: Mini Twenty20 competition, Taunton School (South Africa, New Zealand and two England XI teams).

All matches will start at 10.45am and the Twenty20 competition will begin at 10am.

NatWest Women’s International Twenty20

• Sunday August 12: 1st Twenty20 v New Zealand, Bath CC
• Monday August 13: 2nd Twenty20 v New Zealand, Bath CC
• Thursday August 16: 3rd Twenty20 v New Zealand, Taunton (Sky Sports)

The first Twenty20 will start at 3.30pm, the second match at 5.30pm and the final one will begin at 5.40pm.

NatWest Women’s Series

• Fri August 17: 1st NatWest ODI v New Zealand, Taunton (Sky Sports)
• Sun August 19: 2nd NatWest ODI v New Zealand, Stratford CC
• Thurs August 23: 3rd NatWest ODI v New Zealand, Derby (Floodlit)
• Sun August 26: 4th NatWest ODI v New Zealand, Blackpool CC
• Mon August 27: 5th NatWest ODI v New Zealand, Blackpool
• Thurs August 30: 6th NatWest ODI v New Zealand, Shenley

All matches will start at 10.45am, with the exception of the Floodlit game at Derby which will start at 2.30pm.

On Sunday August 12: England Disabilities will play a Twenty20 game prior to the 1st NatWest Women’s International Twenty20 at Bath CC. Start time 11am.

For further information, visit http://ecb.co.uk/womens/international/womens-international-tickets-now-on-sale,12694,EN.html to purchase tickets. A document on travel information is also available. The tour is sponsored by

Labels: cricket, cup competitions, events, team sport

Top seed Liz Bennett is through to the quarter-finals of the English ladies’ close championship at Littlestone and now takes on her friend and practice partner Danielle Montgomery.

Labels: cup competitions, events, golf

Teenage internationals Melissa Reid and Florentyna Parker (right) both scored two-under par 70 to share the lead after the first round of the English ladies’ close championship at Littlestone in Kent.

Labels: cup competitions, golf

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

The Arsenal women's team secured a historic quadruple by beating Charlton FC, 4-1 in the FA Cup Final. Having battled to win both the UEFA Cup and Premier League Cup by a narrow 1-0 margin, Arsenal showed off their attacking play, cruising to a 4-1 win against Charlton Women.

A cup upset was on the cards after a 7th minute Katie Holtham goal for Charlton, but Arsenal turned the tables to come back in true attacking style. Kelly Smith and Jayne Ludlow each grabed a brace to entertain the record crowd of 24,529.

An elated Smith told theFA.com: "It was a great big disappointment to miss that game, and it was completely my own fault. So I wanted to step up today and help the team lift this trophy, it wasn't just me out there it was all the players rising to the occasion."

"It has been a long hard season and there were some heavy legs out there, it is hard being unbeaten as you know that everyone is out to get you and you have to raise your game everytime you step on the field."I think today it was a great atmosphere and the fans really got behind us, and once we got the fourth goal I think that killed the game off."

Full match reports appear in:

• LEGEND LADIES - Daily Mirror
• Arsenal 4 - 1 Charlton - Guardian Unlimited
• Dominant Arsenal take a quadruple leap into history - Times Online
• Arsenal do the quadruple - Channel 4 News, UK
• Arsenal complete historic quadruple - Setanta Sports
• Akers to stay on as Arsenal coach - BBC Sport
• Arsenal complete unique quadruple - uefa.com

Image courtesy of theFA.com.

Labels: arsenal, cup competitions, football

Labels: events, triathlon