Which sport is your London buzz?

How great is it to see so many women sports start in the papers, on the radio and on TV? Imagine if it was like this all the time .... *sighs* I'm sure a whole new generation of girls will be inspired by the women they are seeing at the Olympics now.

Not just to do with sports either - when you hear the stories of people like Afghani boxer Sadaf Rahimi you realise just how symbolic sport is of everything women need to achieve. If you can get your hands on TIME magazine's Olympic issue, she told them: "I'm tired of the world seeing Afghan women as victims. I want to deliver a message to the world through my fighting that Afghan girls are not victims".

How could you not be inspired by the UK's Jessica Ennis last night? Incredible athlete. 

Closer to home, it's really exciting seeing Irishwomen like Joanne Cuddihy (400m), Camilla Speirs (eventer) and Annalise Murphy (sailing) doing so well. (re sailing btw - I had no idea their event lasts for days, so intense.)

And of course Ireland's Katie Taylor. I'm in Londom for the fights on Monday  - will see Taylor take on either Queen Underwood (USA) or Natasha Jones (UK). Either would make a great fight for her - afraid any idea of objectivity will head out the window for the day. Looking forward to seeing Sofya Ochigava (Rus) too.

Which events have been keeping you glued to the screen? 

Can you help "With this Ring" boxing film?

This weekend women's amateur boxing finally gets its dues - and there is something you can do to help spread the story of these pioneers. 

As I wrote here, it's been 108 years since boxing made its debut as a demonstration sport at the St Louis Games but the women have finally arrived. Canadian film-makers Ameesha Joshi and Anna Sarkissian have followed three Indian fighters since 2006, charting their attempts first to fight and then to make London2012.

Mary Kom pic IBN LIve

You will may recognise one of them - Mary Kom, with her five World Titles at 46kgs. But the other two are no laggards either, Chhoto Loura has two bronze medals (world) at 50kgs and Sarita Devi is a five-time Asian champion at 51kgs.

It's been a difficult journey as the Olympic categories didn't really fit with their natural fighting weights - Kom comes to London in the 51kgs category. And Devi boxed at 60gs at the World Championships in May in a qualifying attempt which ultimately failed.

And no less difficult for the film-makers. We've been in touch since I first posted about them in July 2010, Ameesha sent me the latest on their funding efforts yesterday:

"Our story ends at the Olympics where Mary Kom will be competing and could be the first Indian woman ever to win a gold medal.  So it's exciting times.  Co-director/Cinematographer Anna Sarkissian is in Liverpool at the moment with Mary Kom for her final days of training.

We launched an online campaign to help raise money to pay for post-production so we can get this completed and out there.

We have 22 more days to raise $17,500 and could use all the help we could get.  Our fundraising campaign is hosted by Indiegogo, the crowdfunding site.

We are also huge fans of Katie Taylor, have had the pleasure of watching her compete since 2006. After seeing her at the Worlds in Qinhuangdao, I think they should just give her the gold, she was light years ahead of her competition! "

I love the Katie Taylor mention, very gracious of you Ameesha! So if you're gutted not to be in London and want to see more women's boxing on the screen, go to Indiegogo  It's worth a look even just for the sponsor-package titles.


Why have they done this?

Ameesha Joshi: "India has some of the best women boxers in the world. They have risen to the top from very humble circumstances. Although I grew up in Canada, my parents emigrated from India and I'm aware of the cultural expectations and could imagine some of the criticism these woman would've faced. We knew we had found some extraordinary trailblazers.”

Anna Sarkissian: "They are so unique, and yet unassuming. For a long time, they didn’t really understand why we were interested in filming them. Despite a few perks, they live tough lives, and train in difficult conditions to pursue a sport that many might consider laughable. I have profound respect for the amount of discipline, physical and mental strength that boxing requires and am in awe of their dedication.”

They can be contacted directly through their website: With This Ring

Biking in the mountains

How did it get to be Friday again? Today's video is ..well it's an advert. I've written a few posts drawing attention to insulting sports clothing adverts so when I see a good one, it's got to be shared.
(I've never even heard of this company before so no connections if you wondering).

Enjoy the bike-ride and have a great weekend.

First woman on International Kickboxer cover

It's all happening for women's boxing - and looks like the love is spreading. You might have read interviews here with Australian MuayThai fighter Caley Reece - a favourite fighter on this blog. 

I heard from Reece this week that the next edition of Aussie magazine International Kickboxer features her on the front cover. First time ever that this mag - best-selling martial arts magazine in Australia and New Zealand - has put a woman on the front. 

I started my journalism career with this magazine, my first-ever published story was an interview with pioneering promoter Lucy Tui. So I'm doubly excited to see a woman finally on the cover.  

Last interview with Reece on the blog is here.

Listen to possibly the largest football lesson ever ....

So you know there is a Guinness World Record for pretty much everything. But did you know there is one for the largest Gaelic football lesson ever? Nope, me either. Turns out there is not only a record -  held by a club in Antrim - but a challenger - na Fianna in Dublin.

I went to their record effort on Monday for NearFM and this was the result ...

Do you see sexism in your sport?

Female media managers locked out of press conferences, questions on your sexual preferences and strings of comments on your appearance – just some of the issues raised by an interesting BBC documentary “Sexism in Football” this week.

Narrated by journalist Gabby Logan, the doco was packed with examples of behaviour you might have thought extinct by now. Based on interviews with women from “Women in Football” (WiF), it was an eye-opener.

Having worked in boxing for years, it wasn’t so much that the behaviour was shocking but I was surprised it takes place in such a mainstream sport. *shakes head at self *

Had to laugh at this story though: Logan was working at a football match and the fans started shouting: ‘Get your tits out’. Sitting in the press box, she ignored them as did the other journalists. Then Sir Bobby Robson, renowned former England manager, turned to the crowd, lifted his shirt and proceeded to massage his chest in their general direction. Priceless.

One thing mentioned in every interview will ring a bell for any woman working or playing in a male-dominated sphere – don’t rock the boat! Some of the women Logan approached declined to be interviewed, while others visibly pulled their punch-lines.

“Sexism in Sport” was reaching for positivity towards the end, looking at the inclusion of Helen Rabbatts on the FA Board and other changes. There's been a big shift for example since this story of the Dick Kerr Ladies in 1921. This is what really makes the doco I think, we do have to recognise the huge progress made in the last 50 years but the trick is to keep on pushing.

What do you think – has your sport changed, is there more to do?

Cheerleading and pole-dancing?

I posted a while back about cheerleading and how it fits into what we call sport. This video from Reuters really tackles that question head-on. It's up today 'cause a boxing promoter recently inflicted some pole-dancing on us as part of the 'entertainment' at his show here in Dublin. We were talking about that last night so when I saw this cheerleading-behind-the-scenes footage, just had to share. They're not exactly the same of course as we talked about in the first post, but there is a certain element of voyeurism, of the male gaze that just makes me uncomfortable.

Let me know what you think!  

Naming sportswear sites

It might be all about location for housing but when it comes to sportswear sites, that name just has to stick in your mind. These are some of my favourites - though I should point out I haven't shopped in any of these so don't take this as a recommendation. Just a bit of fun on a chilly Thursday when it's time to think about stocking up on warmer running gear.

Sweaty Betty

There's just something perfect about it. I used to hang out with a woman in Bangkok who referred to herself as Bangkok Betty so everytime I hear the name of this UK clothing company it makes me smile. Don't think I've ever actually used their products but the name alone makes me want to send some money their way.

Bitch Boards

I kid you not - this one is an Australian company making snowboards for women. Well, for the "empowered and beautiful female snowboarder." I'm wondering what their sponsorship logo is - do you tear down the mountain with BITCH emblazoned on the board? Or do you go for a more subtle BB?

ChicaBomb

Yes, not quite sure if I'm missing something obvious here because of a lost-in-transatlantic issue - does ChicaBomb scream women's surfboards to you? But it did make me stop scrolling so ... and I liked the idea of the Mermaid Board on their site. Cute. 

Do you know any others? 

That BBC Sports Personality list

The BBC has named its shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year. But oops, looks like they really meant Sportsman of the Year. The ten finalists, whittled down from a list which did include some women, were chosen by 27 sports editors from national and regional newspapers.

It's not that I begrudge any of the men on the list their moment of glory. But in a country the size of the UK and as successful in sport as they are, was it not possible to find one woman worthy of this title? 

Some of the women on the long list include world champion swimmer in 10km open water Kerri-Anne Payne; triathlete Chrissie Wellington World Champion for the 4th time this year; sprinter and Paralympian Stefanie Reid with 2 bronze medals from the IPC championships; World Taekwando champ Sarah Steveneson, cyclist Victoria Pendleton with 2 golds from the European championships, gold medal rower Kath Grainger, European champion boxer Nicola Adams and world champion swimmer Rebecca Adlington who has now spoken out to say well, let's just get on it next year. 

But why wait? If these women are good enough to perform successfully on the world stage, then why not be recognised at home? You can find articles about all of these women in the British newspapers who have now snubbed them. 

Ah, but not quite all - the nominating editors includes eds from Zoo and Nuts who both sent in all-male lists - no big surprise there if you've ever read 'em - but so did The People, The Independent (very surprised at this one), Metro, Irish News, the Evening Standard, the Daily Post, the Western Mail, and the Daily Star Sunday. That's ten of the 27 papers.

The Beeb announced yesterday they would review the process for 2012 in a watery statement that made no concessions to anything: ""It is too early to say what, if any changes will be made to the process..." Gee, thanks. 

If it's this hard for women to get recognition in sport, what chance at work or in the home? 

You can see the full list and shortlist here on the BBC Sports site. 

Women wrestlers in Turkey

Wrestling always reminds me of reading John Irving's The World According to Garp. Strange but true. And in the week of the European Boxing championships in Rotterdam, it seems like a good chance to look at another contact sport for women. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Amy does Parkour in Melbourne

This is great! Only a few minutes long, it's the best explanation I've heard for why some people are addicted to leaping buildings. Another sport I wish I had tried when I was 17 and thought I was invincible. Filmed in Melbourne, lovely shots of the city as well as Amy show us what she does.

Have a healthy weekend!

The sports women watch

Shocking new finding ... wait for it ... women watch sports. News to rock your Monday folks, courtesy of the researchers at Nielsen Media. 

Anne Flore Marxer, snowboarder ... wonders at the genius of these boffins

Stephen Master, head of Nielsen Sports is quoted in this Forbes mag article as saying: "I don’t think people realize how big a percentage (of viewers) is women."  I tried to find the original report but none of the online articles link back to it (sloppy) and I don't have access to the Nielsen site but the stats generally reported point to women in the US making up to 1/3 of the audience for sports classed as 'male' like the NBA Finals, World Series, Daytona 500, and Stanley Cup Finals. 

You'd think that looking around the stadiums and stands for those games especially the football and the racing would give advertisers and media outlets a clue but apparently not. Masters also says in that interview that this 'trend' has been around for the best part of a decade. 

The report points out that women's sport is watched by more men than women, again not sure why this is new as you anecdotally you could predict that more men than women are interested in sport overall. But it's exciting to see American viewers tuning into the women's world cup in record figures even when compared with the male game.

What I'd like to see is advertisers and sponsors taking note of stats like these. The standards in women's sports is rising all the time - you can see the difference money and training makes. A little bit more of both and we can keep on narrowing the gap between the boys and girls.

Have you noticed any change in the audiences for your sport over the last few years?

European surfers compete in Ireland

Eurosurf Bundoran 2011 is continuing over the weekend. A few of the women out on the water in this video from this week's competition.

Have a great weekend! 

Growing flowers from your shoes

Take one pair of smelly, used-up running shoes, bury in the garden. Wait. Flowers sprout. Really. I haven't been drinking wine this hour of the morning, Oat Shoes do just that.

Made from hemp and cotton, the idea is that you run, use them up and instead of dumping them on the growing mountain of garbage we produce every year, you bury them so they can biodegrade and then the flower-thing happens. 

According to their brochure: "The ingredients used for OAT's recipe are a combination of natural materials like hemp, bio-cotton and cork, together with certified biodegradable plastics. This means a given amount of the plastic has been tested to break down in an ideal environment for 90+% in 6 months." 

It's not quite as magical as it sounds, the seeds are contained in the tongue of the shoes and that's designed to decompose and spread the love once the shoes are buried. The Dutch company ships overseas so there's no excuse. (Although as I type that I'm wondering does having shoes shipped to my little island negate the eco-benefit of growing them afterwards??)

Oat Shoes

An Italian fan of the shoes walked the length of the Danube River this summer wearing them, so they must be pretty durable. They're not cheap at €149 ($205). I'll let you know if I order a pair - or if anyone reading this has tried them out, get in touch with your experiences.

Have you seen any other eco-sports products lately?

Action sports magazines

Easkey Britton for Red Bulletin 2010

It cracks me up that Red Bull sponsor so many extreme or action sports events. Strikes me the last thing you need as you pump your heart full of adrenaline is a few shots of that stuff swirling around in the mix.  A lot of the Thai fighters knock back a bottle just before they get in the ring - but stand back 'cause anyone feeling the nerves tends to throw it right back up again. 

That said the upside of the contradiction is promotion for sports that wouldn't usually get media-space. Can you get the Red Bulletin Magazine where you live?  I know it goes out in eight countries and the athletes interviewed reflect that range. Fascinating interview with sprinter Oscar Pistorius last month. Not quite sure whether I was inspired or intimidated?!

'Course I don't really need to spell out what my only problem with the mag is do I? I haven't seen a woman on the cover for some time, although they did feature boxer Katie Taylor on the Irish edition about 2 years ago. Oh, except for singer Nicki Minaj last time round. Great action shot of a snowboarder on this month's issue - could have been a woman? No?

Anyhow, let's try not to moan. It's great to see a mag promoting alternative sports and while it is clearly a great big promo, I guess we'll take it over complete radio silence. What do you think?

Responding to sexist advertising?

When a company uses offensive* advertising material, should you ignore them and quench the fires of publicity or should you draw attention to it so it is stopped?

This discussion started on Twitter a few weeks back thanks to @womenmediacentre and there doesn't seem to be a clear answer. It's popped up again in Ireland because of a series of adverts for .... a food product .... using women playing Gaelic football as the stars. I really don't want to link to the pictures so let me paint one for you - low-cut tops which wouldn't look out of place on a dance-floor, shorts which could pass for undies on a lingerie show, poses angling the models' best assets and enough make-up and hair-spray to fit out a team of beauty contestants.

The advertising complaints board here already banned this company from using a very similar series of adverts last year featuring rugby players and using almost all of the models in this year's shoot. I'm not sure of the legalities but this is definitely what you call sticking to the letter of the law and hanging the spirit out to dry.

So what to do - be all post-feminist about it and ignore them? stop buying the product? kick up a fuss?

*to me and many other people involved in sport

Derby Baby - coming soon to a cinema near you

This looks great - a trailer for a documentary on roller derby leagues in America, Germany, the UK and Ireland. Looks like 'Whip it' has got a challenger! The blurb on Vimeo says: "Emmy-winning filmmakers Robin Bond and Dave Wruck take you along on their quest to learn why women's flat track roller derby is the most controversial and fastest growing sport in the world."  Watch out for the skeleton face-paint.

Enjoy and have a great weekend :)

Wordless Wednesday

Whip It - for real pic from flickr xxcrystal85xx

Wordless Wednesday is a group of bloggers who give words a rest once a week.

Is cheerleading a sport?

Question of the day - what is a sport? This is something which exercises (sorry!) me coming from an Olympic perspective; what sports should be included and what ones not? And it seems from a collection of articles in my inbox this morning that cheerleaders have the same problem. 

Really if you leave cheerleaders on the sidelines (again apologies) then perhaps gymnastics or synchronised swimming would also be voted out? Yes, cheerleaders train incredibly hard but are they there as an extra to the main event or are they athletes in their own right? Maybe any American readers out there can enlighten us on how this is seen on the ground over there as we don't have a huge cheerleader tradition in European sports. I saw some photos of all-male troupes, is this growing or just a gimmick?

You can read up on the cheerleader debate here on the SMH from Australia, the Daily Mail from the UK and on Jezebel.

What other sports do you think suffer from an image problem?

Katie Taylor in Lucozade advert

Katie Taylor with Tinie Tempah + Travis Barker

You know you're making it when the sponsors come calling.
You can listen to an interview here on Action81 with Taylor, back in Dublin making her plans for Olympic domination.