So what are some of the pro (and semi professional) women’s leagues in your country?
What sports would you like to see for the women’s league?
Which is your favourite?
Least favourite?
Any improvements to them, do you think?
(Broadcast, training, sponsorships etc.)
I think most if not all our national sports teams have professional or at least semi pro leagues for women.
AFL, Basketball, Cricket, NRL etc
The AFLW in particular seems to be very popular in Australia (big shock lol.)
I like seeing that, growing up on a heavy diet of “footy” (both codes) and surrounded by sporty girls.
Comment as you like
It's good to see women's participation finally gaining public recognition. Women's cricket, rugby union and football have recently acquired a high profile in the UK.
I vividly remember the start of women's rowing. For a while I was a cox for one of the first St. Anne's college VIIIs at Oxford, and later in the early 1980s I witnessed the first admission of women to the rowing club I belonged to, much against the grumbling of the old guard, who trotted out the usual objections:
- women shouldn't row because they would get all butch and muscle-bound - it was "unwomanly",
- there were no changing, showering and toilet facilities for them (the old chestnut).
In fact of course, when actual rowing women arrived, they were rather gorgeous, (all toned, tanned arms and legs and radiating health), equipping them with facilities took about 2 months to organise....... and they started winning competitions, which the men had a lot more trouble doing! So that killed off the objectors. The women actually became the more active and lively side of the club. And it was so much more fun having women around.
As a lightweight rower myself, I always enjoyed coaching the women, because, like me, they needed good technique to go fast, instead of relying on brute force and ignorance.
Have you ever seen more elegance and grace in a boat than these two? (Have a look from 15:10mark, when they are in the cruise) :
Pairs are the hardest boats to row well and these girls do it superbly - such stability, relaxation under pressure, length and controlled acceleration through the stroke. Helen Glover at bow is 5ft 10in tall but looks over 6 ft.
P.S. Apart from the evolution in society's view of women, there is a simple, largely unsung invention behind the growth in women's sports:
the sports bra.
