tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/sport-participation-20393/articlesSport participation – The Conversation2023-12-13T00:13:06Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2192192023-12-13T00:13:06Z2023-12-13T00:13:06ZThe new national plan for sport has no measurable targets - exactly how politicians like it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564724/original/file-20231211-19-tgfhmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C32%2C5446%2C3054&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/large-group-people-cross-country-running-1634219926">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal minister for sport, Anika Wells, recently launched a <a href="https://consultations.health.gov.au/office-for-sport/national-sport-plan/">discussion paper</a> for a new National Plan for Sport, which will be the fourth such plan produced since 2001. </p>
<p>These plans typically have two main goals: to promote success in elite sport, particularly internationally, and to increase grassroots participation in sport by Australian children and adults. </p>
<p>They’re important policy documents because, ideally, they should play a major role in deciding federal sports funding across the country.</p>
<p>But historically, the plans have failed to get more adults into community sport. So how does this one stack up? And will it be any different?</p>
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<h2>A history of plans with mixed results</h2>
<p>Since 2001, governments of the day have released four national plans. All of them have tried to get more people aged 15 and over into sport, but they’ve expressed that aim differently:</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Fpartypol%2F4QPA6%22;src1=sm1">2001 plan</a> under the Coalition government, the second goal was to “significantly increase the number of people participating in sport right across Australia”.</p>
<p>A decade later, the Labor government adopted <a href="https://parksleisure.com.au/parc-library/569-national-sport-and-active-recreation-policy-framework/">a new plan</a>. Its first objective was to “increase participation in sport and active recreation”.</p>
<p>The Coalition government released the <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/677894/Sport_2030_-_National_Sport_Plan_-_2018.pdf">Sport 2030</a> plan in 2018, wanting “more Australians, more active, more often”. This time there was a target: increase participation by 15% by 2030.</p>
<p>Which brings us to the most recent <a href="https://consultations.health.gov.au/office-for-sport/national-sport-plan/">discussion paper</a> from the current government. It aims to “maximise access and rates of participation and other involvement in sport and physical activity”. </p>
<p>The Australian Sports Commission, the government’s main sports promotion agency, has also published <a href="http://www.ausport.gov.au/playwell">Australia’s Sports Participation Strategy</a>, which speaks of fostering “greater engagement and participation in sport across the nation”.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond-195115">What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?</a>
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<h2>Stagnant sporting numbers</h2>
<p>While all sound noble in their goals, the plans so far have failed to increase participation.</p>
<p>This is demonstrated in the diagram, which uses data from the Australian Sports Commission’s <a href="http://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/ausplay">annual surveys</a> of up to 20,000 adults.</p>
<p><iframe id="lHl6r" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/lHl6r/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>It indicates the proportion of the adult population engaging in sport and physical activity with varying frequency (from three or more times a week to none at all) over the periods 2003–10 and 2016–23 (there were no comparable surveys in 2011-15).</p>
<p>The results for the two periods cannot be directly compared due to differing survey methodologies. However, the trends within each period were similar: no increase in participation. </p>
<p>The question arises: will the outcomes of the new plan be any different? The answer: probably not. </p>
<h2>Policy documents lacking in data</h2>
<p>There are many reasons why it’s likely this plan won’t fare much better than previous attempts.</p>
<p>First, planning documents produced by ministers and the sports commission typically fail to admit to the central problem: 20 years (and more) of policy effort have failed to move the dial on grassroots sport participation in Australia. </p>
<p>The data showing this does not appear anywhere in the current published planning documents. In fact, despite the commitment to increasing sport participation, neither of the two documents presents any data on current or past adult sport participation rates.</p>
<p>Second, it is not clear what exactly the plan will set out to do. For example, in the diagram, there is a persistent 10–15% of the population who engage in no sport or physical recreation activity at all. Is the aim to reduce the size of this group? The documents don’t say. </p>
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<p>On the other hand, the group that participates less than once a week could be targeted to increase the frequency of participation, thus gaining more health benefits. </p>
<p>The emphasis in the documents, however, is on inclusivity, which implies the problem lies with groups being excluded on grounds of such characteristics as ethnicity, disability or gender. </p>
<p>This focus is of course commendable on grounds of equity. However, this policy stance has been in place in sport plans since 2001 but, according to the sports commission’s own survey evidence, overall participation hasn’t budged. </p>
<p>In the case of disability and ethnicity, the various groups’ participation rates have barely changed. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A female soccer team celebrating a goal" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564732/original/file-20231211-15-h7394r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Results from five out of seven recent surveys shows female participation in sport has outstripped male participation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/win-celebrate-excited-women-soccer-team-2191542415">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Gender is an exception, with five of the seven surveys since 2016 seeing higher female participation rates than men. However, neither the continuing problems with disability and ethnicity nor the apparent success story in regard to gender is discussed in the current planning documents. </p>
<p>Finally, it is possible governments don’t take sport policy seriously, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the sector by the federal government each year. After all, it’s millions, not billions. </p>
<p>With policies expressed only in general terms and no attempt to measure specific policy outcomes, there is no obligation to assess the collective effects of grants programs on sport participation. </p>
<p>The more cynical among us may think, then, that grants can be allocated to maximise political, rather than sporting benefits. Such allegations have been levelled before, particularly during the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/19/the-sports-rorts-saga-sport-rort-grants-stench-that-clung-to-the-coalition">sports rorts</a> saga.</p>
<p>As long as the policies remain imprecise and unmeasurable, only the government and the sports commission get to decide whether they’re working. They might well have a different definition of success to the rest of us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Veal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The government has released a discussion paper for the latest national sport strategy. Will this one be more effective than previous attempts? Probably not.Anthony Veal, Adjunct Professor, Business School, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1890272022-08-26T08:44:52Z2022-08-26T08:44:52ZLondon 2012 Paralympics was not a gamechanger for disabled people’s sports participation – here’s why<p>This summer marks ten years since London hosted the 2012 Paralympics. It was hoped the Paralympics would have a lasting legacy on improving access to and participation in sports for disabled people. But <a href="https://activelives.sportengland.org/Result?queryId=12737">the data shows</a> the Games <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-paralympic-games-fails-to-increase-disabled-peoples-participation-in-sport-130082">made no meaningful difference</a> in this regard.</p>
<p>One year after the 2012 Paralympics, <a href="https://activepeople.sportengland.org/Result#Id=160530&OutputType=1">around 20% of disabled people</a> in England were shown to participate in sports at least once a week. By 2016, this number had declined to only 17%. <a href="https://activelives.sportengland.org/Result?queryId=12737">Ten years on</a> from the Games, disabled people’s monthly participation in sports is still less than half that of non-disabled people in England. </p>
<p>The Paralympics on its own isn’t enough to create more sporting opportunities for disabled people. Instead, <a href="https://disabilitysportinfo.buzzsprout.com/1901085/10213006">leveraging a sport mega event</a> is vital. This means <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19407963.2013.823976">making plans</a> to improve sports participation on the back of it – including, crucially, providing opportunities for people to participate in different sports <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2014.998695">before, during and after the event</a>. Yet the research shows this <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518781237">largely didn’t happen</a> for the 2012 Paralympics, making it a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19407960902992241">missed opportunity</a> to turn interest in sports into regular participation.</p>
<p>In part, this was because a <a href="https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/+/http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/GOE_London_2012_Disability_Legacy.pdf">specific plan</a> to create lasting sporting opportunities for disabled people wasn’t announced until 2010. This didn’t help sports organisations to prepare in terms of having the resources and knowledge to <a href="https://kar.kent.ac.uk/72201/">cope with increased demand</a> following the Games. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518781237#_i9">Waiting lists</a> to join clubs weren’t uncommon as a result.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that the Paralympics <a href="https://disabilitysportinfo.buzzsprout.com/1901085/10213963">doesn’t necessarily prove inspiring</a> to everyone who may be interested in participating in sport. While some disabled people find the Games <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891241607309892">empowering and inspiring</a>, for others it <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2012.748648">may actually be disempowering</a>. </p>
<p>The Paralympics is an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2016.1225885">exclusive event</a> which only a fraction of disabled people ever qualify to participate in. The achievements of Paralympians may <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/06/paralympians-superhumans-disabled-people">have no relevance</a> in the day-to-day lives of most disabled people, perhaps explaining why they <a href="https://sportscotland.org.uk/documents/resources/sportingsuccessrolemodelsandparticipation.pdf">don’t inspire everyone</a>. Research shows that <a href="https://kar.kent.ac.uk/72201/">peer role models</a>, rather than Paralympians, are actually more likely to inspire physical activity. </p>
<p>The Paralympics may even <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723511433865">perpetuate disability stereotypes</a>, leading to exclusion for those who don’t meet the Paralympic ideal. And since the event isn’t representative of most people’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16138171.2020.1792112">experience of disability</a>, it may lead to an underappreciation of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/20/channel-4-paralympics-advert-disabled-people-not-all-superhuman">barriers and challenges</a> that disabled people face. </p>
<h2>Room for improvement</h2>
<p>The London 2012 Paralympics also relied on the policy of “mainstreaming” to promote sport participation. <a href="https://disabilitysportinfo.buzzsprout.com/1901085/10665874">Mainstreaming</a> is where non-disabled sports organisations offer sporting opportunities for disabled people. The problem has been the lack of clarity as to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2021.1955942">how this works in practice</a>. Mainstream organisations have sometimes struggled to provide <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2019.1703683">suitable sport opportunities</a> due to a lack of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23750472.2022.2105253">knowledge or resources</a>. </p>
<p>Organisations can sometimes view inclusion as an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518781237#_i16">afterthought, rather than a core commitment</a>. And due to the limited and patchy effectiveness of mainstreaming, there are a number of organisations operating in the sector. This can cause <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19406940.2013.832698">confusion and unnecessary complexity</a> for people looking to get involved in sports. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2019.1703683">lack of awareness of sporting opportunities</a> can also be seen as a symptom of the complex landscape of sports for disabled people. </p>
<p>Ableism is also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2019.1694569">still a problem</a> for many disabled people who want to participate in sports. Many disabled students report feeling <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2022.2071679">excluded from physical education</a>, and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518781237#_i16">institutionalised ableist practices</a> within mainstream sport organisations continue to limit sports access for disabled people.</p>
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<img alt="A group of men playing wheelchair rugby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480346/original/file-20220822-64444-ll5d5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many disabled people continue to feel excluded from sports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/disabled-sport-men-action-while-playing-1062962099">Marino Bocelli/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>For example, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2021.1955942">some club settings</a> only fully include disabled people if they can participate in a sport separately to non-disabled people. Disabled people can sometimes be forced to adapt to how the club provides a sport, <a href="https://disabilitysportinfo.buzzsprout.com/1901085/11087057">rather than the club adapting the sport to best meet that person’s needs</a>. Ableism <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2019.1694569">constrains participation</a> by negatively shaping what many people think sport should look like, or who sport is for. </p>
<h2>Addressing barriers</h2>
<p>It’s clear that simply hosting the Paralympics in 2012 wasn’t enough for improving access and participation in sport for disabled people throughout the UK. To achieve true change, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16138171.2020.1792112">systemic, social and economic barriers to participation</a> all need to be addressed. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, a number of these barriers still exist and hinder sports participation. The 2012 Paralympics was hosted amid a backdrop of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723516655580">recession and austerity</a>. Austerity measures <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/07/uk-austerity-policies-amount-to-violations-of-disabled-peoples-rights">disproportionately impacted disabled people</a> – with many disabled people limiting their participation in sports due to the <a href="https://www.activityalliance.org.uk/news/4430-the-activity-trap-benefits-or-being-fit">fear of losing benefits if they were seen to be active</a>. </p>
<p>And even ten years on, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2016.1151842">transport is not always accessible</a> to disabled people – a barrier of particular importance when <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2019.1703683">local sporting opportunities may not be available</a>. Some sporting sites are also <a href="https://getyourselfactive.org/swing-and-a-miss-the-reality-of-disabled-access-to-sport/">inaccessible</a>, so even if a person wants to get involved, they may not be able to. </p>
<p>The pandemic has now <a href="https://www.activityalliance.org.uk/assets/000/003/799/Impact_of_COVID-19_on_disabled_people_-_March_2021_original.pdf">added another obstacle</a> in the journey to create change, even <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/research-and-data/research/disabled-people?section=research">reversing some of the progress</a> made in recent years. <a href="https://www.activityalliance.org.uk/news/7243-latest-national-activity-survey-reveals-disabled-people-feel-forgotten">Research suggests</a> there’s now less support to help disabled people to participate in different sports.</p>
<p>The London 2012 Paralympics did help to raise the profile of <a href="https://theconversation.com/london-2012s-legacy-boosted-paralympic-sport-but-disabled-peoples-lives-have-worsened-187298">parasport and disability in society</a> to some extent. But any <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-paralympic-games-fails-to-increase-disabled-peoples-participation-in-sport-130082">increases in sports participation</a> that happened as a result were temporary. To truly improve participation in sport, the challenges and barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in both sport and society need to be addressed. We cannot simply <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723516655580">rely on a two-week elite sporting event</a> to do this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189027/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Brown is the founder of the Disability Sport Info podcast: <a href="https://disabilitysportinfo.buzzsprout.com/">https://disabilitysportinfo.buzzsprout.com/</a>.</span></em></p>In the UK, many disabled people continue to feel excluded from participating in sports.Christopher Brown, Senior Lecturer in Sports Development, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/875392017-11-17T15:22:34Z2017-11-17T15:22:34ZBattle of the Sexes: four decades after Billie Jean King’s triumph, women still fight for equal billing in sports<p>In 1973, <a href="http://www.history.com/news/billie-jean-king-wins-the-battle-of-the-sexes-40-years-ago">an unusual tennis match</a> attracted an enormous amount of attention. Around 90m people around the world watched the women’s champion Billie Jean King take on Bobby Riggs, who had been men’s world number one in the 1940s. Dubbed the Battle of the Sexes, it was arranged after Riggs repeatedly poured scorn on women’s tennis.</p>
<p>Before the match, the players exchanged gifts. Bobby gave Billie a giant Sugar Daddy lollipop. She returned the gesture by presenting him with a pig. </p>
<p>The symbolism wasn’t meant to be subtle. This was a match between feminism and chauvinism – and much more was at stake than the US$100,000 prize money, especially for King. She had left the professional tour, due to the earning disparity (men received 12 times as much as women in some events) and was leading the newly formed Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).</p>
<p>King, and feminism, triumphed in the match – she won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 – which has now been <a href="https://www.cineworld.co.uk/films/battle-of-the-sexes#/buy-tickets-by-film?for-movie=ho00004685&view-mode=list">made into a film</a> starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell. But have things really moved on since 1973? </p>
<p>On the surface things look pretty good. For a decade, women and men have received equal pay at all four tennis grand slams. Wimbledon was the last bastion of inequality in prize money, but eventually bowed to pressure from a host of female players, led by Venus Williams, in 2007. </p>
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<p>Tennis is the only sport to boast a female in the Forbes Highest Paid Athletes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/06/15/full-list-the-worlds-highest-paid-athletes-2017/#5a68648dd583">list of 2017</a> (Serena Williams at #51), and draws large viewing figures in which the women at times eclipse the men. The financial status of female tennis players has certainly evolved. </p>
<p>But have attitudes changed enough since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/16/tennis-battle-of-the-sexes-wimbledon-billie-jean-king-gender-equality-casual-sexism">Riggs declared</a> that women belonged “in the bedroom and kitchen”? The recent scandals in Hollywood and Westminster might suggest not. Even within tennis there is still an undercurrent of chauvinism that has profound implications on female performance and participation. </p>
<h2>Locker room talk</h2>
<p>Just last year Raymond Moore, boss of the Indian Wells Tournament, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35857246">suggested that the WTA Tour</a> was “very lucky” because it “rides on the coat-tails of the men”. He suggested that women players should “go down every night on [their] knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born”. He later apologised and retracted his comments after a spate of negative responses, including from King. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"711670246227050496"}"></div></p>
<p>Then <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/06/25/john-mcenroe-if-serena-williams-played-the-mens-circuit-shed-rank-like-700/?utm_term=.6fd5d693538c">John McEnroe claimed</a> that if Serena Williams played the men’s circuit, “she’d be, like, 700 in the world”. His comments led to a predictable outpouring of chauvinism on social media. </p>
<p>On a more positive note, Andy Murray continues to fight casual sexism with his unique blend of boredom and disdain. He corrected a journalist who stated that Sam Querrey was “the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009”. “Male player”, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/andy-murrays-9-best-feminist-quotes-comebacks/querry/">Murray reminded him</a>, with his head almost in hands. And when congratulated by a TV host who wrongly suggested Murray was the first player to win two Olympic golds, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2016/08/15/andy-murray-gives-brilliant-response-to-john-inverdale-gaffe-abo/">he shot back</a> with a smile: “I think Venus and Serena have won about four each.”</p>
<p>But, notwithstanding Murray’s support, there is a serious problem with the negative stereotypes that still pervade sport. This is a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat”. The <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5027989_A_psychological_effect_of_stereotypes">psychological effect of stereotypes</a> and their impact on performance has been studied across myriad domains – including the effect on women in sport.</p>
<p>So while there are obvious and observable differences between men and women, biology alone might not be the whole picture. Women and men are operating in entirely different psychological climates. </p>
<p>Female athletes and sports are invisible in the media, receiving only a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/23/women-sport-biggest-summer-chance-to-shine">7% share of coverage</a>. Every time you turn on the TV or read a sports article, the coverage reinforces the the stereotype that sport is for men. </p>
<p>Females are also vastly outnumbered in participation. In the UK there are <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/our-work/women/this-girl-can/">2m fewer women</a> than men regularly playing sport, further entrenching the view that sport is a man’s world. If being invisible and outnumbered weren’t problematic enough, women and girls also contend with negative stereotypes that span both ends of an equally pernicious continuum from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/why-like-a-girl-is-so-important_n_6598970">not being athletic enough</a> to not being feminine or <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/10164511/Wimbledon-2013-BBC-apologise-for-John-Inverdales-Bartoli-not-a-looker-comment.html">pretty enough</a>. </p>
<p>With all this distraction it’s a wonder that women can perform at all athletically. And it’s no surprise that, even when sport can attract girls, those numbers plummet as girls drop out during puberty – just 12% of girls aged 14 <a href="https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Changing-the-Game-for-Girls-Policy-Report.pdf">meet the official guidelines</a> for physical activity.</p>
<h2>Love all</h2>
<p>Sport needs a culture change. Even with the heavy psychological burden of negative stereotypes, there are amazing examples of female athleticism, which don’t get the attention they deserve. There are <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/the-golden-ratio-the-one-number-that-describes-how-mens-world-records-compare-with-womens/260758/">women who can sprint</a> 100m to within a second of Usain Bolt. That’s a 10% difference, I know, but I defy anyone to claim it’s not athletic. </p>
<p>Sabine Lisicki <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2014/09/sabine_lisicki_record_serve_science_explains_why_female_tennis_players_can.html">rocketed a 131mph serve</a> in 2014, faster than anything Roger Federer has hit in years. Women achieve incredible feats all the time – but for as long as comparisons are drawn with men they will continue to be ignored and little girls will continue to be denied their role models. </p>
<p>To spin it a different way, no one would dare suggest that distance runner Mo Farah is less of an athlete than Bolt because he can’t run as fast. Or that boxer Manny Pacquiao is less sporty than Anthony Joshua because he doesn’t hit as hard. So why do so many men insist on comparing male and female athletes in such a pointless way?</p>
<p>It’s time we started really celebrating women for the work they put in and the performances they produce. Until more amazing women are visible, it will continue to be only a minority of women who survive and thrive in sport. </p>
<p>Until we get equal opportunity, exposure and respect, to match the hard-won equal prize money, there is much work to do. There have been gains, but attitudes still haven’t changed enough to make sport a welcome place for women. Forty-four years after King’s victory, the battle continues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sportswomen still struggle for attention and too many girls are discouraged from taking sport seriously.Jo Ward, PhD candidate in psychology. Former professional tennis player, current coach, coach educator and speaker, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/816092017-08-07T04:04:10Z2017-08-07T04:04:10ZThis Girl Can(‘t)? Campaign simply reworks 'sex sells’ approach<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180457/original/file-20170801-5515-fgrf03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The problem with the This Girl Can campaign is that the male gaze remains dominant, internalised as self-perception.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">This Girl Can/Sport England</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sport England is to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-25/this-girl-can-sports-campaign-for-women-comes-to-australia/8740124">partner with VicHealth</a> for a social marketing campaign to encourage women to participate in sport based on its <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/our-work/women/this-girl-can/">This Girl Can</a> campaign. However, beyond the campaign’s initial “feel-good” nature, this news may not be as totally positive as it seems.</p>
<p>In its attempt to motivate and empower women, the campaign material may unintentionally work with entrenched norms of sexualising women to perpetuate their self-objectification. This is likely not only to be detrimental to their mental and physical health, but also to further their commodification in society.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/sexualised-girls-are-seen-as-less-intelligent-and-less-worthy-of-help-than-their-peers-46537">Sexualised girls are seen as less intelligent and less worthy</a></em> </p>
<hr>
<h2>The origins of This Girl Can</h2>
<p>In 2015, Sport England launched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toH4GcPQXpc">This Girl Can</a> to encourage women to be more active, regardless of body type or age. The mainstream and social <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/01/12/girl-can-sport-england-s-campaign-influences-28m-women-be-more-active">media response</a> was positive, and the campaign has received significant global attention for its “Just Do It” style of messaging. </p>
<p>The aim was to bridge the gender gap in sport participation. Two million more British men than women were playing sport or <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/our-work/women/this-girl-can/">exercising regularly</a>. Yet 75% of women say they want to be <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/our-work/women/this-girl-can/">more active</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jsP0W7-tEOc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘This Girl Can’ campaign ad.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/this-girl-can-campaign-is-all-about-sex-not-sport-36236">Many</a> have <a href="http://persuasion-and-influence.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/this-girl-can.html">debated</a> the campaign’s <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/case-study-this-girl-can-16-million-women-exercising/1394836">likely effect</a> on women. But what’s clear is that This Girl Can is an example of the continuing power of hegemonic discipline over women’s bodies and self-conception. </p>
<p>Commercial marketing has always used this commodification of women. But its use in a campaign aimed at empowering women should be of concern.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-world-of-difference-between-sex-and-sexism-in-advertising-62226">There’s a world of difference between sex and sexism in advertising</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s the problem?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180441/original/file-20170801-5515-u9sf06.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nike has long traded on women ‘just doing it’ to sell sportswear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nike</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The romanticisation of women who are <a href="http://au.complex.com/sneakers/2015/08/nike-just-do-it-history">“just doing it”</a> has long been used to sell women’s sportswear. This ideology is now reaching a crescendo.</p>
<p>In the This Girl Can advertisement, simulated <a href="http://www.hypersexualdisorders.com/hypersexual-disorder-signs/">hypersexuality</a> is posited as essential to agency and action. This turns a laudably intended campaign of empowerment into one of sexual subjectification and self-surveillance.</p>
<p>The “male gaze” – depicting women and the world from a male point of view – has cemented itself as a staple in advertising, including sports campaigns. What is telling in the This Girl Can campaign is the way in which this male gaze has become an <a href="https://mronline.org/2009/05/23/from-sexual-objectification-to-sexual-subjectification-the-resexualisation-of-womens-bodies-in-the-media/">internalised self-perception</a>.</p>
<p>Another point of distinction in this campaign is a shift from women’s sexualised bodies presented as passive, mute objects of a male gaze to active, desiring sexual subjects. They are women who choose to present themselves in a seemingly objectified manner because it is in their (implicitly “liberated”) self-interest.</p>
<p>The likelihood of women internalising their agency as directly linked to their sexual capital is highly related to how normalised this is. Research has found that as group identification increases, a person becomes increasingly likely to adopt that group’s behavioural norms. Considering the campaign’s viral status, this is an important consideration. </p>
<p>The exposure of bodies is central to the campaign’s intended message of body confidence and erasing fears of judgement. But, far from what many headlines would have you believe, this campaign is not revolutionary in its construction of women. </p>
<p>Being “confident”, “carefree” and “unconcerned about one’s appearance” are now central aspects of femininity – even as they exist alongside injunctions to meet impossibly high standards of beauty. </p>
<p>So, although we should rejoice at the portrayal of “normal” bodies in this and other campaigns, the same objectification of women is at play. Even when showing women’s bodies in action, rather than focusing on the traits of health, agility and co-ordination, the campaign ad frames the female body as an object. </p>
<p>The focus is on women’s buttocks, faces, hips and chests, the sexualised movements of twerking, “wobbling”, hip shaking and heavy breathing, and taglines such as “Hot, and not bothered” and “Sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox”. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180443/original/file-20170801-28521-12xyn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/different-performance-wear-performances-morgan-leach">Under Armour</a></span>
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</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180444/original/file-20170801-22172-wtc3af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/different-performance-wear-performances-morgan-leach">Under Armour</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180445/original/file-20170801-22136-m0iz84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Under Armour uses empowering language in its campaigns, but the imagery doesn’t stray far from the norm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/different-performance-wear-performances-morgan-leach">Under Armour</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This approach, while seemingly empowering, could also be read as a simple re-engineering of the objectified female (in contrast to the athletic male) that we often see in sportswear advertising.</p>
<p>An American Psychological Association taskforce, examining the sexualisation of girls in US culture, concluded that this had negative impacts on girls’ cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, body dissatisfaction and appearance, anxiety, sexuality, attitudes and beliefs. </p>
<p>Many would contend that sexualisation can act as empowerment. However, there is some danger in this proposition for selling sports involvement to women. The taskforce highlighted a negative relationship between self-objectification and girls’ sports performance.</p>
<p>The campaign’s use of the text overlay of “I kick balls. Deal with it” reminds the viewer of the traditional androcentric domination of sports. However, we suggest empowerment is not just about claiming back an insult but understanding the reality of the constricted space and physicality of women. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/undergraduate/modules/fulllist/special/transnational/iris_marion_young.pdf">Iris Young</a> argues, there is not only a style of “throwing like a girl”, but also “running like a girl”, “hitting like a girl”, and so on. For women in sport, a space surrounds them in imagination that they are not free to move beyond. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-sport-boys-play-like-a-girl-80328">When it comes to sport, boys ‘play like a girl’</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>What would a better campaign do?</h2>
<p>A better way forward would be to focus on “real women’s” voices (in more than stylised overlays and sexualised panting) rather than bodies – highlighting the judgement women fear, as well as the pleasure they can get exercising. </p>
<p>It could prove empowering to take the enjoyment often reserved for men’s experience of physical activity – independent of desirability – and allowing that to be the drive for women’s participation. </p>
<p>A focus on the female voice is also prime, as the voiceover in advertising – the credible, convincing and authoritative voice of reason – is overwhelmingly likely to be male. To allow the female voice to exist free from the constraints of the gaze – that is, disembodied, omniscient, objective and empowered – could offer a route to a stronger construction of women in sports advertising.</p>
<p>When campaigns do use images of women participating in sport, a greater reliance should be on the highly relevant and typically unsexualised body parts of hands and feet – signifiers more often used in marketing sports (and <a href="https://www.macys.com/dyn_img/cat_splash/Nike_Mens_Main_Panel_2_Sneakers_1174023.png">sports equipment</a>) to men. </p>
<p>Involving more women in sport is significant. Sport and leisure spaces are a <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/What-We-Do/National-Primary-Prevention-Framework">key setting</a> in the primary prevention of violence against women. </p>
<p>The chance for sport to be a site of redefining power is monumental – the very centrality of sport in gender socialisation is key to its ability to challenge traditional roles and construct new, more positive identities for both sexes.</p>
<p>We do applaud the campaign’s <a href="http://example.com/">success</a> in encouraging women to participate in sport in the UK. Unfortunately, for the most part, it does little to take women away from the usual <em>sex sells</em> approach (albeit with the inclusion of more “real” women) we have come to expect of mainstream advertising.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81609/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Harrison has received funding from Consumer Action Law Centre, Australian Securities Investment Commission, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Department of Health and Human Services (Victoria), Monash Health and Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura McVey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While getting more women to take part in sport is a laudable achievement, it would be better if the campaign also helped free them from the objectification of the dominant male gaze.Laura McVey, Senior Researcher, Centre for Employee and Consumer Wellbeing, Deakin UniversityPaul Harrison, Director, Centre for Employee and Consumer Wellbeing; Senior Lecturer, Deakin Business School, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/767922017-05-02T06:54:23Z2017-05-02T06:54:23ZChasing the audience: is it over and out for cricket on free to air TV?<p>How Australians watch cricket on screens in the future could depend on what happens with the Nine Network’s current discussions with Cricket Australia over the 2018-23 media rights.</p>
<p>UBS media analyst Eric Choi <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/channel-nine-urged-to-step-away-from-the-cricket-contract-by-analysts-20170425-gvruzl.html">said</a> the current deal costs Nine about A$100 million a year but generates only A$60 million to A$70 million in gross revenue.</p>
<p>Choi said the network should either ask for access to more content at no additional cost, or step away from its <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-1970s-cricket-revolution-a-beginners-guide-9024">long association</a> with cricket.</p>
<p>The ramifications of Nine’s decision could be broad, impacting not only its potential revenue and viewers, but also participation rates among Aussies playing grassroots cricket. </p>
<h2>Cricket’s current standing</h2>
<p>The current <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/grassroots-cricket-to-benefit-from-financial-windfall/4732566">media rights deal</a> for cricket <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/apr/28/nine-ten-foxtel-or-optus-australian-cricket-tv-rights-explained">includes</a> the Nine Network and Network Ten. Nine has the rights to international tests, one-day internationals and T20 international games played in Australia, whereas Ten has the rights to the Big Bash League (BBL). </p>
<p>The BBL has become a crucial cricketing brand, continuing to <a href="http://www.bigbash.com.au/news/big-bash-league-bbl-viewers-broadcast-ratings-fixture-bbl06-tickets/2016-05-07">gain high ratings</a> and listed in <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7204-top-20-tv-shows-of-2016-by-audience-engagement-in-australia-201704061403">Australia’s Top 20 engaging programs</a> for 2016. </p>
<p>The league also has excellent crowd attendance, having recently ranked 9th in the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/big-bash-league-jumps-into-top-10-of-most-attended-sports-leagues-in-the-world-20160110-gm2w8z.html">world’s top-attended sports leagues</a>. </p>
<p>Based on the BBL’s success and the increases seen in the new media rights for the <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-08-18/afl-on-the-verge-of-signing-new-tv-deal">Australian Football League</a> (AFL) and <a href="http://www.nrl.com/nrl-broadcast-rights-deal-announced/tabid/10874/newsid/91023/default.aspx">National Rugby League</a> (NRL), Cricket Australia will want to see an increase in the bidding for its rights.</p>
<p>This is particularly relevant if Cricket Australia still relies as heavily on these rights as <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/subs/228._org_cricketaustralia.pdf">in 2012</a>, when it said the rights accounted for 60%-80% of the total annual income.</p>
<p>But can the media rights continue to increase with the current unstable media landscape?</p>
<h2>The current media landscape</h2>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.arnhem.com.au/">Arnhem Investment Management</a>, the era of advertising-supported premium sport on Australian television is “<a href="http://www.arnhem.com.au/thats-not-cricket/">drawing to a close</a>”.</p>
<p>The free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters are also currently requesting that the government <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/commercial-tv-licence-writedown-puts-ten-in-the-red/news-story/5497cf9333b1fc6f518265fa42343b3c">reduce license fees</a> and reconsider plans to further restrict <a href="https://theconversation.com/wide-ranging-ban-on-gambling-ads-during-sport-broadcasts-is-needed-to-tackle-problem-gambling-74687">gambling ads</a> during the broadcast of sports.</p>
<p>Ten has said it expects its revenue to be “<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/commercial-tv-licence-writedown-puts-ten-in-the-red/news-story/5497cf9333b1fc6f518265fa42343b3c">above</a> the 1.2% increase” it outlined in February this year. Yet it will still need to undertake a “<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/ten-posts-2322-million-loss-following-writedown/news-story/6589bdc494968269db5a4758d7b568ea">significant focus</a>” on a corporate cost-cutting program and profitability as a priority.</p>
<h2>New stakeholders</h2>
<p>With FTA broadcasters under financial pressures, any increase in new rights will require new stakeholders. </p>
<p>Foxtel currently shows international cricket matches played overseas, but does not have local coverage rights. If it could gain local cricket rights, this would further strengthen Foxtel’s sports offering of AFL, NRL, A-league, V8 Supercars, and many international sports.</p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Television/TV-content-regulation/sport-anti-siphoning-tv-content-regulation-acma">anti-siphoning regulation</a> could prevent Foxtel completely dominating the cricket media rights. But this list is expected to be <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/media-and-marketing/tv/nick-xenophon-argues-for-abolition-of-tv-licence-fees-and-toughening-up-on-google-and-facebook-taxes-20170424-gvroyd">trimmed</a> further by the government this year, furthering opening up the sports media battleground for pay television in future rights deals.</p>
<h2>The future for digital rights</h2>
<p>Digital rights will also be a major consideration with the new cricket media rights. While most would be looking at Telstra and Optus, there have been new players in this area who may also wish to place a bid.</p>
<p>Currently Cricket Australia has the <a href="http://www.cricket.com.au/promotions/cricket-australia-live/">Cricket Australia Live app</a> which allows users to pay a subscription (A$30 per year or A$5.99 a day) to gain access to live streaming of games, but the new rights could also see this change.</p>
<p>Optus may continue its affiliation with cricket. It recently become the <a href="http://www.optus.com.au/shop/entertainment/sport/cricket">official</a> mobile media partner of Cricket Australia, and principal sponsor of the Melbourne Stars Big Bash League team. Customers can access cricket content via the <a href="https://sport.optus.com.au/">Optus Sports app</a>, which also includes Optus’ recently acquired <a href="https://theconversation.com/optus-the-new-player-in-australias-sports-media-rights-battle-50069">English Premier League</a>. </p>
<p>Twitter has had success with broadcasting the US National Football League (NFL) and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/twitters-live-stream-of-the-melbourne-cup-could-change-how-we-broadcast-sport-67291">Melbourne cup</a> last year. This year it <a href="http://www.sporttechie.com/2017/04/28/technology/digitalmedia/major-league-lacrosse-twitter-to-live-stream-mll-game-of-the-week-for-2017-season/">signed</a> a two-year deal with the US National Lacrosse League. Twitter may consider its interest in a global sport like cricket. </p>
<p>Amazon, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/amazons-new-grand-tour-series-could-be-the-next-illegal-download-victim-68141">recently launched</a> its Prime Video service in Australia, could also be a contender. This year Amazon won the rights for NFL Thursday night matches. It <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/5/1/15386694/nfl-live-stream-amazon-prime-thursday-night-football-ratings">paid</a> US$50 million for ten games, five times the price paid by Twitter last year. Amazon may look at the cricket as another potential global sport to add to its catalogue.</p>
<p>Another consideration is if Nine or Ten were to obtain the digital rights and use the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rio-olympics-are-a-test-case-for-the-future-of-sports-broadcasting-63589">free and subscription approach</a> that the Seven Network used as part of their Rio Games coverage <a href="https://theconversation.com/sevens-olympic-coverage-could-change-the-way-we-watch-sport-on-our-screens-60563">last year</a>.</p>
<h2>The impact on the viewing experience</h2>
<p>Can you “slice and dice” too much? This is a <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/5/1/15386694/nfl-live-stream-amazon-prime-thursday-night-football-ratings">question</a> being asked in the US by CBS chief executive Les Moonves with regard to the NFL.</p>
<p>Adding another stakeholder to cricket will impact the viewers’ experience. This year the new <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-the-afl-gets-richer-who-gets-richer-with-it-46321">AFL media rights</a> created some frustration linked with the way the rights had been negotiated, particularly the digital rights.</p>
<p>Telstra, the digital rights holder, is restricted by its agreement to limit live match videos to a 7-inch screen size. Highlights and replays are available in full-screen size 12 hours after the match ends. (Foxtel, meanwhile, can stream the games full-screen.)</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"832163675657998337"}"></div></p>
<p>This change has outraged some fans who paid the A$89 subscription fee for the <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/mobile">AFL Live app</a>. Because of the screen size restrictions, Telstra users with a large phone or tablet have a large amount of black space on their screen.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"832194025855741952"}"></div></p>
<p>Some Australians are being creative in working around the restrictions.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"832164417081004032"}"></div></p>
<h2>Media coverage and participation</h2>
<p>The media rights for sport can be looked at far more broadly than solely the coverage of the game itself.</p>
<p>In the United Kingdom there has been ongoing debate associated with cricket’s coverage. Since the sport moved to pay-TV, there has <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/801645.html">been a decline</a> in participation levels, which many argued is <a href="http://www.espn.com.au/cricket/story/_/id/19064584/elizabeth-ammon-state-english-county-cricket">primarily due</a> to the game no longer being broadcast free to air. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jul/12/ashes-sky-england-australia-ecb-tv">Reports of a Sport England Active People survey</a> show a 32% drop in participation levels in people aged over 16 since coverage of cricket moved to satellite and cable TV.</p>
<p>There are now steps being taken to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9220b274-0a38-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b">introduce</a> a new Twenty20 tournament in the UK, built around the success of the Indian Premier League and Australia’s BBL, which had some games <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/12/20/channel-5-brings-back-live-cricket-free-air-tv-after-decade-long-absence">live broadcast</a> in the UK during the last season.</p>
<p>This is an interesting case study for Cricket Australia, which only last year <a href="http://www.cricket.com.au/news/cricket-australia-census-participation-numbers-women-men-children-james-sutherland/2016-08-23">announced</a> cricket as “No 1 as the current top participation sport in Australia”.</p>
<p>Any changes to the rights that impact the percentage of Australians with access to the coverage, could also see a decline in participation based on the UK experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76792/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station)</span></em></p>Negotiations for the new media rights for cricket in Australia could see a change in how we watch games, and even be linked to a drop in people actually playing the game.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/473302015-09-25T11:14:15Z2015-09-25T11:14:15ZWhy spend so much on elite sport while neglecting the grassroots?<p>The contrast between the recent announcement of a <a href="http://www.sportengland.org/media-centre/news/2015/january/29/swimming-decline-dominates-latest-sports-figures/">decline in overall participation in sport</a> in England and <a href="http://www.skysports.com/more-sports/athletics/news/29175/9972632/british-athletes-revel-in-world-championships-success">British athletes’ successes</a> in the World Championships in Beijing stands as a prime example of the differing fortunes of grassroots and elite sport. </p>
<p>It has become almost customary for British athletes to deliver gold medals on the global stage while, closer to home, there are no signs of improvement in long-term trends in sport participation. <a href="http://activepeople.sportengland.org/">Current figures</a> indicate that fewer that one in five of the adult population take part in sporting activities three or more times a week.</p>
<p>On the back of these figures, Tracey Crouch, the new minister for sport, has launched a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450712/1619-F_Sports_Strategy_ACCESSIBLE.pdf">public consultation</a> to inform a new government strategy. But it would be a major surprise if the forthcoming strategy brings much deviation to the current model of elite sport development that has brought so much success. Instead, as has been the case on numerous occasions before, a major reorientation of the national approach to sport participation may be on its way as Crouch has promised to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/33767555">“rip up” the existing strategy and “start again”</a> </p>
<p>This <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2010.519342">historical lack of continuity</a> has contributed to the absence of any improvement in sport participation rates. However, as recent approaches to developing participation have unsuccessfully mirrored those enacted for elite sport, there may be some merit in changing tack. </p>
<h2>Carrot and stick approach</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.uksport.gov.uk/">UK Sport</a> and <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/">Sport England</a>, the national agencies responsible for elite and grassroots sport respectively, have both implemented top-down “carrot and stick” approaches to distributing the exchequer and National Lottery funds at their disposal. Particular sports, and specifically their individual national governing bodies, have seen their <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/dec/18/british-basketball-appeal-uk-sport-funding">funding</a> increased or removed depending on their success or failure in achieving set targets for the number of medals won or participation rates.</p>
<p>There are, however, readily identifiable reasons why this approach has proved effective in elite sport but not in grassroots sport. First of all, the setting of medal targets offers a simple and effective gauge of elite sport success, but doing so for participation is far more challenging. </p>
<p>Since 2005, sport participation in England has been measured through the national <a href="http://www.sportengland.org/research/who-plays-sport/active-people-interactive/">Active People Survey</a>. Criticisms that this survey offers <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jul/05/olympic-legacy-failure-sporting-numbers-plummet">a blunt instrument</a> upon which to base funding decisions may be one reason why Sport England have launched <a href="http://www.sportengland.org/research/about-our-research/methodology-of-measuring-sports-participation/">a further consultation</a> on how sport participation could be better measured. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94882/original/image-20150915-29630-zbumle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Why are grassroots sports being neglected in the UK?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-298463408/stock-photo-school-children-wearing-sports-uniform-running-around-cones-during-a-physical-education-session.html?src=ppVODllM4ZKKEXNx9cCxpg-1-2">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>However, designing nationally appropriate participation measures and targets is always likely to oversimplify a complex problem. This is especially the case when taking into account issues such as a desirable frequency of participation, differences in formal and informal sport participation and natural fluctuations across seasons and time.</p>
<h2>Diversifying funding</h2>
<p>It is also unrealistic to expect that widespread sport participation can be developed through streamlined systems similar to those which national governing bodies – such as <a href="http://www.britishrowing.org/gb-rowing-team">British Rowing</a> – use to provide specialist support for elite athletes. </p>
<p>Rather, a diverse array of organisations including schools and other educational establishments, sports clubs, charities and community groups, local authorities and health agencies, all have important roles in promoting and providing opportunities for sport participation. The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/33767555">suggestion</a> that the forthcoming sport strategy will diversify existing funding streams may well be of benefit to some of these organisations. </p>
<p>However, this diversification could also lead to increased competition for scarce funding. If so then it will only serve to reinforce the current fragmentation and lack of coordination among organisations that work to address participation.</p>
<h2>A deeper problem?</h2>
<p>The greatest barrier to increasing sport participation may, nevertheless, be a problem that is shared with elite sport. </p>
<p>As with society in general, inequality continues to be deeply entrenched across all levels of sport. For example, <a href="http://www.socresonline.org.uk/18/3/15.html">a disproportionate number</a> (37%) of Team GB medal winners at the London 2012 Olympics had previously attended private schools. Unfortunately, this statistic may not concern policy makers, especially when improvements in talent identification are one reason why elite sport success is not dependent on widening the participation base.</p>
<p>But inequality has long plagued grassroots sport as well and, in an age of austerity, <a href="http://www.sportengland.org/media/875700/1x30_overall_factsheet_aps9q2v2.pdf">gaps in sport participation rates</a> between lower and higher social class groups have increased. </p>
<p>As has been <a href="http://www.cogitatiopress.com/ojs/index.php/socialinclusion/article/view/54">argued elsewhere</a>, this reproduction of wider societal inequalities gives rise to depressing conclusions for those hoping that a revised strategy may help boost participation in sport. Instead, those responsible for sport policy may be relatively powerless to address significant determinants of participation that are beyond their control.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iain Lindsey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Without addresses inequalities in sport and diversifying funding, there will always be a problem in getting ordinary people interested in sport.Iain Lindsey, Lecturer in Sport Policy and Development, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.