The 20×20 campaign is drawing to a close but the increase in impetus and momentum behind giving fair treatment to the coverage of Women’s sport alongside that of Men’s has to carry on.
Each week we will carry a Women in Sport Weekly Column, highlighting stories here in Ireland and around the world that are relevant to the idea that we are only catching up to what is happening elsewhere and that while we may be strong in some areas, there are certainly others where we need to prod and poke to ensure fairness.
That’s all, it’s not a takeover, it’s not at the expense of sport that is there already, it is just recognition that sport should be more conscious of its obligation to the 50.5 per cent of the population that has just as much right and talent to play sport as anyone.
LIDL RELEASE SECOND GAMEDAY VIDEO
The second Game Day experience video from Lidl was released this week. It follows the fortunes of Galway’s Nicola Ward in a win or go home encounter with Monaghan during the round-robin stage of the TG4 All Ireland Ladies Football Championship.
She was at her brilliant best in this fascinating ‘GameDay’ experiential video, brought to life by Lidl and Fifty-Three Six Media.
Galway survived a stern test before emerging from a nerve-jangling encounter with just a point to spare.
Watch the day unfold from early morning as Nicola and her sister Louise calm their nerves and prepare their kit bags at home before making the journey to Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Galway will play Cork in the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final this Sunday, December 6, at Parnell Park in Dublin and the game will be shown live on TG4.
GOLF EQUALITY NOTABLE IN DEVELOPMENT FUNDING
Golf Ireland has announced 15 High Performance and 11 Developing players who will receive funding under Player Pathway programme for the 2021 season.
They include nine male and six female players in the high-performance category; eight female and three male in the developing category.
Providing financial assistance that supports players’ participation in international amateur events is a key objective of the programme.
It provides the opportunity to support players as they strive to balance competing internationally with commitments outside of the sport, such as careers and education.
Players are empowered to become self-sufficient in the design and execution of their personal performance plans.
This measure of funding is an important element in helping them to do that.
The success of the Maguire sisters and Stephenie Meadow at the top flight of the game are clearly having an impact now in terms of the number of young female players coming through.
WOMEN’S ACTION DRAWS SIX FIGURE AUDIENCE
It may not be as high yet but the peak audience for each of the three semi-finals in the Liberty Insurance Camogie All Ireland and the TG4 Ladies Football All-Ireland all hit six-figures.
Galway against Tipperary in the second Camogie Semi-Final hit a high of 151,200 and an average of 123,000 on Saturday afternoon.
This followed on from a peak of 101,000 and an average of 67,000 for Cork against Kilkenny in the 1215 slot.
The third big game on Saturday drew a peak of 105,500 viewers for TG$ as Dublin secured a Final place with the defeat of Armagh in Cavan. The average number tuning in was 59,200 while the reach obtained through social media and other channels was estimated by TG4 to have hit 235,000.
SHORTFALL IN PRINT MEDIA COVERAGE
The biggest disappointment in our weekend analysis of print media coverage in the three main domestic Irish newspapers was the coverage was that given over to Women’s sport, particularly in the Irish Times.
Unfortunately, this has been a consistent shortcoming on the occasions when we have dipped in, surprising for a newspaper that publishes the Sportswoman on the Month and the Year in partnership with Sport Ireland.
The two semi-finals in the Liberty Insurance All Ireland Camogie Championships were both broadcast on RT live on Saturday, getting over three hours of coverage and attracting a peak audience of over 150,000 viewers, and yet they gained the merest of mentions.
At least all three did at least carry something on them with the Independent and the Examiner also giving over feature coverage to the Irish Women’s soccer team ahead of Tuesday’s match against Germany.
The worrying thing is that this is a weekend where Women’s sport was on free to air television, with some of our top stars in action.
If it cannot breakthrough on a weekend like this, then when can it.
FULLER MAKES HISTORIC BREAKTHROUGH
Sarah Fuller made history on Saturday when she became the first woman to compete in the testosterone-fuelled world of College American Football at its highest level.
Three women have previously lined out for teams but none in the Power Five equivalent of the Premier League.
She normally plays as a goalkeeper on the Vanderbilt College Women’s football team and when Covid hit the regular starting line up an imaginative decision was taken to see if she was available to play. That was Monday and on Saturday she took part, making her own piece of history.
The kicker position relies more on calm, precision and technique rather than the brute physical strength required elsewhere on the pitch.
As such, there is no reason why not a woman.
Before the game opposition, Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz tracked Fuller down and told her “I’m a Dad of four daughters and they’re watching and this is incredible that you’re doing this.”
It’s the exceptions first that lead to possibilities and change. Fuller has now secured her place in the history books as a first exception.
MIXED FORTUNES FOR WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAMS
It was a day of mixed feelings for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Women’s soccer teams on Tuesday with Vera Pauw’s side falling to a 3-1 defeat at home to Germany that ended hopes of qualification for Euro 2021 in 2022, but Northern Ireland securing a play-off place with a 5-1 home win against the Faroe Islands.
They now go forward into a play-off during the course of 2021 with the winner advancing to the Finals to be held in England.
They overcame an early goal to secure the three points needed with goals from sisters Kirsty and Caitlin McGuinness, Chloe McCarron and a double from Rachel Furness.
The game was streamed live on the BBC Sport NI website and the BBC iPlayer.
At Tallaght Stadium the news was not so good with the Republic of Ireland paying the price for defeat in Ukraine when going under to a Germany team that is ranked second in the world.
A Katie McCabe penalty brought the sides close at 2-1 as the game progressed and with Ukraine being held in Montenegro and down to ten players, one more goal could have secured a spot.
Unfortunately, goals for Ukraine first and then a third for Germany meant that a debut appearance at major finals will have to be held over until the next World Cup due to be held between Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
There were many positives through the campaign but it was not meant to be and the golden opportunity to showcase Irish talent on the world stage across England in the Summer of 2022 will now pass for those in the Republic.
The dream lives on in Belfast and across Northern Ireland, where Electric Ireland are one of the teams major commercial partners.
If you think there is a story around Women in Sport that we should feature please get in touch and let us know.
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