International Update – March/April 2021

Announcements

IAPESGW AWARDS 2021
Call for nominations – deadline July 1^st, 2021

With four months to go before the quadrennial 19th IAPESGW Hybrid World Congress 2021 is held in Tianjin, China, it is time to receive nominations for the long-standing and prestigious awards IAPESGW gives to honour outstanding women in the field. 

Please consider the different awards and the contributions of women you have known who might qualify.

The nomination process requires:

• the permission of any person before nomination
• the CV of the nominee
• a letter of support stating how they have met the criteria and why they deserve the award.

All nominations must be emailed by July 1^st to Rosa Diketmueller (Vice President, Chair of Executive Board Awards Panel) Email: rosa.diketmueller@univie.ac.at and Kathy Ludwig (Secretary) Email: kludwig@barry.edu

CLICK HERE for list of Awards

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Women’s Sport Policy Working Group (USA)

The PDF below is the recent media release from a new group in the USA that is trying to influence policy development across women’s sport and is investigating transgender athletes competing in female and male sport.  It will likely have a big impact when you see the influential sports women behind the group. IAPESGW has sent them a congratulatory and thank you email.

TAFISA Announcement

The video replay of the TAFISA & ITTF Foundation Workshop on “Girls & Women Empowerment in Sport for All” is available in a website article. Please note that the Workshop replay consists in a playlist of six videos. Links to various resources introduced by the speakers are also included in the article. 

We would like to thank IAPESGW once again for joining the Workshop and contributing to its success.  Our next TAFISA Mission 2030 Workshop on the theme of “Active Cities” will be held in May. 

You can also stay informed with updates by subscribing to our newsletter: Subscribe here

World Anti-Drug Association Announcement 

WADA collaborates with international organizations to raise the visibility of social science research in sport—stakeholders interested in improving social science research regarding sport integrity are invited to respond to a short survey by 31 May. (WADA)

Call for Applications: The Celia Brackenridge International Research Award

In 2018, the Anita White Foundation (AWF) at the University of Chichester, UK, launched the Celia Brackenridge International Research Award. The Award is part of the continued legacy of Professor Brackenridge’s research and activism. Her work continues to be relevant and was regularly cited in the recent publication of Clive Sheldon QC’s independent report into child sexual abuse in football between 1970-2005 in the UK.

The aim of the Award is to recognise and promote excellence in scholarship on child welfare in sport and/or women and sport. Past winners have included Dr A.J. Rankin-Wright, Dr Anne Tjønndal and Dr Beth Clarkson.

Applications are now open for the 2021 award. Further details and an application form can be found on this dedicated website to Celia’s life and work. 

The closing date is 28 May 2021. 

Athlete Wellbeing 

• Gender differences in mental health symptoms and risk factors in Australian elite athletes—women athletes reported higher rates of mental health symptoms, and lower rates of mental well-being, although there were no differences in general psychological distress or life satisfaction. (Courtney Walton, et.al., BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine)

Brazil

The project Women in Basketball, by Claudia Guedes (sport historian), includes the edition of a book, e-book and documentary.

Book – Guedes, Claudia M. 2020. Mulheres a Cesta: Historia do Basquetebol Feminino no Brasil; 1892-1971. 3rd edition. MissLily.

“Women in Basketball” is a sensitive documentary that gives voice to stories of exceptional women who gave visibility to women’s basketball in the 60’s and 70’s and became largely responsible for the inclusion of  women’s basketball in the Olympic Games (1976). View now.

To choose the subtitle in English you need to click on the CC icon located on the bottom right-hand side. 

Claudia Guedes is a Brazilian woman, now an Assistant Professor of San Francisco State University, California, USA

Coaching & Leadership 

• 10 Things I Am Doing When I Am At My Best As A Coach—a List Of Actions And Habits That Enable Effective Coaching. (Darren Wensor, Coaching Young Athletes)

Concussion and Head Trauma 

• Major overhaul call for collision sports policies—the International Sports Sciences Forum (ISSF) today called for a radical overhaul of the current concussion rules and regulations of contact sport (collision sports) for the long-term health of players, both men and women, the game and society. (The National Tribune)
• Damage found after late AFLW player Jacinda Barclay donates brain for concussion research—AFLW player Jacinda Barclay, who died last year, has become the first contact sportswoman in Australia to donate her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank, where researchers have uncovered neurological damage that they described as a “ticking time bomb”. (Stephanie Convery, The Guardian)
• A third of kids develop a mental health problem after concussion—a third of children and adolescents develop a mental health problem after a concussion, which could persist for several years post-injury, according to a new literature review. (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, EurekAlert!)

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)  

• The impact of coronavirus on activity levels revealed [UK]—our Active Lives Adult Survey shows the impact of the first eight months of coronavirus on activity levels, which activities grew in popularity and which audiences struggled. (Sport England).
• Physical inactivity is associated with a higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes: a study in 48 440 adult patients— Consistently meeting physical activity guidelines was strongly associated with a reduced risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes among infected adults. We recommend efforts to promote physical activity be prioritised by public health agencies and incorporated into routine medical care. (Robert Sallis, et.al., British Journal of Sports Medicine) 

• Medical care and first aid: an interassociation consensus framework for organised non-elite sport during the COVID-19 pandemic—this non-elite guidance format is deliberately aimed at scenarios where there may be less regulation, support and medical expertise making implementing risk reduction more challenging. Modifications to recommendations may be required depending on the specific sport, setting and resources, while acknowledging the need to accede to regional and national authority regulations. (Lisa Hodgson, et.al., British Journal of Sports Medicine)
• Clinical recommendations for return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic [infographic]—the world of sport has recently returned to training and competition following suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is concerning that a number of athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to competition. (Löllgen H, Bachl N, Papadopoulou T, et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine 2021;55:344-345) 
• Stay physically active during COVID-19 with exercise as medicine [infographic]—there are over 35 000 000 reported cases of COVID-19 disease and 1 000 000 deaths across more than 200 countries worldwide.1 With cases continuing to rise and a robust vaccine not yet available for safe and widespread delivery, lifestyle adaptations will be needed for the foreseeable future. (Wedig IJ, Duelge TA, Elmer SJ, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2021;55:346-347)  
• The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Teenage Girls’ Lives and Physical Activity [UK]—funded by Comic Relief, this research looked to understand how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the lives of teenage girls and their relationship with sport and physical activity. (Women in Sport)
• FIFA hands out more than $45 million in loans to national associations under COVID-19 relief plan—World football governing body FIFA doled out not far off $50 million (£36 million/€42 million) of interest-free loans to national associations during the first six months when its COVID-19 relief plan was in operation. (David Owen, Inside the Games)
• Korean Sport and Olympic Committee creates series of home workout videos—the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) has created a series of home workout videos to help people around the world to stay active during the coronavirus pandemic. (Geoff Berkeley, Inside the Games)
• Swimming pool water kills the COVID-19 virus in 30 seconds—a study by virologists at Imperial College London, which is awaiting peer-review, suggests the risk of COVID-19 transmission in swimming pool water is “incredibly low”. (Tom Walker, Sport Management) 

Gymnastics 

• German gymnasts’ outfits take on sexualisation in sport—she did not break any rules, but Sarah Voss’s full-body suit this week at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships defied convention. (BBC Sport)

Inclusive Sport 

• Para sport as a driver for human rights—in recent weeks and months, you will have seen that the IPC is engaging with different UN agencies. The purpose of these partnerships is advancing our own human rights agenda. But why does the IPC even have a human rights agenda to begin with? Aren’t we a high performance sports organisation that should only focus on athletic excellence? Not really. (International Paralympic Committee)
• Diversity & Inclusion – Now What Do We Do? [Canada]—last summer we witnessed a reaction to the social justice issues – organizations wanted to do something, and so they did the best they could, but many embarked on this work without knowing what to do, what their goals were, and how they would move forward. (INclusion INcorporated)
• International Women’s Day: Highlighting key issues related to gender+ equity in sport [Canada]—the expertise of E-Alliance researchers spans a breadth of topics – what they all share in common is a vision of a more equitable sport and movement culture. (E-Alliance/Sport Information Resource Centre) 
• Sport Values In Every Classroom: Harnessing The Power Of Sport To Teach Respect, Equity And Inclusion—in recognition of the value of sport as an educational tool, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched the “Sport Values in Every Classroom” toolkit together with five international partners. (International Olympic Committee)

International Sport Systems 

• Joint UK Sport and Sport England statement on the publication of the Whyte Review interim report—Sport England and UK Sport have received the Interim Report from Anne Whyte QC as part of her independent review into allegations of mistreatment within the sport of gymnastics. (Sport UK)  
• 10 more sports join collective stand on youth sport [NZ]—another 10 national sporting bodies have joined NZ Cricket, NZ Football, Hockey NZ, Netball NZ and NZ Rugby in backing the Balance is Better Statement of Intent first announced in September 2019. (Sport New Zealand)
• Canadian Paralympic Committee to host refreshed, virtual Paralympian Search for women [Canada]—with a goal of connecting more women with disabilities to opportunities in Paralympic sport and attracting more female athletes, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is hosting a virtual event this spring specifically for female participants. (Canadian Paralympic Committee, SIRC) 

Leadership 

• CEO’s Playbook—Maria Nordstrom, CEO Basketball NSW has been interviewed as part of the Australian Sports Professionals Association book, “The Leadership Playbook for Australian Sport.” (Australian Sports Professionals Association) 

Mali

Congratulations to Djenebou Sanogo, (Mali), who is from the COFEJES (the Conference des ministries de la jeunesse et des sports de la Francophonie) and was recognised last month by the Mali Government for her exceptional work for women in sport.  She was the personality of the day at their International Women’s Day Celebration.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 

• Bach proposes adding ‘together’ to Olympic slogan after re-elected—Thomas Bach proposed that “together” to be added into the Olympic slogan of “faster, higher, stronger” after being re-elected as the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the virtual 137th IOC Session organized from Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday. (Xinhua, China Daily)
• “Safety First” Tokyo 2020 Games to excite and inspire the world—Tokyo 2020 President Hashimoto Seiko and CEO Muto Toshiro outlined the progress being made as preparations for this year’s Games enter the final stages. With the Olympic Torch Relay beginning on 25 March, and 18 test events taking place from April onwards, momentum is really beginning to build in Japan. (International Olympic Committee)
• Joint statement by the IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020, TMG and the Government of Japan—with 86 days left until the opening of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and 118 days left until the opening of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan today agreed on the following measures to ensure the safe organisation of the Games. (IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020, TMG and the Government of Japan)
• Version 2 Of Tokyo 2020 Playbooks Released—building on February’s publication, the new Playbooks provide more specific details to participants about the countermeasures that will help ensure safe and successful Games for all those taking part and the residents of Tokyo and Japan. (International Olympic Committee)
• ‘Tokyo 2020 Paralympics are the most critical Games in history’—the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) expressed its confidence Japan is in a strong position to deliver safe and successful Games and bring a message of hope to the world following a press briefing held on 28 April to launch the second edition of the Tokyo 2020 Playbooks. (International Paralympic Committee)
• Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold asking IOC to change qualifying rules for pregnant women—Kitchener, Ont.’s Mandy Bujold is asking the International Olympic Committee to amend its qualifying rules to allow for time off for pregnancy to be taken into consideration. (Devin Heroux, CBC Sports)
• Chinese Olympic Committee offer vaccines for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 teams—the Chinese Olympic Committee has offered to make vaccine doses available to participants at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has revealed. (Michael Pavitt, Inside the Games)

Media, Broadcasting & Communication 

• New study finds New Zealand media leads the world in gender-balanced sports coverage—Sport NZ and Isentia have today released the first report from a major study into the gender balance of coverage and reporting of women’s sport in New Zealand. (Australasian Leisure Management) 

Philippines

IAPESGW graces S.W.E.E.P. 2021 to Champion the Women-in-Sport Agenda 

In honour of International Women’s Month, the Sport Council Management of the Philippines (SportPhil) held its first international virtual conference called S.W.E.E.P. or Sport for Women’s Empowerment and Employment Program last March 24 – 26, 2021, via Attendify. SportPhil is a non-profit organization whose aim is to promote excellence in sport management, education, science, and policy. 

SportPhil also advocates sport-for-development programs. Founder Geraldine Go-Bernardo explains, “women empowerment through sports has been our advocacy since 2014. The mission of S.W.E.E.P. is to capacitate teachers, coaches, and sport professionals in the unique aspects of engaging women and girls in sport, which now includes adaptive sport.” 

With the conference theme, “More than ever, #SportsTogether,” the S.W.E.E.P. event welcomed more than 680 participants comprised of teachers, coaches, athletes, and sports enthusiasts. Representatives from international sport organizations, such as the Asian ESports Federation, iWorkinSport, U.S.A. Volleyball, T.A.F.I.S.A., and WomenSport International, also showcased their respective campaigns and programs. 

I.A.P.E.S.G.W. was well represented, starting with board member Dr. Maria Luisa Guinto moderating a panel that discussed various perspectives, approaches and challenges to policy formulation in advancing the women in sport agenda. The panelists included our very own President Dr. Rosa Lopez de d’Amico, joined by Ms. Trina Boltonfrom the U.S. State Department, Dr. Wirdati Radzi from the University of Malaya, and Ms. Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski from the I.O.C. 

Their talk proved highly popular and ranked 4^th among the 27 sessions during the 3-day conference. We invite you to view the session in its entirety.

Performance Recovery 

• Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations—this expert consensus culminates with a sleep toolbox for practitioners (eg, covering sleep education and screening) to mitigate these risk factors and optimise athlete sleep. We recommend an individualised approach that should consider the athlete’s perceived sleep needs. Research is needed into the benefits of napping and sleep extension (eg, banking sleep). (Neil P Walsh, et.al., British Journal of Sports Medicine) 

Physical Activity 

• Shaping up for a fitter future—sacrificing PE classes and sports time to focus on academic studies has long been the norm in Chinese schools. However, the rise in obesity, shortsightedness and other fitness-related problems among schoolkids in recent years has highlighted the importance of ensuring exercise forms an integral part of students’ lifestyles. (Shi Futian, China Daily) 
• Picture Books Can Boost Physical Activity for Youth With Autism—a new picture book with step-by-step instructions on how to do basic exercises like jumping jacks, helps increase levels of physical activity in young people with ASD. (University of Missouri, Neuroscience News) 

• Peer and parental processes predict distinct patterns of physical activity participation among adolescent girls and boys—parents and peers play a key role in adolescents’ physical activity (PA). However, limited research has explored whether the processes by which significant others impact male and female adolescents’ PA differs across discrete patterns of PA participation. (Margaret Lawler et al, International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology)
• Group exercise membership is associated with forms of social support, exercise identity, and amount of physical activity—exploring whether the mechanisms underlying the positive relationship between group exercise and physical activity are forms of social support – emotional, validation, informational, instrumental, and companionship and exercise identity. (Natalie M Golaszewski et al, International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology)
• Could paying people to exercise drive down obesity levels?—the UK government is exploring whether incentivising people financially to take part in physical activity could help drive down obesity levels. (Tom Walker, Sports Management UK)
• Celebrating the moms in our lives [Canada]—my first memory of sport and physical activity as a child was with my grandmother, Wallie. We played badminton in the front yard, on a sunny day in the summer of 1994. She wasn’t training me to become a future Olympian. It was just pure fun. {Peter Morrow, Sport Information Resource Centre)
• Six things to know about supporting women in physical activity & sport – and how to learn from them—over the past year, ParticipACTION has examined our physical activity engagement initiatives – including the ParticipACTION app, the Community Better Challenge, the Everything Gets Better campaigns and more – to identify key gendered differences and share analysis and solutions to our valued sector partners. (ParticipACTION)  
• Walking workouts are great for heart, bone, and muscle health – and almost everyone can do it—Pandemic restrictions have led many people to start walking more, often because they’ve had few other things to do or just as a way to get moving. (Bradley Elliott, The Conversation)
• UC researchers discover ‘elusive’ solution to increase physical activity in early childhood—researchers at the University of Canberra Research Institute for Sports and Exercise who have been exploring how the implementation of physical literacy programs in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres have revealed how peer coaches working in collaboration with educators may be the previously ‘elusive’ solution to increasing physical activity in early childhood. (Jason Roberts, The Sector)
• Aussies alarmingly complacent about exercise and heart health—the Heart Foundation has launched a program to motivate more people to take up regular walking, as new research reveals Australians’ alarmingly high complacency about physical activity and heart health. (Heart Foundation)
• Get started with more physical activity—finding time for physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your heart. (Heart Foundation)
• Active Recovery Hub launched to help more children to be active—the free, online resource is aimed at schools and families and hosts hundreds of ideas to get children moving. (Sport England)
• Physical activity capability, opportunity, motivation and behavior in youth settings [video; 2:20 mins]—a video abstract of a recently published theoretical framework to guide physical activity leader interventions. (Ric Rosenkranz, YouTube) 

Physical Education

• Study: raising PE time at schools could halve rates of kids with minimal exercise—increasing the amount of time schools devote to physical education each week could dramatically reduce the number of children who are doing only minimal levels of exercise, researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington and Sport New Zealand have found. (Otago Daily Times)

Physical Literacy 

• How to support your child with special needs to develop physical literacy—childhood is a time of exploration and discovery. It’s a time of skinned knees and bruised elbows, of sports injuries and bicycle crashes. In other words, it’s a rough-and-tumble time of life. Amid all those slips and spills, there’s great fun, and the carefree joy of childhood. (Beau Peters, Active for Life)  

• How to get your kids to spend more time moving with a simple recipe called physical literacy [Canada]—physical literacy is actually a new twist on a recipe that has been around for a very long time. And a new twist is exactly what we need to get kids active in today’s world.  (Richard Monette, Active for Life)
• 3d Leisure mobilises staff to deliver virtual school PE sessions—as its fitness instructors, aren’t able to work at 3d Leisure-managed facilities, the operator has mobilised them to help keep kids physically active, by delivering virtual group exercise classes in schools. (Tom Walker, Sports Management UK)

Research: Imagery and physical activity: Can imagery help physical activity adherence in women?
By Dr. Karin Volkwein-Caplan and Dr. Selen Razon

• Dr. Karin Volkwein-Caplan
  Professor of Cultural Studies
  West Chester University
  Department of Kinesiology
  222-F Sturzebecker Health Science Center
  West Chester, PA 19383 USA
• Email: Kvolkwein@wcupa.edu
• Teenager Oceana Mackenzie did so literally. (Anthony Colangelo, The Age)

Sport Medicine 

• Does injury incidence really change across the menstrual cycle? Highlighting a recent key study—this study aimed to assess whether the menstrual cycle phase and extended cycle length had an influence on the incidence of injuries in international footballers. (Dr Emma Jane Lunan, BJSM blog) 
• Low Energy Availability in Female Athletes: From the Lab to the Field—we provide a critical appraisal of the scientific literature, highlighting research gaps, and a potential set of leading objective RED-S markers while working in the field. (Ida A. Heikura, et.al., European Journal of Sport Science)

Sport Participation 

• What the Research Says—research shows: when mom coaches or participates in sport and physical activity, everybody wins! Canada’s Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC), supported by the Government of Canada, is leading a pilot media campaign this fall. Mom’s Got Game (Vas-y, Maman!) is a bilingual initiative encouraging, celebrating and supporting moms of school-aged kids to play sport and be active. (Sport Information Resource Centre)
• Keeping Girls in Sport: Evaluating the Impact of an Online Coach Education Resource [Canada]—within the Canadian sport and physical activity sector, International Day of the Girl provides a reminder of the persisting challenges girls and young women confront to realizing the benefits of participation, and the opportunities for action. (Sport Information Resource Center)  
• Mapping of innovative practices in the EU to promote sport outside of traditional structures [EU]—people all over the EU are moving beyond traditional sporting environments like clubs and teams. The evolution in the adoption of sport is driven by the need for flexibility and other lifestyle motivations. The study mapped 27 initiatives (one for each EU Member State) that promote sport and physical activity, capturing a range of key innovations and presenting several successful projects. (European Commission)

 Sport Science 

• How the World’s Best Athletes Handle Brutal Heat—at the 2019 World Championships, researchers gave marathoners and racewalkers swallowable thermometer pills and used thermal cameras to assess the effectiveness of hydration and cooling techniques in the heat of competition. (Alex Hutcinson, Outside)  
• Validity and reproducibility of VO2max testing in a respiration chamber—cardiovascular fitness is an important health parameter. It is usually measured by maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), which is considered the gold standard.1 High VO2max levels have been shown to be inversely related to cardiovascular disease and mortality (Jordi Kleinloog, Stephen van Laar, et.al, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports)

Sport Technology 

• Sign of the times: FIFA looks to have generated more income from video gaming than football in 2020—in what is potentially a landmark moment for sport, FIFA appears last year to have generated more revenue from video gaming than from football. The governing body’s newly-published 2020 financial statements show that $158.9 million (£114.4 million/€133.2 million) of its $266.5 million (£191.9 million/€223.3 million) in total revenue for the year came from licensing rights. (David Owen, Inside the Games) 

Sexuality & Gender Ethics 

• How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation—we systemically reviewed the literature to assess how long-term testosterone suppressing gender-affirming hormone therapy influenced lean body mass (LBM), muscular area, muscular strength and haemoglobin (Hgb)/haematocrit (HCT). (Joanna Harper, et.al., British Journal of Sports Medicine)
• World Sailing Trust to assess equity, diversity and inclusion within sport—the World Sailing Trust plans to put forward a series of recommendations to “identify and mitigate bias” within the sport after launching its participation study. Equity, diversity and inclusion are set to be assessed across all sailing disciplines in a bid to strengthen the future of the sport. (Geoff Berkeley, Inside the Games)
• Amber Glenn: America’s bi/pan skating star on coming out and breaking through—since coming out as bisexual/pansexual, the US national silver medalist has delivered a series of career-best performances and thrust herself into the conversation for next year’s Olympics. “What is your sexuality?” (Loretta Hunt, The Guardian)
• Seven Tokyo 2020 Committee members call for LGBT equality act before Olympics—seven members of the Tokyo 2020 Human Rights, Labor and Participation Committee have called for the adoption of an equality act in Japan before the Olympic Games for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) community. (Michael Houston, Inside the Games)
• New research paints a more complex picture of transgender sports advantage—the Loughborough University paper explains that the question of competitive advantage of trans women is complex and requires further study. (Karleigh Webb, Outsports) 
• Israeli soccer referee comes out as transgender woman—an Israeli soccer referee has come out as transgender and is living – and enforcing the rules of the game – as the only woman in the country’s top-competition.

Sport Integrity 

• Sexual Predators In Sport: How They Attack Victims—as a safeguarding in sport expert I reviewed several cases of sexual abuse in sport and reflected on the way sexual predators in sport think and act. (Kupakwashe Desmond Mukurumbira, LinkedIn)

Sport Participation 

• 5 reasons tweens and teens drop out of sports—and what to do about it [Canada]—every kid is different. It’s a lesson you learn right from the get-go as a parent or teacher. Some like apples, some hate broccoli. Some like to dig for worms, and some wouldn’t dream of getting their hands dirty. And some, while super-active as younger children, need a bit more encouragement to keep active in their tween and teen years. (Susan Scandiffio, Active for Life) 

Sport Science 

• Sports bras: GB athletes to get bespoke underwear for Tokyo Olympics—it is one of the first things women put on to exercise and arguably one of their most crucial pieces of equipment. Now, scientists working with GB athletes have taken notice of the importance of the humble sports bra. (BBC Sport) 

Strength and Conditioning 

• Nicolai Morris [Podcast 42:24]—Canberra’s RealFITT Strength and Conditioning coach, Ben Griffin has a chat with Nicolai Morris; a highly regarded strength and conditioning coach, from Australia. Nicolai currently works for High Performance Sport New Zealand as the lead strength and conditioning coach for the New Zealand Women’s Hockey Team. (Ben Griffin, RealFITT Strength and Conditioning)

Women in Sport

• Female role models ‘vital’ for girls in sport, Stormont research shows—that is suggested in newly-published research from the Stormont Assembly. It also said Northern Ireland has the lowest proportion of children taking the recommended amount of physical activity in the UK. (Robbie Meredith, BBC News) 
• New Research Reveals Women’s Sport Will Reach £1bn Revenue If Female Athletes And Teams Are Made More Visible [UK]—‘Closing the Visibility Gap’ is the most comprehensive study ever produced into the commercial drivers of women’s sport. (Women’s Sport Trust) 

• Uniform Agreement – It’s Time To Change Sport Uniforms—a national study examines the role that uniforms play in increasing the confidence of girls and young women to participate in sport and physical activity. (Victoria University)
• Choose to Challenge: Levelling the playing field—drawing on the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – Choose to Challenge – cricket.com.au is exploring the strides made in the women’s game, and by women working in cricket, while also shining a light on the areas where work remains to be done. (Laura Jolly, cricket.com.au)
• Sian Whittaker | My journey to diagnosis—every March, Endometriosis Month takes place across the world, with the aim of increasing awareness and highlighting the symptoms of this debilitating condition. (Victorian Institute of Sport)
• Barbara Slater: “Women entering the sports industry have role models now”—the theme of International Women’s Day 2021 is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” Throughout March and in the run-up to Tokyo 2020, the IOC will share the journeys of inspirational women and men who are dedicated to combating gender inequality and promoting female representation in leadership roles. Here, in the first article of the series, the IOC speaks to the Olympic gymnast and current BBC Director of Sport, Barbara Slater, about the importance of women holding leadership positions and the issues of equal representation and greater visibility in women’s sport. (International Olympic Committee)
• Women in Sport Reports, Research & Expertise—the latest three months of global women in sport industry reports and academic publications have been released. (Victoria University)
• ‘So angry’: Volleyball club suing former captain over pregnancy—Italian volleyball club Volley Maniago Pordenone is suing its former captain, claiming Lara Lugli breached her contract by getting pregnant. (Sam Goodwin, Yahoo!Sport)
• IBF Gender Equality and Women Leadership Forum | International Women’s Day 2021 [video; 5 hours]—to mark the occasion the International Bowling Federation have brought together some of the most influential names in the sport to discuss a range of topics, including: IOC Gender Equality Movement, ShePower Sport & Women in Sport, Women’s Sport in the Gulf, Voice of the Female Bowler, Voice of the Future, Life After Bowling, The Female Leaders of Bowling, and Female Coaches in Bowling. (International Bowling Federation, YouTube)
• African sportswomen find creative ways to play their sports and earn an income—for a select few in women’s sport, the privilege of earning a high salary from a young age is finally becoming attainable, but for most African sportswomen a ‘day job’ is still par for the course, and an overseas move is the ticket to financial freedom. (Leonard Solms, ESPN)
• ‘Women need to see women playing,’ Poynton—Australian coach and World Para Ice Hockey Technical Advisor on a mission to grow the female side of the sport. (Paralympic.org)

• Megan Schutt on her IVF journey and talking about fertility in women’s sport—ahead of Australia’s tour of New Zealand, star bowler Megan Schutt joined hosts Laura Jolly and Emily Collin from hotel quarantine to explain the process of reciprocal IVF which she has recently embarked on with her wife Jess, and why more conversations around fertility and conception are cropping up amongst elite female athletes. (The Scoop Cricket podcast)
• Masai Ujiri: “Female Empowerment Is About Action Not Words”—in the latest interview in our series focusing on gender equality, Masai Ujiri, the President of National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Toronto Raptors, talks about his successful efforts to promote women to senior roles within the Canadian franchise. (Olympic.org)
• Sports uniforms for women – from bikini to burkini [audio; 29m3s]—women and girls often feel uncomfortable about having to wear tight and revealing sports outfits. It’s a reason they drop out of sport. For some it’s about body image. For others it’s cultural and religious. What are sports doing to address this? (ABC Radio National)
• Empowering women through comfortable sportswear—a German–Lebanese collaborative brand is making modest sportswear more accessible for women, in an attempt to increase women’s participation in recreational and elite sports. (sportanddev.org)
• Tracing the challenging history of women’s participation in sport—March is celebrated as Women’s History Month, celebrating the achievements and contributions of women in history. The journey of women’s achievements has been characterised by struggle that they have had to experience because of the societal status assigned to their gender. (Isha Saxena, sportanddev.org)
• “Dwelling in the tensions:” Research in the intersections of second-generation teen girls’ sport experiences(CAN)—in 2019/2020, Canadian Women & Sport partnered with graduate student Amina Haggar to explore the experiences of second-generation African Canadian teen girls in a community sport program in Ottawa, Ontario. (SIRC)
• Megan Rapinoe labels inequality between men and women’s sport ‘unacceptable’ during congressional hearing—football superstar Megan Rapinoe has used a congressional hearing to hit out at sports organisations in the United States for failing to address their unequal treatment of male and female athletes. (Sam Clench and Jai Bednall, news.com.au)
• A changeroom of their own: the importance of designing for women in sport—many sporting organisations are actively trying to change the face of sport in Australia to become more inclusive, encouraging female participation through the promotion of women’s teams. (Madeleine Steele and Hames Sharley, Women Sport Australia)
• Integrity and Risk Management for Women in Sport—the Minerva Network’s recent webinar on Integrity and Risk Management, held in conjunction with Sport Integrity Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), highlighted the importance of respectful behaviours in sport, identifying how the lack of such behaviour impacts them, the key issues threatening the integrity of sport and the risks athletes are exposed to. (Minerva Network)
• Designing sport for women—when designing sport programmes for women and girls, is it important to create female-only spaces, or should sport be mixed-gender to break gender barriers? (Tariqa Tandon, sportanddev.org)
• Enacting and Researching Women’s Sport Policy event, hosted by Professor Emma Sherry and Professor Simone Fullagar—if you missed the event or would like to reflect back on the discussion, including the fantastic audience Q & A’s, a link to a recording of the event is available. (Sport Innovation Research Group, Swinburne University of Technology)
• How young girls are being inspired to find themselves through football [UK]—Debra is Shalukah’s role model through a Football Beyond Borders programme designed to allow girls to ‘own the pitch’. (Suzanne Wrack, The Guardian)
• How to train like a woman—are female athletes getting the advice which suits them? Dr Emma Ross, Baz Moffat and Dr Bella Smith of The Well HQ believe not – and insist it’s time to think differently. (Athletics Weekly)

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