EDITOR:
While men’s sports remain at the forefront of broadcasting and television, female athletes continue to thrive yet lack appropriate recognition. It is no secret that women’s sports receive a fraction of the appreciation from the media in comparison to their male counterparts, but for what reason? Female sports are an ever-evolving discipline where we see tremendous growth and progress but find insufficient and lacklustre levels of support.
Take Allyson Felix, for example. Some of you may recognize her name, but a large majority of you likely do not. She recently broke Usain Bolt’s record for the most gold medals won at the World Athletics Championships. An example a little bit closer to home is Emma Jinks. Emma is a young woman from Stratford, who is a four-time national squash champion, but many Islanders are likely unaware of this. Regardless of the scale of these references, many people would struggle to recognize these names.
So, you may ask, how do we change this? We need to make a point to emphasize women’s sports in the media and the press. A noteworthy example of this is St. Francis Xavier University and what it has done for its women’s rugby team. This year for homecoming weekend, a weekend typically distinguished by a men’s football game, the university took a large step by switching their schedule to allow the women’s rugby team to play during the “prime” football time slot, Saturday afternoon. The university celebrated 50 years of women’s sport at St. F.X. and made the necessary changes to give this team the recognition they deserve.
It is actions like this that will effect change and lead to more desirable circumstances for the deserving women and girls in these positions.
Nicole Davies (UPEI),
Stratford
