The Melbourne Cup was a historic moment when Michelle Payne raced to victory, making her the first female jockey to win the coveted title.
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This redefined the term ‘riding like a girl’ as Prince of Penzance came in at 1:100 odds. This is an incredible achievement and not just in terms of winning a race but rather coming out on top in such a male dominated sport.
But there are many amazing female athletes dominating in their chosen (previously male dominated) fields. Elysse Perry has maintained her status as a superstar in soccer and cricket, and of course our own Lauren Jackson has kept a strong presence in Australian basketball for many years now.
We all know these names, but we don’t appreciate how strong a role model these women play. They pave the way for women to get engaged in any sport, even male dominated sports such as AFL, cricket and soccer.
The Albury Wodonga Triathlon Club’s annual women’s only triathlon has sold out the last few years due to its sheer popularity and you only need to look at the Border’s netball, soccer, basketball and hockey teams to acknowledge the strong presence of females in these sports.
Despite this ongoing dominance of women in sport, coverage of women’s sport in Australian broadcasting is sitting at a measly 8.7 percent which has decreased from 11 percent a decade ago. This is in sharp contrast to coverage of men’s sport which makes up 81 percent of television sports news coverage. We should be rewarding these hard working role models even at a local level. This includes encouraging and supporting our local sportswomen, increasing coverage, reward and praise of women in all areas of sport.
We have made such strong achievements in the last few years with the Matildas being named the most successful Australian soccer team in history (male or female), and the Hockeyroos winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. However we still have a long way to go to truly achieve equality in Australian sport.
Congratulations Michelle Payne, on your win in the Melbourne Cup and everything else that means for women in sport. In your own words: “women can do anything and we just beat the world”.
In last week’s column regarding physiotherapy services for former members of the Australian Defence Force readers may have inferred that all healthcare is taken care of for former serving members. To clarify the situation, DVA Health Cards (Gold and White) are accepted as payment upon a GP referral.
