5 Ways to support women’s sports
Ever since the early days of the sports industry, it has been a man’s world. You’ve seen this with unequal pay in comparison of male to female professional athletes and more primetime TV spots for men’s sports. However, women’s sports are beginning to gain ground in combatting this inconsistency through Title IX efforts and the growth of role models in sports, such as Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. To continue this rapid growth of women’s sports, there is more that can be done in supporting female athletes across your local area, state, country, and world.
Here are five tips that can help you support women’s sports, while also making a positive impact on their sports careers and ensuring athletic opportunities for women in the future.
Check out a local women’s sporting event. By attending a women’s sporting event, you are signaling your support for women’s athletics. It’s important for these women to know they have support when pursuing their athletic hopes and dreams. These events do not have to be expensive, just something that gets you witnessing women’s athletics. This could be a softball game for your local youth league or an open wrestling practice at your local high school. The opportunities to witness women’s sports in action are truly endless, so choose whatever suits your fancy.
Encourage young girls to try a new sport. It is imperative that women’s sports continue to grow, which can be done by encouraging the next generation of female athletes to try a new sport. This could be done in a multitude of ways, including youth camps, dance classes, and little league games. By encouraging a young girl in your life to give sports a try, you are exposing her to the different types of opportunities that exist with sports, plus potentially making some new friends with teammates.
Follow women’s sports on social media. With social media, female sports are able to reach a large audience of individuals, especially those who want to receive scores for their favorite sports teams or read feature articles about an up-and-coming athlete. No matter your reason for engaging with a female sports organization on social media, it serves an important purpose of spreading awareness for women’s athletics. Additionally, following women’s sports on social media is also able to generate a strong community of advocates who can speak up in support of athletes and teams. A few of my favorite social media profiles to follow are:
Just Women’s Sports (Facebook)
Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (Twitter)
ESPNw (Facebook)Coach a female youth sport. Local parks and recreation departments are almost always looking for individuals to coach youth sports teams, which is another way to give back to female athletics. From coaching little league softball to running a youth girls wrestling club, there is a plethora of opportunities to get involved and make a difference in the life of a young girl. It could be a positive interaction with a coach during their younger years that develops into a dedicated athlete with a strong passion for a specific sport (or multiple sports!).
Become a female sports official. One of the challenges facing the sports industry, in general, is the lack of officials. Without officials, games or tournaments cannot take place, which can take away opportunities from athletes to show off their skills and chase their dreams. There are several sports that are offered in female divisions that can use officials, such as basketball, volleyball, softball, and wrestling. By becoming a registered sports official, you can ensure athletes in your area have every opportunity to compete - an opportunity they rightfully deserve. To get involved as an official, check with your local high school athletic governing body, such as the Iowa High School Athletic Association (boys sports) and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (girls sports).
Overall, we each can become part of the team that is supporting women’s athletics. This type of support is paying off, as we’ve seen record-setting television viewership for high-caliber women’s sporting events like the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, sell-out crowds for events at different levels (i.e., the IGHSAU Girls State Wrestling Tournament and the NCAA Women’s College World Series (softball)), and little girls dreaming of becoming their sports role models someday - you’ve probably seen some cute signs during a television broadcast. By supporting women on the mat, court, or field, we call can ensure a positive trend and generate significant support for women’s athletics.