There's a momentum behind women in sport right now, say athletes and officials. The Government has identified increasing women's participation as one of its key priorities. Kate Newton and Megan Whelan spoke to some of the biggest names at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games about what that actually means.
Julia Ratcliffe
Hammer throw gold medallist
Photo: Photosport
“I think getting women involved in all levels. In coaching you see quite a few male coaches even in female teams… Just encouraging females to get active from a young age and involved in sport and saying, ‘Hey ... you can go and be a strong athlete and that’s a cool thing to do, people respect you for that - just changing the image around female athletes.
“Sometimes I feel as an athlete that it’s a bit of a selfish thing to do … so if I can inspire young girls to get out there and be proud of their bodies and proud of what they do with them, that’s awesome, that’s a big win for me.”
Frances Davies
Hockey gold medallist
Photo: Photosport
“A couple of years ago I was being inspired by these older girls. Before we were getting a photo with the younger girls and they were so excited to see us - it was honestly so awesome to be able to inspire younger people and hopefully one day they can get their dream.”
Dame Valerie Adams
Shot put silver medallist
Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2018 / Alisha Lovrich
"I will encourage [her daughter Kimoana] to be a happy kid. I want to be there as long as she’s happy and healthy, that’s all I want. I’ve lived my dream, I am living my dreams, it’s just a matter of her wanting to find her own dreams and her own pathway and I’ll support her and do whatever. Her dad has the brains, I have the muscles, whatever she chooses in between, then that’s cool, I’m good with that.
"We as athletes, hopefully we as women, inspire other women to take up sport, whether it’s bowls, athletics, or even just walking out the door and doing something physical to help themselves and get healthy - it’s not necessarily getting into a competitive sport but looking after themselves as females. We’re strong women, and without us, this world ain’t nothing."
Holly Robinson
Para javelin silver medallist
Photo: Photosport / Alisha Lovrich
“For our young kids back home in New Zealand watching the Commonwealth Games, to see young females and females in general competing at the elite level, it shows them that they can actually do that as well."
Alexis Pritchard
Boxing bronze medallist
Photo: Photosport
“I come from a gym where males and females are seen as equal - and so we should be - and as a female boxer I’m no different to one of the male boxers. I’m the senior athlete in my gym - I am the athlete that everyone looks up to - and it has been like that for many years now. So for me it’s normal, and I don’t see why there should be a difference between the fact that I’m a female who’s at the top of my boxing game versus another gym who’s got a male at the top of the boxing game.
“But you hear comments about, ‘Oh, you’re too pretty to box, you shouldn’t be boxing, boxing’s too brutal for a female.’ The thing that I actually found the most interesting, or annoying really, was after I retired was, ‘When are you going to have children?’ But they didn’t ask my husband that. I’m just like, that’s not a question that you need to ask me right now. People expect women to be wives and mothers, but what I would like is that females can just be whoever they want to be and they can be strong independent women - they can be boxers, they can be wrestlers, they can be anything.”
Jo Edwards
Lawn bowls gold medallist
Photo: Photosport
"I firmly believe there’s a gap from maybe 30 to 50 with women that have played other sports, like myself - I played a lot of soccer back in my other life before bowls - and I think there’s a real market there. It’s no longer uncool to play bowls - people used to be in their whites and say they were off to cricket, because they were too embarrassed. But there’s such a pathway. I’ve been amazed at what I’ve seen and done with the game. It’s an awesome sport, it’s a hard, hard sport to play, and I just love it.”
Alana Barber
Race walking silver medallist
New Zealand's Alana Barber takes silver in the womens 20km race walk, Commonwealth Games, Photo: Photosport
"I’d like to think sport can become part of people’s everyday lives. Even if it’s not as a competitive sport, I’d love to see people out there race walking. [Sport] is a big confidence booster. To achieve a goal, you have to have discipline and dedication. The same dedication and confidence you need to apply to a sport, you can apply to other parts of life, like a career.
"The success that I’ve had in sport - even before the Commonwealth Games - gave me the confidence to say ‘what else can I do’. There’s no reason why we can’t be a CEO, there’s no reason we can’t walk into a boardroom, even when the room is full of men. Women have the attributes to do that."
Sarah Goss
Rugby sevens gold medallist
Photo: Photosport
"At the end of the day, we want more and more, kids - especially little girls - to be able to be professional athletes. Whether they’re playing rugby, or hockey or netball, as long as they’re chasing their goals, it doesn’t matter."
Joelle King
Squash double gold medallist and bronze medallist
Joelle King of New Zealand competes against Sarah-Jane Perry of England in the Women's Singles Final Photo: Photosport
"It all started with my mum, you know? A crafty C grader at the Leamington squash club. That’s where my career began at 8 years old. She’s always pushed me, and she’s always supported me the whole way through. Whether it’s squash or any sport, I hope [my career] is inspiration for them to just get involved with sport and feel like they can match the boys.
"I think there’s been a big push in the past few years of equality, in business, sport, or whatever it is, and it’s nice to see a lot of girls standing up and taking their right place in the world."
Main image: Joelle King competes against Sarah-Jane Perry of England in the Women's Singles Final. (Anthony Au-Yeung / Photosport NZ)
