Re: Women's sport has changed forever

Re: ICYMI - quite a bit has happened in the women's sports space

April 17, 2024

We’re calling it now: Women’s sport has changed forever

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You would truly have to be living under a rock if you didn’t hear about the NCAA Women’s Championship game last week (we’re sorry but it’s true!?). An absolute warning about this edition of Level The Field - it’s really basketball heavy, but this is a one-off WE PROMISE and then will shift our gears into Olympics and Paralympics mode (officially less than 100 days to go woo!).

ICYMI: The Championship game between South Carolina and Iowa drew in 18.7 million viewers across the ABC and ESPN - marking an 89% increase in viewership from last year. This makes it the most-watched basketball game (men’s or women’s, college or pro since 2019) - with the audience peaking at 24 million. We promise we’ll stop banging on about this tournament, but it has well and truly changed the face of women’s sport in the US.

Nevertheless, we’re acknowledging that there’s still a long way to go. Caitlin Clark, arguably the best player in the NCAA (and who also joined Saturday Night Live this week - watch the clip below), was selected as the No. 1 pick in Monday’s WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Caitlin will be paid a base salary of $USD338,056 over the next four years. 

The catch? Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 draft pick in the NBA was set to make $55 million in his first four years, and $12.1 million in his first year alone. By comparison, Caitlin will pocket $76,535 in her first year, according to WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement. WTF!?

Ok so moving on from basketball (we promise that will be the last you’ll hear about it for a while) - we want to pivot a little - female sumo wrestlers. In Japan the ancient sport of sumo is wrestling with how to accept women competitors on an equal footing, challenging deeply held customs and traditions. 

On Foreign Correspondent tonight at 8pm, the ABC will be meeting the women who are leading the charge to modernise attitudes and change the sport they love. This is not a paid ad - we just found this super interesting and will be watching - and will add a recap to the next edition.

Chat again soon,

The Missing Perspectives Team xxx

The Statistic

Football NSW shared that in March alone it had over 25,000 more player registrations than the same time last year - with a large portion of those signups being young women and girls.

The ABC reported that registrations of women and girls across NSW have increased 18% from last season, with the biggest boost coming in the junior girls age bracket (23%), followed by senior women (15%) and youth girls (9%).

The Fun Fact

Gymnastics New Zealand has scrapped ‘archaic’ rules - no longer penalising female athletes for visible underwear or bra straps. The governing body made the changes in light of a survey of over 200 competitive gymnasts.

The governing body’s chief executive Andrea Nelson said that they wanted to ensure no one “feels uncomfortable or excluded.” These rules only come into effect for competitions in New Zealand - so hopefully we see a ripple effect.

WNBA has announced partnership with Opill - the first-ever daily birth control pill that doesn’t need a prescription in US

Opill, the first-ever daily birth control pill available without a prescription in the US, and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) have entered a multi-year partnership that focuses on “building confidence, strength and health equity,” the companies said in a statement.

“Opill is changing the game in reproductive health, just like the WNBA’s game-changing role in sports and pop culture,” said Leila Bahbah, Perrigo U.S. Women’s Health Brand Lead. “Building upon our shared commitment to foster equitable access and to increase health education, the goal of this partnership is to prioritize dialogue and resources in support of women’s reproductive health.”

Opill has become the first over-the-counter daily birth control pill to be available at most major retailers across the US, and online.

“At the WNBA, we are committed to addressing issues that matter to the players, and expanding access to reproductive healthcare is one of those key issues,” said Colie Edison, WNBA Chief Growth Officer.

“It’s great to be working with a partner whose values align and authentically integrates into the health equity work our players are dedicated to.”

What do you think about this partnership? Let us know over at [email protected]

“I didn't want to be the disabled swimmer or the disabled girl in the class. I wanted to be somebody who could accomplish the same things as them or even better and greater things” - Canadian Paralympic trailblazer Aurelie Rivard.

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