“Anything Is Possible” – Clare Balding Says It’s Time To Shine A Spotlight On Women in Sport

It’s time to wise up. Think about it carefully. How many of us can say we’ve gone to a female sporting event in the past year? Indeed, in the past five years? It’s time to wise up to women in sport – at least that’s the message from Liberty Insurance and renowned broadcaster and journalist Clare Balding this week. Indeed, Ireland is famous for producing female sporting legends: take Sonia O’Sullivan, Katie Taylor, the Irish rugby team, Briege Corkery and Cora Staunton, to name but a few. All are living legends and have achieved dizzying heights and successes in their respective disciplines. And yet, they still are not getting the recognition they deserve. The findings of the new study, which was launched at a conference in Croke Park on Thursday afternoon, proved to be a stark portrayal of the reality of women in sport in Ireland. However, there are positives. The tide is changing. In fact, the study, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, found that women are more active than men (55 per cent to 45 per cent) in Ireland. However, concern still surrounds the level of female participation in team sports, particularly among schoolgirls, where only 45 per cent took part, compared with 64 per cent of boys. Speaking at the conference this week, TV and radio presenter Clare Balding spoke passionately to the large crowd in attendance about women in sport – from the smallest of steps to the glories of the international stage. “A lot of the problem with female participation in sport is that women think that you have to be fit to get fit. This is driven by low self-confidence and the classic ‘does my bum look big in this?’ – the answer to that of course is ‘Yes, it’s lyrca’,” she told Her.ie. “The joy in sport is so great – why would you let your brain stop you because you’re wondering what would other people will think? Screw them and get on with it. “Look at some of the top female athletes, who eat well in order to stay strong. I love that idea of women being strong and powerful – but society doesn’t like it." “People used to say that about me all the time – God she’s very ambitious and I thought, ‘Yeah, I am why not?’ Why on earth wouldn’t I be?! Why would that be an insult,” she laughed.

One finding in the survey was that 73 per cent of those who attend live sporting fixtures also did so as children, although more men (six in 10) than women (four in 10) were brought to major sporting events by their parents.

To combat this, Liberty Insurance also launched a pledging campaign (#SupportHerSport) to encourage parents and families to bring their daughters, sisters, nieces and granddaughters to a women’s sporting fixture this year.

“It’s vital that children are brought to sporting events from a young age," Clare stated. "Never make girls feel like it’s not for them." Speaking in front of a packed room later that afternoon she continued; “We all have a greater responsibility do what we can to support women’s sports." “I’ve never felt it’s been men versus women, women versus men: this is about improving all of our lives by not limiting ourselves to things because of our gender. “It’s such a visually powerful image - women being allowed to be confident, be strong, be competitive - and those not being seen as bad things. “There’s lot of resistance to it, because people think ‘women can’t do that’. But as soon as you start letting them, you’ll find they actually can. “Sport allows you to be judged on whether you are good or not, on what your body can do - not on what it looks like,” she reflected. “Having good strong thighs is not a negative thing. “Anything is possible. We are not going to be having this conference in 10 years’ time, or if we are, it will be in front of about 5,000 people celebrating." Also speaking at the event was Irish athlete Sonia O’Sullivan, who spoke of how hard it is to go out to perform without support on the sideline to spur you on. “The energy decreases when the crowd isn’t there. When you go out and run in Santry if it’s a nice day you’ll get a decent crowd who make it feel like the track is smaller, while if there’s no one there it looks bigger - you don’t have the same energy. It suddenly becomes a lot harder. “What women’s sport particularly needs is that it is seen as important," she added.