The Women's Sporting Network
“An exultation of women’s sport, a channel for women to report on their sport and a focus on the excitement, enthusiasm, opportunity and outstanding role models which sport can generate for young girls and women.”
Media Coverage of Women’s Sport:
It is widely acknowledged that quality and quantity of the coverage of women’s sport by the media is not an accurate reflection of the amount of sport played or watched by women, or indeed of the levels of participation of female athletes in sport.
Women are frequently portrayed in a manner that reinforces gender stereotypes or undermines their sporting achievements. Female athletes are likely to emphasize their sexuality to achieve some media coverage of their sporting achievements, thus shifting attention away from their actual performance and results.
Underfunded & under commercialised
Women’s sport is underfunded, underreported, lacks exposure, has poor access, attracts little sponsorship and is under commercialised. It lacks awareness of its role models by both men and women and continues to decline in participating numbers.
The Women's Sporting Network
Women2012 is a portal offering a unique focus on women’s sports events offering greater awareness, exposure, profile and excitement. The website lists comprehensive details of events for women to watch, enjoy and participate in and will bring together information for players, parents, promoters, partners and publishers. It will publish the most recent video footage of women’s sports and link some of our outstanding (yet unsung) role models to their sports – and track their day-to-day experiences through a range of social media facilities.
• NGBs, sports clubs, women's groups are able to list their events, use social media to report on them and get a weekly update on women’s sport.
• SportsWomen will get greater exposure to: other sportswomen, fans, commercial sponsors & promoters.
• Women will get more opportunity to TRY, engage and experience sport at all level.
• Provide an alternative channel for women’s sports reporting and communication.
‘Smart Products’
We will be launching a series of ‘Smart Products’ in the lead up to the Olympics including:
• 2012LIVE! – SportsCasting
• WSN-TV – Scheduling and greater access/distribution of women’s sport TV
• SportsReport – a weekly update on women’s sport.
• Women’s Sport Management
• TRY Days programme
• Phone Apps
• Event Dairy management
More information:
Women2012 is a group of mostly young women, volunteer, ‘sports nuts’ that have come together to make women’s sport more ‘available’. Some have experience in specific women's sports promotion, publishing and broadcasting – others are undergrads who want to make a difference. They bring together a limited range of skills, sports but masses of experience and enthusiasm to cover women’s sports events. This is a development of the Women’s Sporting Calendar 2012 – a charity project designed to raise funds for, and the profile of, women’s sport.
We are partnering a number of Sports Quangos, NGBs and Women’s organisations to work with them to develop a women’s Olympic sporting legacy through a range of ‘smart products’ – particularly TRY DAYS which is a ‘cross-sport’ initiative to create soft Olympic legacy and get sport on the ‘agenda’ of more non-participant and hard-to-reach women.
Women2012 came about following the production of The Women’s Sporting Calendar which became a major project involving enthusiastic engagement with 24 British Athletes/players and NGBs, three charities and numerous partners including: USGirls, GSA, BOA Athletes Commission. It has also revealed how under-promoted and under-reported women’s sport is. This outcome was brought about in the hiatus and lack of direction for women’s sport which followed the launch.
Contact:
Overview - Paul Reynolds, E: [email protected] T: 01372 842490
Content & editorial – Amy Carter E: [email protected] T: 07976 385453
Technical – Frederick Bastello E: [email protected] T: 01372 842490
Researchers – via the website W: women2012.co.uk/about.php
