Women's Sport

WELCOME

Welcome to VicSport’s 2009 Autumn Edition of WISe-news.  In this edition, we look at what is happening with regards to women in sport, we highlight sports and explain how you can get further involved. We also showcase female athletes who are excelling in their chosen sport.

If you wish to directly receive WISe-news, please forward your contact details to Amber on the details below. Alternatively, WISe-news can be located on the VicSport website www.vicsport.asn.au/WISenews.  We appreciate your help in forwarding WISe-news on to colleagues, clubs, family and friends who may benefit from this information.  

WISe-news is currently distributed quarterly (Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring) however we require continual feedback on how often you wish to receive WISe-news, what stories and articles you wish to read and the type of information you as readers wish to submit. Your comments are appreciated and will be taken into consideration before the next publication currently due out June 2009.

I look forward to working with you all and keeping you up to date with women’s sport information.

Click HERE for Full Edition of WISe-news 

Amber Bleechmore
Women in Sport Project Officer
E: [email protected] | P: 03 99261373

WOMEN IN SPORT ADMINISTRATION & BUSINESS

RESEARCH - Women improve corporate boards

Professor Renee Adams and Researcher Dr Daniel Ferreira from University of Queensland used data sourced from the US Investor Responsibility Research Centre to assess the contribution of women on boards.  The researchers found boards with more female directors were characterised by greater participation of directors in decision-making, tougher monitoring of the CEO and more alignment with the interests of shareholders. "The research provides empirical evidence to support what has until now been a largely ideological debate," Prof Adams said.

"Our findings concluded that women have better attendance records on boards than men."    The research also found participation at board meetings increased when there were women on the board. Women were also more likely to sit on committees with auditing and nominating roles.

Globally, boards are under pressure to recruit more women with some countries legislating quotas to improve diversity on boards, Prof Adams said.   

Commencing January 2008, companies in Norway are required to ensure a minimum of 40 per cent of directors are female.   Spain is also following suit with the same quota of 40 per cent effective from 2015 with Sweden also planning to do the same.

Prof Adams said the research project was conducted over the past six years and was due to be published in the Journal of Financial Economics.

February 3, 2009 | http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/03/1233423196396.html              

WOMEN’S AFFAIRS POLICY – Board Appointments

Half the positions on State Government-appointed boards and committees are to be filled by women under a new policy announced by Women’s Affairs Minister, Maxine Morand.

Ms Morand said gender balance would help Boards reflect the communities they represented.  “Providing women with experience on Government boards and committees will allow greater numbers of women to be able to participate in senior non-Government roles and Boards where women still are greatly underrepresented,” she said.

 Ms Morand said since 2000 the Victorian Government had increased the proportion of women on State Government Boards and Committees from 31 per cent to 40 per cent, while the proportion of women in chairperson positions had increased from 12 per cent to 28 per cent.

“Diversity in gender and culture enriches Boards and there are many experienced and qualified women suitable for Board appointments across Victoria,” she said.  “Women hold just 8.3 per cent of Board directorships of S&P/Australian Stock Exchange 200 companies and only two per cent have a woman chairperson.”

Ms Morand said the new equitable target of women on Boards was part of the Government’s Victorian Women’s Policy Framework 2008–2011.

“The Victorian Women’s Policy Framework aims to foster a society in which women are able to contribute and have their voices heard, and are respected and valued,” she said. “This framework sets an agenda for further improvements in the areas of justice and safety; education, work and economic independence; health, wellbeing and community strengthening; and representation and equity.”

Ms Morand said the Framework would ensure women had greater opportunity to lead safer, more productive lives and be supported by their families and communities.  To encourage the appointment of women on Boards the Government has established a Women’s Register, with information on potential female candidates for Government Boards and Committees. 

The register is accessible at www.women.vic.gov.au  | http://vic.psnews.com.au/Page_vpsn1051.html

CONFERENCE - IWG Women’s Sport Conference

The International Working Group (IWG) announced the 5th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport will be held from 20 to 23 May 2010, at Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and Sydney Olympic Park.  Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia will act as Patron in Chief of this event.

"The IWG offers women a platform on which to display their vigour and tenacity; their leadership and creativity; and their boundless sense of fun," said Ms Bryce. "It was not so long ago that women were excluded from many sports; indeed today they still lag inexcusably behind men in sponsorship, media coverage and opportunities for professional play. Nevertheless, societies around the globe are changing and government and non-government organisations support and promote their participation," Ms Bryce added.

It will be the first time the IWG World Conference is held in Australia or the Oceania Region. "IWG Conferences are landmark events that raise the profile of women and sport issues and highlight the host community’s contribution to success in this area," said Johanna Adriaanse, Chair of the IWG and Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney. "There is no doubt that this conference will be the most significant women’s sport event in the history of our country."

An expected audience of over 700 delegates will feature top decision makers of the women’s sport movement, members of the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees, National and International Sport Federations as well as leading government representatives, academics, athletes and coaches.

The conference aims to foster promotion of opportunities for girls and women in sport and physical activity throughout the world. "It is important to encouraging women’s participation and achievement in sport; providing a safe space in which women play, think, change and reach their full potential," said Ms Bryce.

"I am delighted with the support of Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce," Ms Adriaanse said. "Together with our other patron, Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court Australia they strongly reflect the values of the women’s sport movement.  The World Conference aims to leave a powerful legacy in terms of gender equality and human rights." said Johanna Adriaanse. http://www.iwg-gti.org

RECOGNITION – 2009 Victorian Honour Roll of Women

The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was launched in 2001 as part of Victoria’s Centenary of Federation Women Shaping the Nation event. The Honour Roll recognises and celebrates the achievements of women from all walks of life.

Nominations open July each year with the community invited to nominate women from sport, science, education and human rights, as well as Indigenous and multicultural organisations. The Minister for Women’s Affairs announces the new recipients as part of International Women’s Day celebrations in March.

The 439 women inducted into the Honour Roll have used their skills, knowledge, commitment and compassion to better their communities and have made a lasting contribution to women in Victoria. They have excelled in their chosen fields and are a testament to the depth of talented women we have in this state.

The Minister for Women’s Affairs, Maxine Morand, announced the names of the 20 new inductees to the 2009 Victorian Honour Roll at a cocktail presentation at the National Gallery of Victoria on 5 March 2009 in the lead-up to International Women’s Day on 8 March. Maxine noted that ‘This government is committed to increasing women’s leadership and participation in community life. Each of us can draw inspiration of what is possible when a woman of courage and commitment has a goal for the greater good.’

Marg Jennings took out the sport field in 2009 for Leading Australia’s women to cricket glory.  Marg Jennings’ father used to set up fruit boxes as stumps, give his daughter a cricket bat and say to the neighbourhood boys, “I bet you can’t get her out.”

It’s a fair bet they couldn’t, given Marg’s outstanding skill as a cricketer.

Over her 47 years of being involved with cricket, Marg has represented Victoria and Australia. She was appointed Australian captain in 1977 and achieved a World Cup victory as captain in 1978.  Marg was also the first Australian female wicketkeeper to score a century and she coached the Victorian cricket team to win the Open National Championship in 1990-1991.

She was coach of the Victorian Institute of Sport women’s cricket squad, has been national Chairperson of Selectors since 1991 and received the Australian Sports Medal in 2000.  

As well as her on-field exploits, Marg has provided strong leadership and mentoring to encourage women and girls to participate in sport.  “One thing I like to get through to the kids is that if you really want it, go for it and opportunity will present itself.”

While teaching at Aberfeldie Primary School Marg was annoyed when only the boys would play cricket for the school. “I took on coaching and got the girls in. We were the only ones to have girls in our school team. With a couple of the other teachers we set up a girls’ team.”

In the 1981/82 season, Marg established the Brunswick Park Ladies Cricket Club. “My father got a ground for us, and we tried to get kids down there to play.” Brunswick Park has since become the most successful cricket club in the Victorian Women’s Cricket Association.

By example and encouragement Marg has mentored many women to aspire and achieve positions that in the past were only available to men. This includes currently-held positions of manager of the Australian Cricket Centre of Excellence (Belinda Clark) and radio and television commentator (Melanie Jones).

“We are taking little steps but there’s still a long way to go. I would love to see women get equal opportunity within Cricket Australia and see Australian women on the stage with the men.”

WOMEN IN ELITE SPORT

CRICKET - Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars Light Up Cricket Scene

In Sydney on 5 March 2009 marked the opening of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009, the first to be held under the auspices of the ICC since its integration with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005.

The eight teams taking part were photographed in the shadow of the world-famous Sydney Opera House.  Cricket Australia Chairman and ICC director Jack Clarke launched the tournament by saying that the ICC Women’s World Cup would have a positive effect on the game both in the host country and around the world.  “We hope that the staging of this event will further accelerate Cricket Australia’s vision for women’s cricket in this country” said Mr. Clarke.

ESPN STAR Sports will showcase women’s cricket around the world to viewers in over 200 countries, certainly encouraging further growth of women’s cricket globally.

“The ICC wants cricket to be a genuinely global sport and to achieve that goal cricket has to be a genuine global sport for girls and women, we as well as boys and men,” he said.  The tournament will see the world’s top eight teams – hosts and holders Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies – compete at six venues across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in 16 days from 7-22 March 2009.

The format of the event involves the teams being divided into two groups. Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and South Africa are in Group A while India, England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in Group B.  The top three sides in each group go forward to the Super Six stage where each side then plays the teams which have qualified from the other group. The top two sides from the Super Six go forward to the final.

The tournament has been staged in England (1973 and 1993), India (1978 and 1997) and New Zealand (1982 and 2000) as well as Australia (1988) and South Africa (2005), with Australia having won the tournament five times in 1978, 1982, 1988, 1997 and 2005, England winning in 1973 and 1993, and New Zealand in 2000.                            

BASEBALL - Victoria eyes three-peat

All eyes will be on the Victorian women’s baseball team in April 2009 as they look to secure their third consecutive Australian Women's Baseball title when the 2009 Championships are contested in Geelong.  

Having claimed eight titles in the past ten years, losing only to New South Wales (NSW)  in 2003 and 2006, the ‘Big V’ have blazed through the past two championships undefeated.  As a result, the competing teams from NSW, Queensland and Western Australia will be hard against it trying to upset the reigning champions on home soil.  

The 16 member Victorian team was selected in February 2009 following two months of intensive trials.  And such is the strength of women’s baseball in the southern state, a ‘seconds’ team featuring no less than two former Australian players and numerous former Victorian players, has once again been selected for the championships.

The ‘Firsts’ team boasts a new coaching staff with Garry Bitmead making his debut as women’s state head coach.  A current VIS baseball coach and former Bushrangers coach in the now defunct Australian Baseball League, Bitmead has also been a long time state junior coach and most recently led the Victorian Under 16 boys team to the National title in January.  

The 2009 team possesses an internationally-experienced batting order and outstanding defensive line up, with current Australian team members Samantha Hamilton, Shae Lillywhite and Amy McCann, all regarded the best in the world in their positions, headlining the team.

Preparations are now in full swing with the team training twice weekly in addition to club training sessions. Bitmead is happy with the team’s attitude and potential.  “We have a great mix of youth and experience, and the new and returning players have added some extra spice into selections forcing every player to lift their training intensity,” he said.

“If the team can continue to build on this intensity shown over the first few weeks, then we will no doubt enter the championships with some great form.”

The Championships will be held at the Geelong Baseball Centre, April 11-18 2009                   

NETBALL - Top Vixens share load

MELBOURNE Vixens defender Bianca Chatfield will be reunited as a co-captain with star shooter Sharelle McMahon this season.

Chatfield and McMahon shared captaincy duties for the Melbourne Phoenix in 2006 and 2007, but the Vixens chose to have McMahon lead the team for last year's inaugural ANZ Championship season. But Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg asked Chatfield to step up her leadership duties this year.

"Julie said she wanted me to feel like I could give everything and didn't have to step back because I wasn't in a captaincy role," Chatfield said. "She said she would like to have co-captains rather than a captain and vice-captain and I am honoured to be in that position.

"Sharelle and I have previously worked together as co-captains, so I don't see that anything will really change much other than just the title." McMahon, who is back on court after surgery on her left knee in July, will balance her Vixens leadership with her Australian captaincy.

Chatfield said the Vixens were hungry to improve on last year when they lost in the semi-finals of the new trans-Tasman netball league.   "That's something we certainly want to rectify. We have the team to do it. It's just a matter of what we do out there on court," she said.

Rebecca Williams | March 03, 2009 12:00am
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25129796-5012679,00.html

CYCLING - Victorian’s named in 'Toshiba Cyclones' for World Championships

Cycling Australia has announced the 'Toshiba Cyclones' Australian team to contest the UCI Track Cycling World Championships being staged in Pruszkow, Poland from 25 to 29 March 2009.

Tess Downing (Carnegie Caulfield CC), who claimed two medals at the recent Australian track championships, was named to the Track Endurance 'Long Team', which will be reduced when final selections are be made for all track endurance events by 12 March by national track coaches after the pre-Worlds camp.                                

CYCLING - Inaugural Women’s Omnium a huge success

With some of the worlds best lighting up the board's during the Track World Cup at Melbourne's HiSense Arena in November 2008, it was time for Victorian women's cyclists to shine at the Inaugural Victorian Women’s Omnium Championships.

Presented by CycleSport Victoria in conjunction with the Brunswick Cycling Club at Darebin International Sports Centre, the event attracted an entry field of almost 50 women across all categories from junior 15 to masters.  All cyclists contested five events - Flying 200m, Scratch Race, Individual Pursuit, Points Race and Time Trial - with a consistent performance required across all the sprint and endurance events in order to have a chance to take the title.

And surprising all in attendance was Beijing Olympic Games silver medallist Anna Meares.  The former world and Olympic Champion, who was in Melbourne for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup, said she was thrilled to take time out to visit the Women’s Omnium to show her support for women in the sport.

“It’s great to see this type of competition being run for the girls,” said Meares, adding, "Cycling events have traditionally been geared towards the men, so it’s good to see women being encouraged to race with events organised specifically for them.”

Amy McCann, 24 November 2008                                            

SURFING - Stephanie Gilmore new Women’s ASP World Champion

Gilmore radiated a sense of quiet satisfaction at Hawaii's Sunset Beach after snatching victory in the second-last event of the women's World Tour, the Roxy Pro.

"It's an incredible feeling. I'm having trouble explaining how good it feels," Gilmore said after unleashing an 8.50 scoring wave late in final to overtake Brazil's Silvana Lima in 1.5m waves.  With her main rival, Sofia Mulanovich, eliminated in the quarter-finals and Layne Beachley beaten in the semi-finals, the win gave Gilmore an unquestionable lead in this year's world standings.

The Kingscliff surfer became the first rookie to win the ASP world title in 2008 and said she wanted to prove to herself that it was not a one-off.  "The two world titles are just different," she said.  "The first was fresh and new and, even though I was a rookie, there was quite a lot of expectation.

While waves were scarce during the final, Gilmore held her nerve and latched on to "the best wave" of the final as the clock wound down.   "Silvana was leading the final . . . then I saw this little lump out the back and I knew it would be good when I was stroking into it.

Now with two world crowns to her name, Gilmore has the chance to create her own dynasty in the mould of fellow Australian and seven-time world champion Beachley.

Following Roxy Pro, the ASP Women’s World Tour Ratings are as follows:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 6348 points
2 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 5233 points
3 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 5138 points
4 – Layne Beachley (AUS) 5006 points

Katie Peart, December 03, 2008                                            

BASKETBALL - Graf new Opals coach

Carrie Graf (currently head coach of the ladder-leading Canberra Capitals in the WNBL) has been handed the task of leading the Opals to an elusive Olympic gold medal after being named the new coach of the Australian women's basketball team in December 2008.

Graf will be in charge for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 London Olympics as part of her four-year tenure. The Opals have won consecutive Olympic silver medals in Sydney, Athens and Beijing where they were unable to overpower the might of the USA.

"Overcoming the might of the USA at world championship and Olympic competition will be our main challenge," Graf said upon her appointment.  "However, with strong leadership focused on building team unity in an effort to overcome a more talented opponent at the critical time, it is do-able."  "We must and will find ways to win."

Graf, who was named WNBL coach of the year in 2007 and 2008, became the most successful coach in that competition earlier this year when Canberra won its opening round.

She has won five WNBL Championships as head coach and five as a player.  This was the fourth time that Graf, who also coached Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA for two seasons, had applied for the Opals job.

"It's no secret that Carrie has wanted the Opals head coaching job for some time and it gives us great pleasure to announce that her time has come," Basketball Australia chief executive Scott Derwin said.

"The Opals have achieved great success over the past decade and we expect that tradition to continue under Carrie's leadership."

Sportal, 11 December 2008         

WOMEN’S INITIATIVES

FOOTBALL - FFV launches VPL & WPL

Football Federation Victoria launched its 2009 Victorian Premier (VPL) and Women Premier League’s (WPL) on Sunday 22 February 2009, almost 125 years ago to the day that football was born in Victoria.

The celebration saw the unveiling of all 12 current VPL and the nine WPL club strips, along with special guest speakers including former Socceroos Alan Davidson and Jack Reilly, and current Matilda’s goal-keeper Melissa Barbieri.

FFV President, Mr Tony Dunkerley, said the role of both the women’s and men’s premier league’s remained vitally important in the current evolution of football in not only Victoria, but Australia.

”The WPL comprises some powerful teams, some of which are stand alone clubs like Bendigo Vipers and Casey Comets –but all of which are part of the rapid improvement of the women’s game in Victoria and Australia.”

Dunkerley also stated, as well as being showcases of high-quality football, the VPL and WPL also have vital roles in producing the new generation of elite footballers in Victoria and beyond.

The competitions enable many players throughout the state to fulfil their potential because they are crucial stages in the pathway from junior competition, to the A League and W League, international clubs and ultimately to representing Australia on the world stage.

Monday 23 February 2009 | http://www.footballfedvic.com.au/storyview.php?id=2167                   

SOFTBALL – BackSoftball Campaign

The BackSoftball campaign underlined its credentials to return the sport to the Olympic Games program with its latest initiatives to promote the popularity of softball among women around the world.
 
The International Softball Federation (ISF) marked International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March 2009 with an endorsement from BackSoftball Task Force Co-Chair Donna de Varona, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Women in Sports Commission.
 
Ms. de Varona said, “I have long been passionate about the importance of promoting equality in sport.  Because softball caters to a multitude of talents and is adaptable to many venues it offers a unique participation opportunity.  Since the addition of softball on the Olympic programme in 1996, participation worldwide has doubled.  A sold out venue for the women’s fast pitch Olympic competition in Fengtai Softball Field in Beijing last August when Japan captured the gold medal is testimony to the growing popularity of the game.
 
 The ISF shares the IOC’s vision to make female participation in sport and sports administration a priority, with among several other examples:

• Stella Ackrell having become British Softball Federation President in 2008
• Sue Noble appointed CEO of Softball Australia at the beginning of 2009
• Rosa Hilda Quan de Vigil recently becoming the El Salvador Softball Federation's new secretary general
• Portugal Softball Federation President Sandra Monteiro having just been elected to the executive board of the Portuguese Olympic Committee.

Of the members of the ISF Executive Council, 33% are female, including the ISF’s Deputy Secretary General Low Beng Choo (Malaysia), who will be one of four female representatives that softball will have in their seven-person delegation at the upcoming SportAccord in Denver, Colorado (USA) (March 23-27).
 
All of this is further proof of the ISF’s commitment to extend the reach of softball after a hugely successful Beijing Olympic Games last year, which enjoyed sell out crowds. The gold medal game of the women’s fast pitch event won by Japan over USA captivated huge television audience around the world.
 
For further information contact ISF Director of Communications Bruce at [email protected] or David at [email protected]. | http://www.sportsfeatures.com/index.php?section=press-point-view&title=SOFTBALL%20UNDERLINES%20OLYMPIC%20VALUES%20&id=48771        

CRICKET/SURFING - Matt Hayden and Layne Beachley’s Beach cricket match

With the help of the Layne Beachley Aim For The Stars Foundation, a new breed of female sports heroes will have their names on the lips of the nation this season. In a show of camaraderie for women in sport, Australia’s top female cricket and surfing champions battled it out in a beach cricket match to celebrate the ICC Women’s World Cup and surfing’s ASP Women’s World Tour at the LG Mobile Roxy Pro, at Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast both kicking off in March 2009.

The event was designed to celebrate up-and-coming Australian female sports stars and inspire girls and women across the country to dream and achieve. Teams included representatives from the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars and the ASP Women’s World Tour with world surfing veteran Matt Hoy as umpire.

Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars Cricketers  

• Matthew Hayden
• Ellyse Perry
• Alex Blackwell
• Delissa Kimmince
• Sarah Andrews

ASP Women’s World Tour Surfers

• Layne Beachley
• Steph Gilmore
• Jessi Miley-Dyer
• Sally Fitzgibbons
• Sam Cornish

Promoting women in sport and supporting the dreams of Australian girls is a cause close to the heart of seven time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley. In 2003, Beachley established the Aim for the Stars Foundation, "encompassing academic, sport, cultural and community pursuits, my foundation offers ambitious and dedicated females an opportunity to receive financial and moral support to help them achieve their goals," said Beachley, " it is important that women sports support one another and what better way than to play some beach cricket, look out Southern Stars!"    

          
NETBALL – New Elite Club Competition

Victorian netball took a bold step forward on Friday 13 March 2009 when a new elite club competition took  to the court.  After more than a decade as the state’s premier netball competition, the State League has been replaced by a revamped competition format - the Victorian Netball League - and 10 clubs are positioning themselves to claim the inaugural championship.

In 2007, when it was announced that Australia’s national league was to be replaced by a Trans-Tasman competition (with five Australian and five New Zealand teams), Victoria went from two teams at the elite level, the Phoenix and the Kestrels, to just one, the Vixens.  Most at the time felt that, if it was to remain the underpinning competition for Victoria’s elite team, the State League needed revamping.

A State League Advisory Group was established and, after months of careful consideration, it was decided that a 10-team competition, with each fielding a Championship Division, Division 1 and 19 and under team would be the best way to maintain a smooth pathway from grassroots netball to the elite level.

Clubs would be expected to meet rigorous criteria with greater emphasis on the off-court support structures needed for players and coaches to perform at their best.  When the initial dust had settled, the first 10 licences were awarded.  Ballarat Pride, Boroondara Genesis, Geelong Cougars, Hume City Falcons, Monash University Central, North-East Blaze, Peninsula Waves, Southern Saints, VU Western Lightning and Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels signed-on as the Class of ‘09.

A hectic pre-season tournament has just concluded and the 10 clubs are fit and ready for action.

David Turner: 10 March 2009 | http://whitehorse-leader.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/the-talk-is-over4/   

AFL Fair Game – Respect Matters

For many women the football club is a place where they can spend time, share interests and memorable moments with their families.

 Women play varied and important roles within football clubs and are involved within the community for numerous reasons including; their children playing in the local league, spending time with their husbands and partners as well as supporting their team. The one shared characteristic among women involved in footy is their deep and abiding love of the game. Women continue to want to be involved as members, spectators, coaches, umpires, volunteer committee members, social club members, trainers, officials, team managers and staunch supporters.

AFL Victoria has developed a partnership with VicHealth and ARCSHS (La Trobe University’s Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society) to implement the ‘Respect and Responsibility: Creating Quality Environments in Community Football Clubs’ to be branded as the ‘Fair Game – Respect Matters Program’ (FGRM) over the next two years.

The FGRM Program has a strong focus on primary prevention, particularly interventions to change behaviour and environments to ensure women’s safety. For more information of this program or to be added to the electronic news distribution list, contact Kaylee: Development Communication and Partnership Coordinator or 03 8663 3009 or email [email protected]

FOOTBALL - Cameroon takes home Women Win award

Cameroon was awarded a 5000 euro Women Win prize in a presentation at Federation Square in February, held in conjunction with the Homeless World Cup (HWC). Each of the eight women's teams competing at the HWC put forward an idea for a sustainable community project which promoted the development and empowerment of women.

Cameroon’s project was to equip a community centre, which the women footballers built, with materials that enable women's literacy and skill training for income generation (such as dress-making) was voted the winner by the other teams.

The uplifting presentation was complete with African singing and dancing, and the Ugandans joined in by adding their own bongo drum. But the aim of the award was not just fun and games, as each team addressed the serious and often frightening issues that women face in their communities each day.

In another proposed project, Paraguayan player Elisa Noelia Caceres Gamarra was optimistic about her team’s ability to make changes back home. “We want to go home and teach other girls to play soccer,” she said. “We want to show them how to stay away from drugs and have fun with sport.”

Women Win is an International Women’s Fund that supports sport and physical activities to bring about social change and women’s empowerment.

“Sport is enormously powerful,” explains Women Win program director Cindy Coltman. “It builds self-confidence, leadership and gives opportunity to access information and resources. These girls are an amazing testament to how sport has changed their lives.”

Emily Day and Stephanie Rhodan, 5 December 2008

GRANT INFORMATION - Women Win

The IWG is pleased to announce their partnership with Women Win for the funding of sporting projects for the empowerment of women and girls in the lead up to the 5th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport, Sydney 2010.

The total amount of grants available over the period to 2010 through this partnership is 75,000 Euro with individual grants expected to range from approximately 3,000 – 9,000 Euro.

Women Win is the first fund of its kind advocating for and defending women’s human rights through the financial support of innovative, self-initiated activities that use sport as a strategy for women’s and girls’ empowerment.

Applications are now being accepted through the IWG.  You will find links to the grant procedures and application forms here.  

The deadlines for the submission of applications in 2009 are 30 April 2009, 31 July 2009 and 31 October 2009.  Applications received following the deadline will be considered in the next period.

There are two types of project grants that organisations can apply for.  There is a separate grant application for each of these types of project grants.

1. Program Implementation grants: Support programs or pilots that implement sport programs for girls and women.
2. Social enterprise grants: Build social enterprises led and initiated by women that link sport to creating an income for girls and women and their organizations.
 
A selection of successful funded projects will be showcased at the 2010 World Conference on Women and Sport in Sydney.

In order to meet the IWG’s strategic objective relating to the focus on the Oceania region, there will be some preference given to projects within this region although this does not exclude applications from other regions including Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.

GETTING INVOLVED

LEISURE NETWORKS - Women Sport Leadership Workshop

Following the success of the Women’s Sport Leadership Workshop in 2008, Leisure Networks, supported by the Australian Sports Commission, is pleased to offer this opportunity again to women in sport across the Barwon Region.

Flyer

LEADERSHIP VICTORIA – Skills Bank

What is SkillsBank?

SkillsBank provides Leadership Victoria Alumni (some 700+ individuals) with the opportunity to actively give back to the community, offering not for profit and community organisations their skills and expertise pro bono.

The emphasis is on the provision of advice and support. Our Alumni have work, family and community commitments, therefore the purpose of their voluntary contribution to an organisation is to support and strengthen the capacities of its staff or members, rather than to undertake significant hands-on work themselves.

Ideally LV Alumni will work on an immediate problem within the organisation but in the process transfer their skills, knowledge and contacts to that organisation.

Each year over 60% of Williamson Fellows contribute to the community via Leadership Victoria’s SkillsBank. In 2008, 387 individual SkillsBank placements in more than 130 non profit organisations took place.

SkillsBank offers a variety of skilled volunteer opportunities including:   

• Mentoring – LV Alumni are well placed to act as mentors for CEOs and senior management of not for profit organisations.
• Board Placements – Not for Profit groups may request the assistance of SkillsBank in locating a Fellow/Associate with the requisite skills to join their Board or Committee of Management.
• Projects – SkillsBank is able to develop teams of people to assist with a variety of challenges faced by organisations including guidance on organisational development, strategic reviews, advice on marketing, sponsorship, public profile or facilitating ideas and planning workshops.

Can SkillsBank help your organisation?

Requests for assistance come to SkillsBank from organisations with a wide variety of purposes:

• providing welfare services
• protecting the environment or restoring a heritage building
• presenting arts performances
• promoting the needs of people with a particular disability or health condition

Often the organisation has reached a particular stage or impasse in its development and needs the perspective of outsiders, or a new set of professional skills, to help it to continue to grow. This contribution is made when a Fellow/Associate joins their Board or a team of people work with the organisation on a particular project.

SkillsBank can provide:

• guidance with organisational development issues and strategic reviews
• advice on developing public profile, marketing and sponsorship
• ideas sessions and ‘think tanks’, to help clarify plans or projects
• guest speakers on a variety of topics
• advice and support for "one-off" seminars/events
• membership of boards, councils or committees of management using the specific skills of Alumni including legal, marketing, urban planning, financial and business skills

SkillsBank gives preference to requests for assistance which:

• demonstrably add value to an organisation and to the Victorian community
• require LV Alumni to give advice and support to an organisation’s staff or members
• offer opportunities for the continuing learning and leadership development of our Fellows/Associates

SkillsBank DOES NOT help with projects seeking:

• to lobby governments
• to provide direct financial assistance to an organisation such as fundraising
• to provide direct benefits outside Australia
• work that is clearly part of the day-to-day activities of an organisation if the organisation has a capacity to pay for consultancy advice.

SkillsBank application forms and guidelines can be downloaded from the Leadership Victoria website www.leadershipvictoria.org or if you have any specific questions contact Margaret Wyrill, SkillsBank Coordinator, on 96516593 or email [email protected]                                       

PRICE OF AUSTRALIA MEDAL 2009 – Nominate Today

Ordinary Australians do extraordinary things throughout our communities. They are our nation’s unsung heroes. Their contribution is not widely known or recognised by the general public but through their achievements these remarkable Australians inspire all of us, as individuals and collectively, to help make our nation a better place to live.

The prideofaustralia™ medal honours people who give of themselves without fear or favour; people deserving of our thanks and recognition; people deserving of a prideofaustralia™ medal.

Now in its fifth year, the prideofaustralia™ medal is made up of ten categories - Outstanding Bravery, Emergency Services, Community Spirit, Child of Courage, Young Leader, Care and Compassion, Inspiration, Environment, Fair Go and the Serving Australia.

The winner of each of these categories will be rewarded with a unique sterling silver prideofaustralia™ medal at a special ceremony held in each State and/or Territory.

The prideofaustralia™ medal has grown from strength to strength and has uncovered many heart-warming, inspiring, courageous stories about everyday people whose extraordinary actions make us all proud to be Australian.

To nominate someone or for more information about the Medals visit www.prideofaustralia.com.au

Help to recognise and celebrate these great Australians. Nominations close Monday 13 April 2009.           

CITY OF CASEY – Women’s Sport and Recreation Initiative Cranbourne

City of Casey is working in partnership with Sport and Recreation Victoria to develop and implement programs and activities in the Cranbourne area that provide young mothers and teenage girls the opportunity to participate in sport and active recreation in a fun and friendly environment.

New programs are being implemented in the Cranbourne area and these are attached below. Through this initiative existing programs will also be promoted through regular updates and promotional material circulated throughout the community. Leadership opportunities, workshops, coaching courses and training will be on offer throughout the year dependant on what people are interested in being involved in.

For further information or to provide feedback contact the Women’s Sport and Recreation Project Officer on 9705 5200 or email [email protected].

Flyer

BASEBALL – Women’s Winter Baseball at Doncaster BC

Are you interested in playing women’s baseball this winter?

Doncaster baseball club, currently the largest summer based women’s baseball program in Australia is looking to enter a team in the Baseball Victoria (BV) women’s winter league for the first time. The BV league will start early May and finish in August 2009, playing on Sunday afternoons from 1pm - 3pm.  Team training will be held once a week at Deep Creek Reserve in Doncaster East.  

Women and girls, over 14 years of age and of all abilities are encouraged to play! The team will be coached by current Australian, Victorian and Doncaster player Amy McCann.

The league provides a great opportunity for those looking to fine tune their skills for the summer season, or those wishing to give baseball a go for the first time.  It is a great friendly atmosphere and you will meet new friends and have great fun.

If you are interested in playing the season or know anyone who may be interested, drop Doncaster Baseball Club an email at [email protected] or call Amy McCann on 0425 758 989.

BADMINTON - Mutlicultural Programs

In November 2008, Ballarat Badminton Association (BBA), in conjunction with Badminton Victoria ran its first badminton come and try day for new arrival and refugee families. The day was attended by over 100 students from Ballarat‘s ESL classes, Primary and High Schools.

Following this success, BBA are coordinating classes for mothers and their preschool aged children designed to help new arrival and refugee families gain the necessary skills to actively participate in community based sporting program. This program is well supported by the Ballarat Sudanese community.

Contact Badminton Victoria for more information: www.badmintonvic.com.au

ATHLETE PROFILES

KARATE – Katelyn Boyd, Kayla Giampino and Georgie Goodchild

Katelyn Broyd, Kayla Giampino and Georgia Goodchild made up Australia’s “Golden Girls” 14 – 15 years kata team who competed and won first place at the Oceania Championships in September 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Katelyn has been training in Karate since September 2001, Kayla since March 2002 and Georgia since July 2004.  During this time all three ladies have individually become heavily involved in the competition circuit and have all been members of the Victorian State Team at varying times achieving a great deal in their Karate careers’.

To achieve such success these three young ladies have had to work to a disciplined schedule and have had to juggle the pressures of high school whilst training five – six days per week under the guidance of Sensei Dominic Sculli (Shito-Ryu Karate-Do International).

Our “Golden Girls” competed against New Zealand in the finals and won 5 – 0 flags performing Jion with Bunkai.
 
It hasn’t always been an easy path to travel and there have been a few hurdles along the way.  Kayla’s training schedule has, on occasion, been interrupted as she suffers Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes which has resulted in a general lack of energy, her blood sugars being out of kilter and lethargy but she has pushed through this barrier to prove that this illness will not deter her from what she really wants.

Georgia has also faced many challenges along the way.  She has a cholestiatoma which means that she is deaf in her right ear.  Georgia has had a radical mastoidectomy and has no balance bones in her right ear.  She has undergone four major operations and now wears a hearing aide.  With her equilibrium out, maintaining balance during kata has been a major hurdle for Georgia but she worked on this area to ensure that it did not impede her performance.

Both Kayla and Katelyn are aiming for team selection for the 2009 Junior Karate World Championships in Morocco and we wish them every success. The commitment and dedication to fitness and competition required to participate at such a level and to represent Australia is testament to all three of these young ladies.

By Lisa Sculli: www.btbmartialarts.com.au                                         

MOTORSPORT – Leanne Tander

The best known of the current crop of Australian women drivers is Leanne Tander, the 28-year-old wife of V8 Supercar ace Garth, the 2007 V8 champion.  Since 14 years of age, Leanne has been racing and knows only too well how difficult it is to get sponsorship, support and earn credibility in an overwhelmingly male dominated arena.

Even though she has some significant advantages - her marriage to one of the sport's biggest names gives her more leverage with the media and sponsors than other girls - she still finds the going tough. She is currently trying to put together a $500,000 budget to run a V8 Supercar in next year's Fujitsu Series, the second tier championship for up and coming young drivers or those who cannot crack a seat in the main V8 game.

"Being female has its pros and cons," Tander says. "You definitely get more media attention so that can be good to help with sponsors and for your profile. On the other hand it can be a bad thing because if you do something wrong people know about it."

"I still get people coming up to me now and telling me they remember me knocking them off in a go-kart race in 1995. Do they remember every guy that hit them off? I doubt it, but a girl they remember."

Leanne also admits that having a famous partner is a help. "Its good for both of us to be able to work the PR angle and its something different, something no one else has got. It helps build our profile and be more attractive to sponsors. If they are going to come on board with me they can have an association with Garth as well. I don't see that as negative."

She got her biggest break back in 2001 as a 21-year-old when she had a season running in the Konica Series. That drive was with the Garry Rogers Motorsport team who in 2000 won Bathurst with Garth Tander at the wheel of the team's Commodore alongside Jason Bargwanna.

Tander's proudest memory in her career so far is the day she won a Formula Ford race at Phillip Island, defeating Luke Youlden and Will Power, who has won Indycar races in the Champ Car series in America.

"Its one of my favourite pictures. Neither of them looked overly thrilled, but I love it. I finished third to Luke Youlden and Rick Kelly in the 2000 championship and I was the first girl to get on the podium of a CAMS Championship. From that I got the drive with Garry Rogers in the V8s in 2001."

Currently running a Tandersport entry in the Australian formula three championship (she has finished runner-up for the past two seasons), her long-term aim is still to race against her husband in the main V8 championship.

"I would like to move into the main game eventually. Whether it happens I am not sure. Everybody is struggling with the economy, so to get a drive you need to take some money in. At the entry level you really need the dollars.

"To drive fast its not a question of strength or power. It's about tactics, race craft, intelligence, speed, knowing how to drive a car in the right conditions.

"We can learn all those things through experience."                                   

Michael Lynch, January 11, 2009 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/01/10/1231004363152.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

FOOTBALL - Cheryl Salisbury

Cheryl Salisbury...the most-capped Australian player - male or female - of any football code

If Cheryl were a man, she would have been sitting pretty by now. Her athletic frame would have graced the cover of magazines and her bank balance would be fat with lucrative sponsorship deals. Instead the 34-year-old captain of the Matildas, the Australian women's national football team, works full-time in sales and is struggling to save for her first home.

"My male counterparts are earning more in one week that our whole team earns, at their day jobs, in a year," Salisbury says. "It frustrates me no end the inequalities in sport due to the sex you are born. But then I wouldn't change my life in any way for the things I have seen and done."

It's this kind of attitude that makes Salisbury the extraordinary sportswoman she is. The long-serving Matildas captain is also the skipper and assistant coach of the Newcastle Jets – 1/8 of the new Australian women's football league, the W-League.  She is the most capped Australian player (male or female) of any football code. She has played 152 times for her country and has an enviable record as a defender overseas. Her player stats say it all: four World Cups, two Olympic Games and national selection in Australia, the US and Japan.

Yet her name and face is less well known than most male sport stars, let alone female champions such as golfer Karrie Webb, basketballer Lauren Jackson or netballer Liz Ellis.  "In a country obsessed with counting the success of our sporting heroes she has never had the attention due her," says her friend and former colleague Brian O'Heir. "She has played more times for Australia than any male or female in any football code. Her achievements dwarf that of any male in Australia. No male soccer player has ever been chosen to play for the FIFA All Stars. She has, twice."

It may be Cheryl’s humble nature that has led to her low public profile. Work and training come first. Then there is dinner with her parents, walking her dog, surfing and spending time with friends. Publicity ranks well down on the list, not that she is reticent to speak out on the topic that rankles her most - inequality in the world game.

"My biggest regret in years to come will be that I have all this knowledge and life experience sitting untouched, as memories," she says. "That I was never really able to share it, and inspire the masses of young girls or let them know how wonderful football is."

The new W-League may be her last chance. After 17 years in peak form, Cheryl is nearing retirement. Her knees have caused trouble since 2003 and her sales job with Nike means she has little recovery time. "My goal is to get through the league," she says, after a long day at work and a long night at training.   "I'm just taking it one week at a time. There are very few girls who have played at 36 or 37. It's very much dependent on your body."

The original women's league folded in 2003. Even in the US, where Salisbury played with the Memphis Mercury and later New York Power, the well-financed W-League ran out of steam due to poor crowds. "It's a vicious circle," she says. "We're told we need more spectators, but how do we get more spectators when it's not advertised? And why is it not advertised? Is there no money left over for women's sport?"

This time around, there has been no shortage of advertising. Sexy airbrushed images of girls with long locks, short shorts and legs akimbo crowd the W-League's homepage. The ball seems almost an afterthought. But it's better than no league at all, Cheryl says.  "Things have definitely changed but at the same time the distance between the men's and women's games has got even further apart.

"They may only play half a game but their minimum wage is $45,000. I've never earned $45,000 in Australia playing football in my life."  It's tough for a footballer as experienced as Salisbury. But then, she's always pitted herself against boys. Growing up in Newcastle in the late 1970s, she was the only girl on the Lampton Jaffas club team. She was 18 before she played against other women, picked in the national team to play against Japan.

Recently, Salisbury spotted a flyer for the Lampton Jaffas. It had the heading: 'Do you want to be the club's first ever Australian player?" "I was thinking, aren't you forgetting someone?" she says, clearly mortified. "They just didn't click. But it happens."

It's happened right the way along for Salisbury. After the hype of qualifying for the Sydney Olympics, she and her teammates found themselves yesterday's heroes. "The build up was nothing like anyone had ever seen," she says. "We were training full-time at the Institute of Sport in Canberra. Then afterwards we were shipped off back to our home states and left for dead. We were actually gone, and forgotten."

At the time, Salisbury was living in Adelaide. She was "shipped home" to unemployment and no club team. The men's club teams refused to let her play so she had a choice between the under-14 boys and the women's "kick and giggle". "At 1.8 metres and 72 kilograms, I was too big and strong for the boy's team and the women's team was kick and giggle," she says. "At the same time I couldn't find a job. That was the lowest point of my career."

Salisbury lodged a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission but when the time came for a determination, she had left for the US. "I even turned my back on the Matildas," she admits. "I thought: 'Do I want to play three games in France with the Matildas and come back to nothing or do I want to play in the US?"  

In the end, two years in the US was just the boost Salisbury needed. Her renewed spirit helped the Matildas qualify for the 2003 World Cup and then the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2006 she helped Matildas prepare for the 2006 World Cup. They made it to the quarter-finals, before losing 3-2 to Brazil.  "We actually beat Brazil earlier this year," Salisbury adds. "If the Socceroos had beaten Brazil they would have been on the cover of every newspaper and magazine. The men's team can lose cricket and soccer and they are still on the front cover."

Still, it did not stop the Matildas being called into question over their failure to qualify for Beijing.  "It's one of those things," says Salisbury, sighing. "We worked so hard to get to the 2006 World Cup - all the obstacles and beating the better teams - that after we qualified for that we started to think we were better than we were. For me it would have been my third Olympics . . ."

Clearly, the Olympic Games represent unfinished business for Salisbury. Next time, perhaps, it will be as coach.

Erin O'Dwyer: 30 November 2008