The Evolution of Women’s Sports – New Delhi Times – India’s Only International Newspaper

Early women’s sports: Women have been involved in sports since the third millennium. In 2134-2000 BC, Egyptian temple walls showed women playing sports and ball games. The Heraean Games at the Olympiastadion in the 6th century BC were the first recorded athletic competitions for women. Women played hockey and cricket in 18th-century England. Modern women’s sports began in the 19th century.

Prominent ancient civilizations limited women’s social roles to housework and childcare. Gender discrimination and stereotypes discouraged women from participating in sports. Until 1874, it was believed that menstruation “periodically weakened” women to participate in sports. In the 1890s, upper-class women enjoyed horseback riding, archery, golf, tennis, skiing, ice skating, showboating, and swimming.

The college clubs sponsored mixed competitions between students (intramural), while social metropolitan clubs organized competitions between the institutions (extramural). Intramural, club, fraternity competitions and “play days” – special dates on which women played sports – were an example of sports participation for women in colleges. Gradually, colleges eliminated amateurism and turned athletics into big business to “put athletics back to the boys”!

Women’s sports faced a setback in the 1910s-30s to prevent the negative effects of sports on women’s health. The National Amateur Athletic Federation, the Amateur Athletic Union, and the Women’s Division-National Amateur Athletic Federation (NAAF) discouraged women from competing, breaking records, and gaining money in college, and promoted fun and character building. Intercollegiate competitions were designed to promote “playing for the game’s sake,” limiting prizes and travel, protecting players from exploitation, and discouraging “sensational” publicity. The motto became “every girl in a sport and a sport for every girl.”

The depression of the 1930s left millions of Americans unemployed, wiping out previous gains. Society defined women’s place “in the home” and outside the labor force.

Title IX: The first wave of feminism pushed women into competitive sports and equal treatment in athletics. Federal law (Title IX) eliminated sexual discrimination against women and girls in education and sports.

World War II in the 1940s sent American men to war. Women replaced men in the workforce. This increased their confidence in sports. The first professional women’s track and field team was born. The All-American Girls Baseball League, 1943, replaced Major League Baseball. Second-wave feminism expanded intramural and intercollegiate sports. Professional women’s sports organizations proliferated, and the NCAA oversaw women’s athletics into the 1970s.

During the “Gay Nineties” (1990s), women’s athletic clubs across America played croquet, archery, and badminton. The women’s basketball team and the University Extension Center in Atlanta were private women’s athletic clubs.

Olympic Games: The first Women’s World Games, London, 1887, consisted of five events: archery, tennis, croquet, fencing and Irish dancing. Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympic Games to showcase the physical strength and endurance of men. Thus, the rebirth of the Olympic movement saw male athletes compete at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Female athletes were banned from competing, but made their debut at the second modern Olympic Games, Paris, 1900. England’s Charlotte Cooper became the first female individual gold medalist, while Hélène de Pourtalès of Switzerland became the first female Olympic sailing champion. Only 22 female athletes competed.

The International Swimming Federation (ISF) became the first major sports federation to include women in swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics. For the 2012 Summer Olympics, each national Olympic committee sent a female athlete in all events. The 2016 Rio Olympics featured two events for women only: synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics; only equestrian and sailing events featured men and women competing against each other. The 2024 Paris Olympics will be the first Games to feature gender-equal participation. Of a total of 10,500 athletes, 5,250 will be men and 5,250 women. From zero female athletes in 1896 to 5,250 (50% of the total number of participants) in Paris (2024), the journey has been long and fascinating.

Winter Olympics: The first Winter Olympics had only 11 women competing, out of a total of 258 athletes! The 2010 Winter Games had 1,044 female athletes, breaking the 1,000 barrier for the first time. Beijing 2022 will be the most gender-balanced Winter Olympics, with a total of 91 NOCs represented by 2,902 athletes, including 1,315 women (a record number and a record percentage of 45) of women athletes at the Winter Olympics appearing in a record percentage of 53 percent of women’s events! A game-changer for gender equality in winter sports! The Summer and Winter Olympics – two of the world’s most important sporting events – have shown rapid progress in female participation at the Olympic Games.

Popular women’s sports: Tennis, basketball, soccer, hockey and softball are popular among women. Girls love basketball, soccer, swimming and tennis. Wrestling is the most difficult but fastest growing women’s sport in the world and a sport that could be played at championship level by 2026.

Iconic female athletes: Inspirational female athletes and the Greatest of All Time (GOATs) who have popularized women’s sports include: Wilma Rudolph, Serena Williams/Venus Williams, Simone Biles, Steffi Graf, Billie Jean King, Nadia Comaneci (five-time Olympic gold medalist and the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10.0 at the Olympics), Lindsey Vonn, Katie Ledecky, Danica Patrick and Ding Ning. They have brought global recognition, financial success and elevated the status of female athletes. Tennis player Iga Świątek became the highest-paid female athlete in the world.

Indian story: Nilima Ghose was the first Indian woman athlete to compete in two events at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Hima Das (5 consecutive gold medals in 3 weeks); Mary Kom (the most successful boxer in the history of the world championship); P V Sindhu (the first Indian woman to win the Badminton World Championship); P T Usha (the “Queen of Indian Athletics” with 4 Asian gold medals and 7 silver medals); and Shafali Verma (15-year-old cricketer who won the Junior World Cup) have made India proud. The Indian contingent for the 2024 Paris Olympics will comprise 48 women athletes out of the total 117.

Interesting facts: The US was the first country to ever send more women than men to the London 2012 Olympics and won first place! Same strategy for the 2016 Rio Games; sent 292 female athletes – the largest female contingent in Olympic history! America came first with 121 medals; women’s medals outnumbered men’s! Women from 29 countries won more medals than men. Other countries followed the US strategy. Today, women dominate the Olympics. More female athletes means more medals!

Impact of women’s sports: Girls and female players gain confidence, self-esteem, positive body image and a higher state of psychological well-being. Increasing female participation removes gender bias, improves physical health, creates empowerment, develops leadership skills, facilitates community involvement and wins more Olympic medals. The landscape of women’s sports has changed dramatically. Women are now taken seriously as athletes and their achievements are models to inspire young girls.

Women’s sports today: Successful international and national events such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour and the US Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) championships attract audiences, media attention, visibility and popularity to women’s sports. Prominent female sports managers — Michele Roberts, Jeanie Buss, Kim Davis, Nicole Lynn and Kim Ng — have held high positions and made an impression with their leadership qualities.

Challenges for female athletes: Female athletes have faced a variety of challenges: different support for girls and boys, lower wages, unequal funding, underrepresentation in sports organizations, denied leadership roles, less media coverage, gender stereotypes, discrimination, and sexism. Girls in the 6-9 age group drop out by age 14 due to different reinforcement. Despite the obstacles, female athletes are breaking barriers, gaining popularity, and inspiring generations.

Gender equality: Agenda 2020: In 2014, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched Agenda 2020 to strengthen the involvement and leadership roles of women within the Olympic Movement, National Olympic Committees, and among athletes, coaches, officials and administrators. The IOC’s Gender Equality Review Project monitors progress towards gender equality within the Olympic Movement and its affiliated sporting organisations. The IOC, in collaboration with the International Federations (IFs), aims to achieve full gender equality by the next Olympic Winter Games, Milan Cortina, 2026.

The entire Olympic Movement supports the IOC’s commitment to gender equality at the Games. The IFs implement changes in their respective athlete quotas and event programmes. National Olympic Committees (NOCs) strive for gender equality among their delegations. Gender equality has two main goals: to facilitate access to sport in general and the Olympic Games for female athletes; and to increase the number of women in sports administration and management.

In September 2019, the European Commission launched the High-Level Group on Gender Equality in Sport to promote gender equality in sport across the European Union. Initiatives such as “SheIS” and “See Her” increase the visibility of women’s sports and challenge gender stereotypes in advertising and media.The path forward: Women’s sports have come a long way since the late 19th century and are growing in popularity and recognition worldwide. Girls and young women from all over the world are taking up sports and proving their worth on a level playing field. The future looks bright. Women are rapidly gaining the right representation in sports institutions, decision-making bodies and leadership positions in sports. A supportive environment for women of all backgrounds and identities can help them achieve their dreams on every playing field, court or field.

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