The benefits of sports can feel obvious to people that have played sports, but it can be helpful to look back and analyze the reasons we enjoy sports and the ways in which sports can improve our lives. The focus of this article series is women in sports, with an eye on women of the Philippines in sports. This overview has a brief summary of each article in the series.
This article series is broken down into 6 parts, each linked here:
Part 1: The value of girls and women playing sports
Part 2: Being a fan of women’s sports
Part 3: Financing women’s sports
Part 4: Media coverage of women’s sports
Part 5: Women’s sports in the Philippines
Part 6: Personal note “It’s just a game”
Below is a brief overview of what can be found in each article.
Overview
The skills and lessons learned through sports are not gender specific, but girls currently participate in sports with much lower frequency than boys. Sports have a variety of health benefits, including lowering the risk of diabetes and heart related health problems. Sports also teach personal and social skills that are valuable in life and the business world. There are indications that playing sports boosts academic grades and make students more likely to want to become leaders in their community.
Women’s sports has all of the drama, tension, story lines, and competitiveness as men’s sports. Any of the reasons to be a fan of a sport are found in women’s sports. But it is important to note that women’s sports are different than men’s sports. In volleyball, men spike harder than women, resulting in less digs and shorter rallies; volleyball becomes slightly different game whether played by men or by women. For fans, there is crossover, but men’s and women’s sports appeal to people in different ways. Taste in sports is subjective; the differences between men’s and women’s sports should be highlighted at a level higher than physical differences so that people can point out specific reasons why they are or aren’t fans of a sport. I think that specificity can help women’s sports outreach and find new fans that they otherwise might not find.
Currently there is very little financial support for women’s sports. The bar for entering women’s sports as a sponsor is significantly lower than for most men’s sports. This provides a number of unique and creative opportunities for businesses looking to expand their brand awareness. There are a ways to enter the market at rather low prices. There is also the cultural aspect: supporting women will always positively reflect a brand’s moral attitude.
Similar to financing women’s sports, the media coverage of women’s sports is severely lacking. Media coverage is often cited by athletes, coaches, and pundits as an extremely important part of whether a women’s sports will succeed or not. Volleyball didn’t explode in popularity in the Philippines until games were being aired on national television. There are simple ways in which media coverage can be improved upon and creative opportunities for media publications to expand their own brands and standout against their competitors.
Girls and women in the Philippines are more likely to be obese or physically inactive than boys and men. Unsurprisingly, women have a higher rate of diabetes in the Philippines. I feel that the health benefits of sports are much needed. The Philippines itself provides unique opportunities for women’s sports and for athletes. In some ways there is a simpler path to becoming popular than in other countries such as the USA. There is a lot of potential for crossover into other fields such as modeling, acting, newscasting, hosting, marketing. And players and teams that compete internationally will find a much greater amount of support from their fellow countrymen. There are many examples of women’s athletes finding success in the Philippines, and plenty of room for more athletes to find success there in the future.
Part 1: The value of girls and women playing sports
Part 2: Being a fan of women’s sports
Part 3: Financing women’s sports
Part 4: Media coverage of women’s sports
Part 5: Women’s sports in the Philippines
Part 6: Personal note “It’s just a game”
(sources are listed under “Further Reading” in Part 6)
