Siren 34: Golf history, #WitnessFearless, my favourite sporting moment & more
A Women in Sport Collective
September 7-11 is Women’s Health Week in Australia.
Now more than ever, we need to look after ourselves and the wonderful women in our lives. Our health is always important, but while the current state of the world is keeping us apart and inside, health—physical and emotional—is something we really need to keep in check. And we know that’s no easy task.
The Women’s Health Week website says:
“With the stress COVID-19 has placed on everyone's lives, it’s now more important than ever to look after your overall health and wellbeing. This September, Women’s Health Week will be a great reminder to take time out to check in on your health and to keep making positive changes that can last a lifetime.”
The greatest thing that we co-founders have learnt through creating Siren is the value of relationships. The connections we’ve been able to form with more people in the women in sport community and the genuine friendships and allies we’ve made. These are invaluable.
So we’d like our community to use Women’s Health Week to check in on yourselves, check in on your friends, and use the power of this fabulous community that we have to give you the boost you might be needing or be that boost to a buddy who might need some support.
Check out the events and resources Women’s Health Week has on and know that we’re all out here, always, to look after each other. That’s why the women in sport community is so wonderful. We’ve got each other.
A happy little announcement
We’re very excited to announce a new naming partner this week! Welcome to the Siren family Game Legal!
Game Legal and Game Consulting are focused on delivering expert legal, governance, and strategic commercial advice to clients involved in sports, e-sports, and pop culture, as well as to businesses and for new start-ups which is the perfect fit for content creators like us.
Game Legal are now our proud naming rights partner of our Siren Call segment which each week provides a round-up of the week that was in the women in sport world and promotes the work of women covering women’s sport. We’re thrilled to partner with Game Legal and are very grateful for their support of the work we do.
If you’re interested in learning more about what we can provide in terms of sponsorship for your business, take a look at our options and don’t hesitate to reach out to us to see if we can tailor something for your needs.
In this issue
We speak to the Melbourne Vixens and Puma about the #WitnessFearless campaign/social movement that is challenging assumptions about netball. Kirby Fenwick has been back into the history books and has pulled together some fascinating stories for the history of golf. And Gemma Bastiani continues our series My Favourite Sport Moment with her fave.
Five stories from the history of women’s golf
By Kirby Fenwick
Women have been playing golf in Australia for more than 100 years. Here, we’ve pulled together five stories from the rich history of the game.
#WitnessFearless: How PUMA and Vixens have teamed up to promote women’s sport
By Kirby Fenwick & Gemma Bastiani
Kate Moloney in action for the Melbourne Vixens. Image: Eyes Wide Open Images Barry Alsop Photographer
PUMA and the Melbourne Vixens are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to supporting women in sport with the #WitnessFearless campaign.
My Favourite Sporting Moment: Why this one’s different
By Gemma Bastiani
Chloe Scheer in action with a packed crowd behind her. Image: Megan Brewer
There are countless sporting moments that stand out as significant, as important, as a favourite. What is mine? A landmark day in the 2019 season.
Halftime Huddle
This week Taylor and Sarah have a brand new episode for you with diver Anabelle Smith.
They chat to Anabelle about her journey to Olympic and Commonwealth Games success, and what it’s like being stuck inside in Melbourne during a pandemic when all the other competitors are back to training.
By The White Line
In only her fifth match photographing football, Rachel Bach was given the assignment to shoot her first Matildas game. Read about that life changing day in her latest instalment of the By The White Line Diaries.
The U.S. Open kicked off on September 1st and tennis legend Billie Jean King had some sage advice for the players competing in the COVID era.
Australian sailing team member Lisa Darmamin spoke to Mary Konstanopolous about her initiative to leave the waterways to Tokyo cleaner after every stop. We can always get behind an athlete with a cause, and Lisa’s passion for protecting her ocean ‘playground’ is certainly worth the read.
ICYMI, ‘Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back: Dilemmas of the Modern Fan’ by Jessica Luther and Kavitha Davidson was released into the world last week, heading directly onto your lockdown reading list. If you can’t wait for your copy to arrive, Jessica and Kavitha have released an excerpt from their chapter on sports media and representation to tie you over in the interim—happy reading!
This epic Twitter thread from the Australian Women’s Cricket team celebrates the 15 year anniversary of their first ever T20 International played against England! There’s nothing quite like a trip down memory lane, and this one marks something pretty special.
Kelli Underwood was back in the AFL commentary box to call for TV on Wednesday night and we’d like more of that, please!
With the NRLW kick off drawing closer every day, clubs have finally been given the green light to sign players and finalise their rosters for the 2020 season. Alicia Newton gives the breakdown on the tight contracting period and where key players are tipped to end up.
Huge, important, wonderful news from Brazil. This decision aligns with several other national football federations around the globe, including our very own in Australia. While it may not be right on time, it’s absolutely better late than never.
After an abrupt pause due to the pandemic, the 2020 World Triathlon Series resumed in Hamburg over the weekend and Australia was well-represented in the women’s race by powerhouse Natalie Van Coevorden. While restrictions meant Australia was unable to send a full team to the event, we are pretty stoked that Natalie was able to represent for the green and gold.
Yes, New Zealand! If we didn’t already have enough reasons to love our Kiwi neighbours, this world-first digital hub dedicated to women’s sports would seal the deal on our trans-Tasman love affair.
The Far Post podcast have dropped their first ever episode—football fans, this one's for you! Check it out here.
World Rugby have announced the funding of twelve women’s coaching internships prior to the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup and we are all here for it!
Collingwood Magpies star co-captain Madi Browne spoke with Jenny Sinclair in an exclusive interview detailing her mid-season retirement from netball and reflecting on her incredible career. Madi’s retirement truly marks the end of an era and we wish her all the best for her future off the court.
Several WNBA players are balancing motherhood with being world-class athletes in the WNBA bubble. Holly Rowe helps share their stories.
And congrats to academic Katie Taylor whose important work, “‘Here's the football heroine’: female American football players, 1890–1912” has just been published in Sport in History. We spoke to Katie earlier this year about her work on the history of women’s American football and it’s great to see added to the records!
Our hearts. We cannot.
Runner Up
We must say (with absolutely no bias whatsoever), this women’s sport ambassador has exceptional taste in merch!
And cheeky plug—we still have some badges available! You can buy them here.