History of women’s sports
According to the Concordia at the University of Saint Paul, the history of women in sports varies between cultures; in ancient Greece, women were restricted and only allowed to participate in foot races at some festivals. However, Spartan women, certain African tribes, and American indigenous women were often permitted to participate in sports at the same level as men. Nevertheless, as time passed, the broad societal perceptions of women shifted, as did women’s place in athletics.
During the Victorian era of Western Europe, women were seen as soft and frail and therefore discouraged from doing strenuous physical activity. In fact, many believed that if women participated in sports, it would harm their reproductive organs, or that they should not waste energy on physical activity or higher education for fear of harming potential offspring. Though these misconceptions have long been disproved, they left a mark that still inhibits female athletes today.
Women have been actively working to expand the reach of women’s sports. Julia Jakubowski, sophomore, believes people do not watch women’s sports because of many of these preconceived notions about women.
“[I] honestly don’t know why [less people watch women’s sports] because I love watching women’s sports,” Jakubowski said. “Maybe because they think it’s less intense [or] less energetic because of the stereotypes of women. [People believe women] are just not as athletically inclined [as] men would be.”
While it is true that men are somewhat more athletically inclined, it is also true that women have some other physical advantages. According to the National Library of Medicine, women tend to have muscle fibers that fatigue less and tend to be more flexible. Women typically possess more muscular endurance than men, which may create a difference in the way certain sports are played.
Girls sports at Lake Zurich
Advances for women’s sports even exist within our local community. Recently, the school has worked to incorporate girls wrestling into this year’s athletic roster and possibly flag football and badminton next year. Chad Hay, coach of the girls wrestling team, believes in the importance of promoting women in sports.
“I’ve always been supportive of boys and girls both getting equal opportunities and especially having three daughters. I’m focused on [supporting] girls whether it’s wrestling or something [else]. So I’m always in huge support of just whoever is wanting to get involved,” Hay said.
Hay began his wrestling journey in fifth grade and continued into college at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Afterwards he began coaching at Conant High School and continued coaching there for 20 years then he took a break before returning with the Lake Zurich girl’s team.
”I am probably prouder of [the girls] than any other boys team I’ve coached for 20 years. […] We call all of the girls the pioneers of LZ because no one has ever done it,” Hay said. “[…] There’s such a bright future not just for this group, but as a program. We had nine girls this year and at the incoming freshmen night I had 16 girls signing up.”
Women’s College Basketball and the WNBA
Recently, viewership has increased across multiple women’s sports, particularly Women’s Basketball. According to the NCAA, the 2024 March Madness women’s title game had more viewers than the men’s averaging 18.7 million and peaking at 24 million on ABC and ESPN.
One of the most popular players is Caitlin Clark who played on the University of Iowa’s team and was the first-round draft pick for the WNBA draft. Molly Friesen, senior and basketball player, has recently committed to Washington University in St. Louis for basketball and is inspired by these advancements in women’s basketball.
“The fan base of [women’s basketball] is growing beyond just women’s basketball players who are watching women’s basketball, which is huge, because I think people are recognizing the entertainment value that can be brought to it just like a men’s game brings entertainment value,” Friesen said. “Watching a lot of the really big names in women’s basketball last year, for example, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are names that people know. Seeing those names become household names that people can recognize on a daily basis is a really big change and it will bring recognition to all women’s sports, not just basketball.”
As a fan of women’s basketball Friesen encourages other people to watch the sport, and many people have. According to ESPN Press Room, in 2024 engagement with WNBA-focused posts across ESPN accounts increased 413 percent from 2023 and video views increased by 642 percent.
“I’ve obviously been watching women’s basketball, especially just any college basketball since I was really young. But just like using social media to promote as much as I can, not just basketball, like women’s sports in general, and encouraging people to like to watch games, especially [during] March Madness,” Friesen said.
While the increase in support for women’s basketball may not seem like much, viewership across many women’s sports is booming, such as women’s Olympic sports and women’s soccer.
Uniforms
In general, the purpose of uniforms within sports is to create cohesiveness among the players. However, in Women’s sports uniforms are not always functional for the players and are often more skimpy. When women started to participate in sports during the early 20th century, their uniforms were often long corseted dresses, boots, and hats.
While this is not the standard nowadays, many women still experience discomfort in their uniforms. Nike received criticism for the high-cut bikini line bodysuit they designed for the summer 2024 Olympics, which many female athletes complained about for being revealing and uncomfortable for playing sports.
“Our society still [has] old standing stereotypes and standards, and with the media too if it’s getting media coverage obviously they’re gonna market the women how they always market the women,” Jakubowski said.
In 2018, Serena Williams wore a black bodysuit to the French open rather than the traditional tennis skirt. The bodysuit was highly criticized and ultimately prohibited because it was deemed “unacceptable” for her sport. Sometimes Jakubowski even finds the traditional tennis with a skirt uniforms to be uncomfortable at times.
“There [have] been some games where I’m tucking in the skirt into my under-shorts so I can have more focus on the actual game than how my clothes are hitting or brushing my skin,” Jakubowski said. “Skirts have always been a part of the tennis uniform [..], but I could definitely see how we could become more inclusive with our uniforms like having a shorts option. [They don’t] have to be like super thin shorts. It could be thick shorts, so [they] don’t ride up.
Women’s sports has made important improvements over last century. However, there is a still a long way to go to and it is important to recognize the women who have helped pave the path.
