Dr. Kristen hops on the blog to share her thoughts on the current women’s sports Era:
Women’s sports are having a moment and I could not be more delighted.
On St. Patrick’s Day, Erin Hinson, Ph.D. and I got to go to a Professional Women’s Hockey League game between Toronto and Montreal. For years, we’ve been hearing that women’s sports get less fans because the quality of the sport is lower. I can tell you without question that the quality of the hockey was exactly the same as the men’s game – and honestly, if you watch the Anaheim Ducks this season, the hockey is actually better.
This article outlines how the NCAA is going to interact with women’s athletics in the coming months and years and I urge you to read it. I also encourage you to pick a sport to follow and set up some ESPN alerts for it. I learned volleyball this year and it has been so much fun!
It also touches on the financial realities of women’s sports – they’re big business with the right investment. They founder without them – without television contracts, or start up capital – but they flourish with them. Get these teams on TV and watch the fandom grow.
I honestly could write a Atlantic-length essay on the importance of women’s sports from an burnout prevention perspective, but none of you want to read that on LinkedIn, so I’ll leave with this:
Allowing people to see ways they can belong, and providing pathways for that belonging, is special and holy stuff. We must foster those spaces and groups.
And for those who focus on financial ROI: look at how much money there is to be made when we do.
