OVER the past few days I have become aware of different noises that have been vacant from my life for quite a while. Staying near the local primary school, it was lovely to hear screams of delight as children met up with their friends for the first time in nearly six months. Everyday sounds that we took for granted are now coming back, and it gives us more hope that our lives are getting back to some sort of normality.
The worry for me is, what will be the new normal look like for women in sport? Whilst we had made great strides forward, there is a school of thought that we might be taking a backward step in the coverage of women in sport as we emerge out of lockdown, particularly when you read that newspaper circulations have crashed by 13 million in the past decade.
However, my cup remains half-full and this week the good news comes courtesy of BBC Alba, which has launched an exciting new digital women’s sports programme called 360, which went out for the first time last Thursday.
Alba has been the saviour of football, rugby and shinty, covering the women’s side of these sports for several years now. The 38 episodes of 360 will allow even more news, views and interviews to be aired. Iona Ballantyne, a long term football fan and all-round lover of sport, presents the programme showcasing the success our women in sport have achieved. This will ensure that our sporting role models can reach a wider audience and encourage more young girls to get involved in sport.
So now when the kids are out, and the jackets down for goalposts, young girls will no longer have to revert to using male players as their knowledge base. They now have the chance to get to know the names of the Scottish women who play sport, by watching it on the platform of their choice.
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