TY - JOUR
T1 - The promotion of sporting opportunities for girls and young females and the implications for traditional female sports
T2 - a qualitative descriptive study
AU - Elliott, Sam
AU - Drummond, Murray
AU - Prichard, Ivanka
AU - Lewis, Lucy
AU - Drummond, Claire
AU - Litchfield, Catherine
AU - Mysko, Emilea
AU - O'Donnell, Kayleigh
AU - Truskewycz, Hayley
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The purpose of this paper was to explore the implications of the increasing range of sporting opportunities for girls and young females on traditional female sports such as netball. This paper emerged from a larger investigation and provided a qualitative descriptive account of the implications for netball based on individual interview and focus group data with 27 female participants (players, coaches, and administrators) in Australia. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken, leading to the development of four major themes: ‘being a cross-coder’, ‘team size matters’, ‘wavering attraction’, and ‘pathway aspirations. Pathways and opportunities that may impact on how netball clubs engage with the contemporary female sporting landscape are presented. Despite the growing number of other sporting opportunities available to girls and young females, support for netball among its participants remains stable. However, the netball community will need to respond to changing cultural, personal, and organisational forces if they are to sustain strong female participation into the future. Possible implications for coaches, clubs and associations and potential avenues forward are discussed.
AB - The purpose of this paper was to explore the implications of the increasing range of sporting opportunities for girls and young females on traditional female sports such as netball. This paper emerged from a larger investigation and provided a qualitative descriptive account of the implications for netball based on individual interview and focus group data with 27 female participants (players, coaches, and administrators) in Australia. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken, leading to the development of four major themes: ‘being a cross-coder’, ‘team size matters’, ‘wavering attraction’, and ‘pathway aspirations. Pathways and opportunities that may impact on how netball clubs engage with the contemporary female sporting landscape are presented. Despite the growing number of other sporting opportunities available to girls and young females, support for netball among its participants remains stable. However, the netball community will need to respond to changing cultural, personal, and organisational forces if they are to sustain strong female participation into the future. Possible implications for coaches, clubs and associations and potential avenues forward are discussed.
KW - Female
KW - participation
KW - netball
KW - retention
KW - pathways
KW - qualitative
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131642889&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17430437.2022.2080059
DO - 10.1080/17430437.2022.2080059
M3 - Article
SN - 1743-0437
VL - 26
SP - 920
EP - 941
JO - Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics
JF - Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics
IS - 5
ER -