The SiS Report - April '24
The sports report for sisters in sport
Hey Sis,
It’s been another huge month for women’s sport. At this point it feels like records are being smashed left, right and centre. It’s what we love to see! 📈
But it’s not only crowd numbers and viewerships that are sky-rocketing, we’re also seeing salaries increasing, investment growing, endorsement deals flowing and prize money multiplying 🤑
We cover it all in this month’s The SiS Report, so pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy the read ☕
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Love your SiS (Sisters in Sport) 💚
Top news stories of the month in the world of women’s sport 🗞️
Nike US women’s athletics uniform draws heat
Nike has come under fire for the skimpy design of its US Olympics team women’s track and field uniforms. The unitard design in particular drew criticism for its ultra-high cut leg that appears to provide minimal coverage to the groin area.
Nike has defended the design stating that athletes were consulted throughout the design process and offered the ability to input on the look and feel of the uniforms. The sportswear giant says each outfit was designed using 4D motion captured data to prioritise performance and breathability. Some athletes have rallied behind Nike saying the uniforms fit differently on the body, as compared to a mannequin, and that the coverage is adequate 🩱
South Carolina Gamecocks go undefeated to claim NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in record-breaking game
The South Carolina Gamecocks capped off a perfect season defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 87 to 75 to claim the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship this month.
A full-house at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio witnessed the match which drew a record 18.7 million viewers to become the most watched basketball game (men’s, women’s, college or pro) since 2019. The number of viewers rose by an astonishing 89% compared to last year’s championship game and was almost 4 million more than the men’s championship game which attracted 14.8 million ⛹🏾♀️
Saudi Arabia to host WTA women’s tennis finals through to 2026 with record prize money on offer
The next three editions of the WTA Finals from 2024 to 2026 will be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of a new agreement between the WTA and the Saudi Tennis Federation.
The 2024 finals will take place from November 2nd – 9th with a record $15.25 million in prize money on the table. The figure is a 70% increase on last year's $9 million and breaks the previous record prize purse of $14 million at Shenzhen in 2019. Further increases in prize money will be announced in 2025 and 2026.
Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are among those who have criticised the move saying the WTA's values were in stark contrast to those of Saudi Arabia and holding the event there would not represent progress but "significant regression" 🎾
Netball NZ rumoured to be considering return to trans-Tasman league in wake of slashed broadcast revenue
Netball NZ is reported to be in talks behind closed doors with Netball Australia about a return to trans-Tasman netball that could see up to three Kiwi franchises compete in the Suncorp Super Netball league.
It comes after Sky Sport slashed the broadcast deal to cover the ANZ Premiership by almost half leaving the league with serious financial woes heading into next season. Players have already been warned they could face pay cuts if Netball NZ is unable to source additional investment.
If an agreement is reached with Netball Australia it could mean New Zealand players could join Australian franchises without jeopardising their Silver Ferns eligibility 🇦🇺
Trans-Tasman series for Ice Fernz
The New Zealand Ice Fernz will take on the Aussie Flyers in a three-game international ice hockey series aimed at growing the sport down-under.
The New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation and Ice Hockey Australia are yet to confirm dates and venues, but say the series is in response to growing participation at domestic level and the need for more international competition 🏒
Tyla King re-signs with Dragons for NRLW
Black Ferns Sevens star Tyla King will make her return to the St. George Illawarra Dragons for the NRLW season after signing a two-year contract extension with the side.
King featured in all nine matches for the Dragons last season before making her debut for the Kiwi Ferns and going on to play three internationals before returning to rugby sevens 🐲
WNBA signs birth control brand Opill® as multi-year partner of the league
The WNBA has signed Opill®, a daily over-the-counter birth control pill, on a multi-year partnership deal as the league focuses efforts on social justice causes including reproductive health.
Opill® and the WNBA have launched a programme to reach college students across the US and educate them on reproductive health, equitable access and how voting influences reproductive health matters within communities of colour.
TVNZ signs multi-year partnership with Hockey NZ to broadcast women’s games live and free-to-air
Hockey NZ is the latest to sign a multi-year deal with TVNZ that will see games broadcast live and free-to-air.
The Black Sticks women’s test series versus Japan earlier this month was the first cab off the rank, with the Black Sticks men’s and domestic Premier Hockey League matches to follow suit 📺
Caitlin Clark joins Indiana Fever as number one WNBA Draft pick, but her salary raises eyebrows
The star of women’s college basketball Caitlin Clark surprised no one when she was the number one pick at the WNBA Draft earlier this month, but it is instead the number of zeros on her contract that has raised eyebrows.
Clark will join the Indiana Fever on a four-year rookie contract worth just US $338,000, around US $76,535 per year. By contrast, the NBA’s number one draft pick Victor Wembanyama signed a contract with a starting salary of $12.2 million to eventually make $55.1 million over four years.
Clark won’t struggle to pay the bills however, scoring a Nike deal reported to be worth US $28 million over eight years, including a signature shoe. The deal is believed to be the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player 💸
Champion shot-putter Lisa Adams calls time on career
Kiwi shot-putter Lisa Adams, 33, has announced her retirement from the sport effective immediately so that she can spend more time with her 11-year-old son Hikairo.
The World and Paralympic shot-put champion, who is the younger sister of Dame Valerie Adams, has enjoyed a glittering six-year career at the top including two para world titles, a Paralympics gold medal in Tokyo and a world record in the F37 shot-put 🥇
World Netball rules out transgender athletes from international netball
Transgender athletes have been ruled out of international netball after the release of a new policy from World Netball it says is to ensure the fairness and safety of the sport.
This is the first policy from the sport’s governing body that specifies rules around the participation of transgender and non-binary people.
It says a detailed review of the science and consultation with experts and members found that international netball is a “gender affected activity” necessitating the need for restrictions. Only athletes recorded as female at birth and transgender athletes who can establish to World Netball’s satisfaction that they have not experienced the biological effects of testosterone at any time will be allowed to participate.
Any competition beneath international level will be governed by individual nations and their own policies. Netball New Zealand has announced it will review its policy on transgender athletes, as under current guidelines trans athletes can play at the top level provided they get an exemption 🏐
World Rugby apologises after coaching model for women incites backlash
World Rugby has issued an apology in the wake of uproar over its publishing of guidance on how to coach women and girls which many cited as misogynistic and outdated.
The guidance was aimed at helping coaches to understand how men and women are different and how to adapt their coaching techniques, however much of it was found to be based on an 18-year-old academic review paper. World Rugby has since removed sections based on that research which included reference to how women respond to stress, their intellectual function, mental preferences and survival strategies 🤦🏼♀️
Three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker announces her retirement
Women’s basketball legend Candace Parker has announced her retirement, taking to Instagram to explain her decision just weeks out from the start of the WNBA season.
The two-time WNBA Finals MVP is also the only player to have won a WNBA championship with three different teams and finishes her career with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
After joining the WNBA as the number one pick in the 2008 draft, Parker went on to become the only player to have won both MVP and Rookie of the Year in that same debut season. She has since dominated the league, as well as winning Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2008 and 2012. She is now taking time to focus on business and will continue to serve in broadcasting roles with NBA TV and TNT 🏀
World Rugby considers introducing a smaller ball for women
World Rugby is assessing women’s training and playing data when using a smaller ball to establish whether it could spark improvements in speed and accuracy.
It says a size 4.5 ball, around 3% smaller than the existing size 5 ball, could be better suited to adult women’s hands which are typically 10% smaller than men’s.
Data has already been gathered during the Women’s Under-18s Six Nations where a size 4.5 ball was used and from trainings involving three Celtic Challenge sides.
The WNBA uses a ball one inch smaller in circumference than that used in the NBA for similar reasons. World Rugby says it will release the results of its findings in due course 🏉
Our feel good stories of the month. Let’s be honest, cake makes us feel good! 🍰
Lionesses reveal sign language on shirts as part of campaign with British Sign Language and sponsor EE
England’s Lionesses debuted special training tops displaying players’ names in sign language in their European Qualifier versus Sweden at Wembley Stadium earlier this month.
The campaign, in collaboration with British Sign Language and mobile phone provider EE, is aimed at making football more accessible to all fans and encouraging the use of sign language among deaf and non-deaf communities.
The signed player-worn shirts were sold via an auction on EE’s Instagram account with proceeds going towards the Royal Association for Deaf People. The campaign also features a series of videos where Lionesses teach viewers sign language phrases.
World Athletics announces prize money for Olympic gold medalists
World Athletics will become the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games starting with Paris 2024.
A total prize pool of US $2.4 million has been earmarked by World Athletics, sourced from funds it receives from the International Olympic Committee every four years as part of its revenue share allocation.
Gold medalists in each of the 48 athletic events in Paris will receive US $50,000, winning relay teams will split the prize purse, with World Athletics saying it plans to expand the rewards on a tiered level to silver and bronze medalists at the LA 2028 games. The move has drawn criticism, including from the head of cycling’s global governing body UCI, saying it goes against the spirit of the games and is a departure from solidarity with other international federations.
Liberty A-League becomes most attended season of any women’s sport in Australian history
The Liberty A-League now boasts the most-attended season of any women’s sport in Australian history, surpassing the AFLW’s previous attendance record from the 2023 season.
Since the season began in October last year, the Liberty A-League has drawn a total attendance of 284,551 fans, with the finals still to play on Saturday 4th May.
Tauihi basketball league announces international expansion and increased player payments
Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa has announced it will double player payments, amongst a raft of other changes to the league including opening it up to offshore teams and moving the season to a later window.
This year’s season will take place from October to December to avoid clashes with the national men’s competition and other top women’s leagues around the world.
Players will also have the potential to earn more than their male counterparts, with top performers in line to bank around $3,000 a week.
Teams from Australia and Asia are rumoured to be in talks to enter the league from next year.
The Sports Bra to franchise and expand with new investment
The Sports Bra, a pioneering sports bar dedicated to showing women’s sport based in Portland, Oregon, has announced plans to franchise and expand after receiving significant investment from a part-owner of Angel City Football Club.
Alexis Ohanian, a co-founder of Reddit, part owner of NWSL club Angel City and husband to Serena Williams, has invested funds that will help owner Jenny Nguyen open new locations throughout the US, and even internationally. The pair also stated that 100 percent of returns from the investment will be earmarked for donations to advance women’s sport.
Nguyen opened the Sports Bra in 2022 after a crowdfunding campaign covered the costs to open in the space of less than 10 days. Nguyen then made US $1 million in her first eight months of operation.
Netball Australia announces first ever First Nations national invitational team to compete at the Pacific Netball Series in June
Netball Australia has announced the establishment of an inaugural First Nations national invitational team aimed at providing equitable and accelerated opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netballers.
The team will be made up of 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netballers from across Australia who are already involved in high performance pathway programmes at state and national level.
The team will compete at this year’s Pacific Netball Series from June 10 to 15 at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena.
NSW Waratahs cap off perfect season to win fifth Super Rugby W crown
The NSW Waratahs have gone undefeated to claim their fifth Super Rugby W crown, beating the defending champions the Fijian Drua 50-14 in Brisbane.
The Drua were eyeing up a three-peat after booking their spot in the big dance with a semi-final win in front of a sold-out home crowd at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, Fiji. A massive 10,307 fans turned out to watch the two-time champions take on the Western Force in a double-header with the Fijian Drua men’s team versus the Hurricanes.
The Waratahs were too good on finals day, running in a remarkable three tries in seven minutes at one point to dampen the Fijians’ spirits and set themselves up for victory.
Peres Jepchirchir sets new world record for women’s only marathon with a time of 2:16:16
Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir has broken the women’s only world marathon record crossing the finish line of the TCS London Marathon in a time of 2:16:16.
The Kenyan runner made a break from the pack as she turned onto the final stretch on London’s iconic The Mall to take the win and improve her PB time by exactly one minute.
Three other women also broke the previous record time of 2:17:01 set by Mary Keitany in London in 2017. The women’s only record can only be broken in an event in which there are no men on the course. Most marathons take place with men and women on the course at the same time.
WNBA reveals cities for potential expansion
The WNBA is considering new cities for expansion as part of its goal to add one new team by 2026 and reach a total of 16 teams by 2028.
Philadelphia, Toronto, Portland, Nashville, South Florida and Denver have all been named as possible locations for new teams. The league has already announced a 13th team from the Bay Area will begin their WNBA campaign in 2025. There are eight founding teams of the WNBA, with four more added since the league’s first season in 1997.
Iowa to retire Caitlin Clark’s #22 jersey
Iowa Hawkeye’s basketball star Caitlin Clark will have her jersey forever hanging in the rafters after the University of Iowa announced it will retire her No. 22 now she has finished her college career.
Clark is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA men’s and women’s Division I basketball and has been influential in attracting record crowds and viewers to women’s college basketball in her four years in the NCAA.
She will become only the third Hawkeye’s women’s player to receive the honour, meaning no other player will be able to wear the No. 22.
Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) to become first US pro rugby league for women in 2025
The US will have its very own professional women’s rugby league when Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) kicks off its inaugural season next year.
The WER will replace the semi-professional Women’s Premier League (WPL) and while franchise locations are yet to be confirmed, it plans to have six to eight teams, with 30 players per roster. WER is being funded privately and in addition to paying players, it will boast full-time front office staff.
Anouk Garnier breaks world rope climbing record at the Eiffel Tower
French climber Anouk Garnier has set a new rope climbing world record, for both men and women, climbing 110 metres in 18 minutes to the second floor of Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower to raise money for cancer prevention and support.
Garnier now holds the record for the highest rope climb and the highest rope climb for a female. The previous record was set by South African Thomas Van Tonder who climbed 90 metres up a rope in between the Soweto Towers in Johannesburg in 2020.
Montreal turns out largest ever crowd for a women’s ice-hockey match
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) made history this month when a crowd of 21,105 turned out to watch Montréal take on Toronto in what is the largest ever attendance for a women’s ice-hockey match worldwide.
The match dubbed the Duel at the Top was played at Montréal’s The Bell Centre and is even more impressive considering the PWHL is in its maiden season. The season is due to end on 5th May.
Our MVP of the month - Lisa Blair
Lisa Blair smashes sailing record between Sydney and Auckland to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the ocean
Australian sailor Lisa Blair has set a new World Sailing solo speed record for the fastest time from Sydney to Auckland, completing the 1400 nautical-mile journey in eight days, three hours and 19 minutes.
Blair’s time is more than four days faster than the previous record set by fellow Australian James Prascevic in 2020. She is also the first woman to achieve the feat in a solo monohull.
She has just set off on another attempt to become the first person to sail around New Zealand solo, non-stop and unassisted and has her sights also set on an Arctic world record. Blair already holds the record for sailing solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica which she set in 2022.
Her endeavours are aimed at raising awareness of ocean pollution.
Our top tunes of the month. Think of The Bop as your go-to for game day hype
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Fashion and fits for your rest day.
Caitlin Clark steps out in Prada at the WNBA Draft
College basketball phenom Caitlin Clark is making history off the court as much as she is on it. This season’s number one WNBA draft pick made a statement dressed head to toe in Prada for the event – the first time the luxury Italian fashion house has dressed a basketball player (man or woman) for draft night.
Clark wore an ivory Prada ensemble with a value of over US $16,800, including a boxy crystal button satin double shirt (US $5,500) and matching mini-skirt (US $1,750), with an embroidered rhinestone mesh crop-top (US $3,750) underneath. She paired it with tinted acetate sunglasses (US $575), black brushed sling-back pumps (US $1,200) and a patent leather black mini bag (US $4,100).
Other notable mentions from draft night were Angel Reese’s Bronx and Banco silver hooded cowl neck Amalia gown US $2,550), complete with a dramatic train, and Cameron Brinks’ Balmain asymmetric dress with rose detailing and jaw-dropping side split (US $3,890).
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