Video Pics: Women's Sport

I've been watching the Commonwealth Games for the past few days, and so far, I've seen the following lady's activities (highlights in red):

• Gymnastics
• Netball
• Hockey
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Weight-lifting
• Mountain-biking
• Boxing
• Wrestling
• Judo
• Shooting
• Track
• Triathlon
• Marathon
• Long-jump (for women with cerebral palsy)
• Ping-pong
• Badminton
• Squash

I've also seen and enjoyed quite a few of the men's events; but for me, there's something special about watching elite female athletes perform.

Why? Well, I guess, because when I was younger, it wasn't really something I got to see very much. Sport pretty much meant either footy or cricket. Being played by blokes. Maybe that's why seeing tapes of people like Nadia Comaneci doing her thing at the Olympics had such an impact on me. It wasn't just amazing, it was ... well, special.

And even though, today, I'm well aware that women play all kinds of sports at an elite level, there's still something special about actually seeing it. Well, there is for me, at least.

To make a point; at one stage, when I was watching the boxing, one of the commentators made an offhand remark along the following lines:

"It's amazing how far the women's competition has come, isn't it? It doesn't seem that long ago that the only women you saw in a boxing ring were holding up score-cards."

Some of the most interesting things I've seen so far are as follows:

GYMNASTICS:

These videos aren't from The Games, but they are the routines that really caught my eye.

WRESTLING:

Hmmm ... no.

Okay, so maybe not as quick and energetic as the theatrical version, but it did have plenty of drama; what with the incomprehensible scoring system, the disagreeing judges, the song and dance performances by the Nigerians, the occasional celebratory flip, scandalous rumours about sham marriages, and the weird incident of the local Scots lass apparently losing on purpose in the semi-final match. In some respects in fact, it probably wasn't that far off the theatrical version.

MARATHON:

I'm guessing you've already heard about the marathon, and yes, it was exciting watching the Aussie girl run down the Canadian and then the Namibian, but there were two things that I found even more amazing.

Firstly, Namibia's Beata Naigambo dragging herself across the finish line after collapsing.

And secondly, Tereza Master from Malawi. A woman with quite a substantial bust for a distance runner, who did the whole thing in bare feet.

SQUASH:

I don't know if I've ever seen a game of squash before this week, and it took me a while to even figure out the rules. I certainly didn't expect to find it entertaining. But this woman totally blew me away. 

 When I first saw her, she wasn't playing all that wonderfully, and I pegged her as a gutsy young up-and-comer who was bound to succumb to superior skill and experience. Then, over the course of one match, she went from unassuming underdog to insurmountable force of nature. It turns out she's dominated the sport for years and is one of the top athletes in the world.

WEIGHT-LIFTING:

This smaller-framed young lady lifted nearly twice her own body-weight, while flashing a massive grin, and then celebrated with a very impressive looking backflip.

Wheeee!

BADMINTON:

The most interesting thing about watching the badminton was the mixed doubles. Specifically, the way that team members appear to communicate with each other primarily through using their racquets to tap each other on the arse. There were taps of encouragement, taps of celebration, taps of condolence; it was like an entire unspoken language.

I couldn't find a picture of badminton players tapping each others arses.

Also, when New Zealand played Wales, the Kiwi fans let out a chant of "We've got more sheep than yous!"

Absolutely marvellous.

LONG-JUMP:

Despite missing out on a medal, while representing Wales in the long-jump for women with cerebral palsy, Olivia Breen looked like she was having more fun than anyone else at the games.

Thumbs up to you Olivia. You're awesome.

I have to give a thumbs-up to Channel Ten, too; for making so much available through their tenplay.com.au/sport/commonwealth-games website. While it hasn't been perfect, it's been a damn sight better than their shitty television coverage, which has consisted almost entirely of interviews, replays, and Optus advertising. Fuck me dead if those Optus ads aren't the most fucking annoying things I've seen in a long time.

EXTRA: The Last Woman Standing

 

On the subject of women's sport, I notice this just started re-airing on ABC. I saw it last time it showed, and think I've still got it on tape. Basically, it's a sort of shitty reality/game show where a bunch of pommy sheilas go around to different remote parts of the globe and compete against each other in traditional sports.

So, why am I recommending it? Well, in between the annoying reality-game-show-drama bits, there's these nuggets of interesting stuff about how the women in these remote communities live, their domestic roles, how they relate to men, and how they relate to (and compete with) each other.

One bit that sticks in my mind is this one Amazonian tribe they go and stay with, and they talk about how, when a couple gets married, the woman has sex with every adult male in the village. It's supposed to stop jealousy and help bind the community together.

I wonder.

... and somewhere a witty callback regarding holding up scorecards goes begging.

The first episode can be found here, and is up until August 12.