As a newspaper person I should be able to explain why hockey receives so little media coverage in this country, but I can’t.
Maybe that’s because I used to play the game and enjoy watching it; my perspective is biased.
Australia is very good at hockey, men and women. Junior and club competitions are strong. Many large towns now have synthetic pitches.
But for some reason, netball dominates the limited media attention that’s given to women’s sport.
Men’s hockey struggles for publicity, I think, because it’s basically an amateur sport, except at the elite level.
Hockey has become faster and more entertaining since the development of synthetic pitches and a couple of rule changes to speed the game up.
Australia is hosting the champions trophy for women this weekend in Sydney.
The Hockeyroos will be wearing pink outfits in the game against Argentina for a “Pink Ladies Day” charity match to support breast cancer research.
Good luck girls!
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Twitter: mgorey
says:
What a farce that Australia finished second in the tournament, but failed to qualify for the next one because they use Olympic rankings!
Today’s Adelaide Advertiser has 13 sports pages of which only one gives any prominence to womens sport – athletics. The articles are written by 16 sports reporters of which only one is female.
The minimal coverage of womens sports in the media is most disappointing. Perhaps hiring more female sports reporters will help redress the ongoing blokey sports coverage.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
As an editor (of country papers) I like to give prominence (back page) to spectator sports, generally football, major league basketball, racing, motorsports and sometimes soccer. In addition, I like to ensure all sports are reported.
Metro papers don’t seem to follow that philosophy, because basketball outside the national league doesn’t get much publicity.
International women’s hockey attracts crowds as big as netball and athletics, but doesn’t get the same coverage.