Magazine disruption

MAGAZINE ISSUE NO.10
2017 marked an important step
forward, with the inaugural AFL
Women’s series proving that female
athletes are capable of not only
excelling in sport, but also captivating
audiences and, importantly,
filling stadiums.
It’s a catch-22: to secure sponsorship,
athletes need to showcase their talent.
However, with little-to-no financial
support to play their sport, athletes are
short on resources to dedicate to their
athletic development. There are costs
including physiotherapy, remedial
massage or individual coaching, as
well as time constraints, given that
many female athletes are required to
work full-time to earn a living.
Liz Craven has shaped her income
to include revenue from The Strength
Syndicate as well as her sponsorships.
“Previously, the girls that were getting
sponsored were the girls that showed
a lot of flesh. I’m proud to be sponsored
purely for what I’ve achieved in my
sport. I’ve got a meals sponsor, I have
a supplement sponsor, I have all my
equipment sponsors but I still have to
go out and be a coach and earn a
living. My lifting helps feed that industry,
because people come to me to learn
how to lift, so it all works together.”
"IF WE’RE NOT GETTING PAID AS
MUCH AS PROFESSIONAL MALE
ATHLETES, WE’RE NOT ABLE TO PUT
AS MUCH TIME INTO OUR TRAINING.”
It’s encouraging that sponsors are
starting to see the potential of women’s
sport, and showing that through
funding—or in the case of Buildcorp,
removing their funding. The company
made waves in the Rugby community
when they threatened to pull their
funding if the Australian Rugby Union
didn’t launch a women’s 15-a-side
rugby tournament, following the
national Sevens competition.
“She [Josephine Sukkar, Buildcorp’s
cofounder] stayed true to her word, and
she pulled her funding” says Louise.
“She recognised that Sevens is a very
different game —it’s good for one type
of woman, but 15s is for every woman—
every shape and size.”
The issue of funding is almost
redundant when it comes to women’s
wrestling. Kyla says that wrestling is
one of the most poorly funded sports
in Australia, estimating that the annual
budget for the entire sport is around
$100,000 a year. Development is so
stifled that hardly any women make it
to the elite level.
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