History Women's Soccer Research

Look back at the pictures of all the young faces on that 1991 team, awash with smiles, the glow of a world championship, and athletic glory in its purest form, and it becomes obvious why we play.” (“Hamm, Mariel (Mia) Margaret”). Mai was nonplused that year based on the lack of zeal from the sports world. She did not allow this to lower her morale or affection for the game. She remained focused and steadfast and continued to promote women’s participation in the sport.

Women sports have come a long way, since the days when women were only allowed

When it comes to sports men and women are rarely given equal opportunities to excel. This is the case in soccer specifically, as many individuals over look women’s soccer. Women are having to play on turf fields which is causing more injuries compared to men playing on natural grass. Men also make more money per match and they receive money if they lose, whereas the women do not receive any money if they lose a match. While women are becoming more successful, the men’s team has been around longer and bring in more media coverage and endorsements for the league. Despite the discrepancies found in media coverage of both teams, the US soccer federation and Federation International Football Association should provide equal opportunities for both men’s and women’s soccer teams.

This section will outline how, throughout history, the role of Women in Society that has been reflected in the role of Women in Sport.

From a young age, children are conditioned to always think about what they want to be when they grow up. Many of them dream to be a ballerina, firefighter, or an astronaut. With age comes maturity, and those aspirations pass, but simultaneously new, more realistic ones arise. To reach these new goals, these children work toward their dream through dedication, which can be seen in the studying or training they do. In today’s society females have more opportunity to do what they dream. There are young women who are assiduously working to get a college degree and a steady job. Then, there are also women who are training to become a professional athlete, with the aspiration of becoming a member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT). In today’s society, women can pursue their goals, however, if compared to men’s sports, there can be differences seen that keep women from reaching full potential, equality, and their dreams.

Have you ever wondered about how women now have their own sports or how they became accepted? Well, it all started with women who had perseverance and a dream, even if they didn't get recognized for it. ***(Marcenia Lyle was an incredible baseball player and impacted the game tremendously by never giving up on her dream, being a woman playing in a men’s league, and by changing the normal way of sports.)***

In 1996, the US women's soccer team won the Olympic gold medal and, in the summer of 1999, they faced down the best international competition in the World Cup beating China in the World championship game to win the grueling, month-long tournament.

The main form of competition for women largely consisted of intramurals hosted by their university. In 1966, the DGWS appointed a Commission on Intercollegiate Sports for Women (CISW) to assist in conducting intercollegiate competitions. In 1967, it was renamed the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW). (Bell, History Prior to Title IX). The C.I.A.W. was the first main governing body established for women’s intercollegiate athletics. With the establishment of this governing body, for the first time, women have the opportunity to compete against other universities instead of the members of their own school. The main problem that many women’s programs struggled with was funding for the expenses of their team. Majority of the athletic revenue went to men’s sports with football taking the majority of the revenue. This all plays into the Civil Rights movement our country was experiencing at the

As stated previously, women have a much lower interest in competing in athletics, statistically speaking. For example, high schools must also obey the regulations put into play by Title IX by offering the same number of sports teams for each gender, thus giving high school students equal opportunities to participate in athletics. However, even though both male and females are offered the same opportunities, 1.4 million fewer females choose to compete in high school sports than males. Based on recent reports from the 2010-11 academic year from the state high school athletic associations from all 50 states, sports participation among genders is approximately 4.5 million boys, or 60% of total participation, as compared to approximately 3.1 million girls, or only 40% of total participation.(Toporek) Although this statistic clearly

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – It continues to be a year of first for Centenary Ladies soccer.

In every country, soccer stars are celebrated, they are young children’s’ heroes, and they inspire nations. Soccer is played in small villages in Africa, suburbs in America, and the arctic tundra of Russia, it can be played anytime, anywhere. It is the only sport that serves as a universal language, citizens in every country know the basics of soccer. Anyone, of any age, can play. It serves as a common connection for humanity and the players set examples for most of the world. If women are not being paid equally on the only platform that has the ability to reach the entire planet, it is no wonder that so many countries do not believe in women’s rights. However, if they were paid the same as men, they would be setting an example for the entire world. Many countries would begin to better understand that women are equal. After all, so many of life’s lessons are taught to children through games, especially games like soccer. This sport is a very rare, if not the only, opportunity to teach the entire world that women are just as equal as men, and not just on the soccer field. Women’s soccer could serve as the messenger to the world, and “kickoff” a new attitude for the equal treatment of women and really get the ball rolling on equal pay for women. This sport has the unique opportunity to use its influence to change attitudes that will seep

“Tomboy”, and was probably cut from any tryouts. In recent times women’s sports are becoming more popular, except the fans are predominantly women. The WNBA is the women’s version of the NBA, but not nearly treated the same or as popular. Colleges and Universities have a variety of sports for girls and boys. Some girls might try to cross- into boy’s teams and it usually causes a controversy or a lawsuit against the University. A boy would never try a girl’s sport. Women are very sensitive about their rights and what they are capable of doing in our society that is why they continue to gain power slowly but steadily.

She played on a boys baseball team as a starting second baseman. She got on the local All-star team in the under 11 age group. She got on the under 14 All-star team when she was only eleven for soccer. She led her team the Burnaby girls soccer club to victories many times. There team ended up winning 6 league championships, 5 provincial titles, and also she led her team to top five national finishes. She was the main reason that her Burnaby high school team won three championships. She then went on to play for the Canadian under 18 national team. She began playing at the adult level in the Algarve cup, in which event she scored a hat trick. She attended the University of Portland, in 2001 and eventually became the scoring leader in NCAA division one. Eventually she was named freshman of the year by Soccer America magazine. The national women soccer league was formed in 2013. Sinclair was named as captain for the Portland Thorns. The thorns won the

¨Sixty-nine percent of girls and 75 percent of boys in the United States participate in organized and team sports, according to the 2008 report titled “Go Out and Play: Participation in Team or Organized Sports” conducted by the Women’s Sports Foundation. Between 2006 and 2007, approximately 7,342,910 boys and girls participated in high school sports.¨Uzoma,K.(2015) How Many Youth Participate in Sports in the U.S.?,Leaf Group.The amount of students participating in sports is tremendous,they do get physical training but they could result in injuries,time commitment,and the overspending of money for the sport.

Lou Henry Hoover was the leader of the National Amateur Athletic Federation, which was an organization that supported sport for everyone. She wanted to have a separate Women’s division because of the different ideal standards of women’s sport; and so was formed the women’s division of the NAAF. This organization set standards for women’s competition and encouraged them to participate in both school and non-school events.