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REFERENCES Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012, December 19). 4177.0 — Participation in sport and physical recreation, Australia, 2011–2012 (Survey). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ allprimarymainfeatures/99571A92FB40E116CA257DEF001142E7?open document Australian Government, Department of Health. (2016, February). 2016 physical activity and sport participation campaign (Report). Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/girlsmove/publishing.nsf/ Content/940079ADC8FEB9D5CA257F660021CACD/$File/Insights%20 Report.pdfAustralian Government, Australian Sports Commission. (2014, April). Women in Sport Broadcasting Analysis . Fink, J. (2015). Female athletes, women’s sport, and the sport media commercial complex: Have we really ‘come a long way, baby’?. Sport Management Review, 18 (3). National Women’s Law Center (2015, July). The battle for gender equity in athletics in colleges and universities (Fact Sheet). Retrieved from http:// www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/battle_for_gender_equity_in_college _athletics_updated_2014.pdf Richards, R. (2016). Women’s Sport . (Australian Womensport and Recreation Association report for the Australian Sports Commission). Retrieved from https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/knowledge_base/organised_ sport/sport_and_government_policy_objectives/womens_sport#content Staurowsky, E. J., DeSousa, M. J., Miller, K. E., Sabo, D., Shakib, S., Theberge, N., Veliz, P., Weaver, A., & Williams, N. (2015). Her life depends on it III: Sport, physical activity, and the health and well-being of American girls and women. East Meadow, NY: Women’s Sports Foundation. Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation — Changing the Game for Girls — Policy Report — May 2012. Retrieved from https://www.womeninsport. org/resources/changing-the-game-for-girls-policy-report/ It is no surprise that our old girls are seeking and receiving sporting opportunities similar to those they experienced at Girls Grammar. They pursue excellence and deliver on their performances. Not only are they well prepared to take up these opportunities, the universities they attend are benefitting from the high calibre student athletes that Brisbane Girls Grammar School produces. Perhaps these young women will be the generation to implement the changes so badly needed in the Australian sporting climate — changes that encourage and support girls by way of equal media coverage, access to facilities and resources, and an opportunity to play sport competitively in order to benefit as richly and equally as their male counterparts. A version of this article was published in Insights on 6 May 2016. girls’ participation in both high school and collegiate sport. No such law exists in Australia.

equipment of the highest quality; access to Olympic- quality resources such as a Tartan track for athletics and a 50 metre swimming pool are of utmost importance — as are the exceptional quality and experience of senior coaches. Transport is provided to overcome the inner-city limitations of our School and the lives of busy families. The School’s newly acquired Rangakarra Recreational and Environmental Education Centre now has facilities that rival the best ovals in the country. Grammar girls develop their academic and sporting potential simultaneously; the two are not mutually exclusive. This is the reason many girls from the School are now attractive recruits to the sporting colleges in the United States of America. Collegiate coaches are looking for athletes who are exceptional scholars and outstanding performers. Old girls and rowers Josephine Theile and Hannah Norris (2014) now compete for Harvard University and San Diego State University respectively. Rebecca Gardener (2014) runs on the cross country team for Clemson University and three-time Sports Brooch recipient, Christie Molloy (2012) is on the Boston University Track and Field team, competing as a multi-event track and field athlete. Sarah Tisdall (2015) has been offered a place on the Harvard Rowing team and will begin her studies at the university in August 2016. When Congress in the United States of America passed a law called Title IXin 1972, fewer than 32000 women competed in intercollegiate athletics (National Women’s Law Center, 2015). Women received only two per cent of schools’ athletics budgets, and athletic (sport) scholarships for women were non-existent. The number of college women participating in competitive athletics is now over six times the pre-Title IX rate. In 2013–2014, a record number of 207 814 women competed, representing 43 per cent of college athletes, nationwide. A similar change occurred in high schools across the country (Staurowsky et al., 2015). Mostly, the law provided girls with opportunities that overcame the reasons they stopped playing sport in high school and required both high schools and universities to offer women’s sporting opportunities on an equal level to that of the men’s teams. Even though this law has its limitations, it has played a role in continuing to increase

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2016