Women in sport

As part of the University of Canberra Sport Strategy, UCRISE will welcome PhD Scholarships co-funded with an industry partner focusing on women in sport. Through these scholarships we will address the gaps in knowledge, practice and management of women in high performance sport, community sport, coaching, officiating, leading sports organisations, the media, sports integrity, and sports law.

The project will focus on research into the management of gendered cyber hate by sporting bodies. There is existing evidence which indicates that athletes who are female, trans, and/or people of colour are subjected to significant levels of cyber-hate and trolling, and that the nature of the communications are violent and sexualised. It also appears that sporting organisations at every level are ill-equipped and resistant to adopting appropriate mechanisms to protect these athletes.

The purpose of the project is to undertake research into best practices and policies aimed at limiting the impact of online harm such as cyber-hate and trolling upon elite female athletes and women working in the sports industry. The research will also canvass and make recommendations for change.

Other UC sport research projects are addressing several topics in women in sport in areas ranging from nutrition to warm-ups, iron deficiency and supplementation, and low-energy availability practices. These projects involve a PhD candidate, one or more UC supervisors, and an industry partner. The research outcomes should be useful for coaches and athletes, as well as sports science and sports medicine practitioners, and academic researchers.