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Archives for July 2024

WOMEN’S SPORTS WIN BIG AT 2024 ESPY AWARDS

July 16, 2024 by Tara S

By: Claire Watkins | Just Women’s Sports

Thursday’s 2024 ESPYs doubled as a celebration of the rising popularity of women’s sports, as retired tennis superstar Serena Williams hosted the proceedings with ease.

“Get up, get off the TikTok, work hard, find out how capable you are. Be great. Be so great they don’t want to believe in you and then be even greater,” she told the next generation at the end of her opening monologue.

South Carolina Gamecocks accept the Best Team Award onstage during the 2024 ESPY Awards
The 2023-24 South Carolina Gamecocks took home the ESPY for Best Team. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Women’s sports take center stage at ESPYs

Athletes in women’s sports were big winners throughout last night’s ceremony, reflecting a watershed year across the entire sporting landscape.

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark took home both the Best College Athlete and Best Record Breaking Performance Awards for her historic NCAA career at Iowa.

USC star JuJu Watkins won Best Breakthrough Athlete after an exceptional freshman season with the Trojans.

Gymnast Simone Biles won Best Comeback Athlete, as the two-time Olympian prepares for her third Summer Games later this month.

Las Vegas Aces’ all-time leading scorer A’ja Wilson came up big in both the Best Women’s Sports Athlete and Best WNBA Player categories.

The undefeated 2023-24 South Carolina Gamecocks won the award for Best Team.

Dawn Staley accepts the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance onstage during the 2024 ESPY Awards
The Jimmy V Award recognizes “a deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination.” (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Dawn Staley honored with individual award

SC coach Staley picked up her own honor, receiving the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for her continued contributions in the field of cancer research advocacy.

Named after NC State men’s basketball coach Jim Valvando, the Jimmy V Award recognizes “a deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination.”

“I must confess, I feel a little undeserving of this recognition,” Staley said in her acceptance speech. “Past recipients of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award have faced incredible challenges and proven themselves as true warriors. I have merely been a spectator to such immense courage and resilience.”

After opening up about her family’s personal connection to the cause, Staley spoke about her greater journey as an advocate, both on and off the court.

“I try my best to do things in the right way, knowing that some little girl is out there watching me… maybe, she’s one of the 13 pairs of eyes that see every little thing I do everyday and make sure to comment on it, that’s my team,” she said, motioning to her undefeated Gamecocks squad seated in the audience.

“How do I not fight pay disparity, when I do the same job and get paid less but win more?” she continued. “I can’t ask them to stand up for themselves if I’m sitting down. Nor can I ask them to use their voice for change if I’m only willing to whisper.”

Filed Under: Women in Sports, Women's Sports

Five Things To Know About Wimbledon 2024 Champion Barbora Krejcikova

July 16, 2024 by Tara S

BY: Agence France-Presse | NDTV

Barbora Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini in three sets to win the 2024 Wimbledon women’s title on Saturday. AFP Sport looks at five things to know about the Czech 28-year-old, who now has two Grand Slam titles.

Legoland to dreamland

When Krejcikova is not playing tennis, she is building Lego models.

In her repertoire are the Milky Way, and Dobby, a character from the world of Harry Potter.

“I have many of them actually. Yeah, I even received some from my team here,” she said.

She hopes one day to put together a Lego version of Wimbledon Centre Court.

“If there’s one for me, I’ll do that,” said Krejcikova.

Helping hands

Krejcikova sacked coach Ales Kartus, who helped her to the 2021 French Open title, in July last year. Since then, she has not had a full-time coach but is working with Pavel Motl, who is two years younger, at 26. 

They went to the same school and occasionally trained together.

Recalling how they first met, Motl told the iDNES.cz news website: “Bara was 10 and she played in the village where I live. She was playing on court number three and beat our adult neighbour 6-0, 6-0.” 

Motl refuses to call himself a coach. 

“I don’t know whether I will ever call myself a coach. For me, it’s a kind of a lifetime journey.”

Family life

At Wimbledon, Krejcikova shuns life in official hotels, preferring instead to stay with a local family as she has done for the past decade.

Krejcikova has often spoken of the “relaxed atmosphere” at the house, where her late coach Jana Novotna used to stay too.

The 31st seed paid an emotional tribute to Novotna, who also hails from Brno, in an on-court interview after her semi-final win.

Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998, died from cancer in 2017 at the age of 49.

“I remember thinking about her a lot,” said Krejcikova. “I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court I fight for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do.”

School’s out

Krejcikova admits she was committed to reaching junior finals as it often meant a day off from school.

“I always liked playing the finals at minor tournaments, because we played on Mondays and I didn’t have to go to school. That was my goal for the weekend,” she said.

Olympics dream

Krejcikova is due to team up with Katerina Siniakova for the Paris Olympics as the pair seek to defend their doubles title from Tokyo. 

The two split last November after winning seven Grand Slam titles together.

The split was initiated by Siniakova, who decided to team up with Storm Hunter but the Australian picked up an Achilles tendon injury in April, meaning a spell on the sidelines.

Siniakova won the French Open women’s doubles with Coco Gauff last month and has reached this year’s Wimbledon final with Taylor Townsend.

Krejcikova teamed up with Laura Siegemund for the women’s doubles at Wimbledon but they knocked out in the quarter-finals.

Filed Under: Tennis, Women's Tennis

Woomeras and Medleys to come together in Brisbane

July 11, 2024 by Tara S

By: AFL

The country’s most promising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural girls will take part in a talent showcase in Brisbane as part of the 2024 Woomeras and Medleys program

The country’s most promising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural girls Australian rules footballers aged 15-and-under have been selected in the 2024 Woomeras and Medleys squads.

The Woomeras squad is made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, while the Medleys squad comprises players with a parent born outside of Australia.

Both squads feature players from across Australia, who will come together in Brisbane this week to take part in a football and leadership camp.

Players will arrive in Brisbane on Thursday, July 11 and engage in a range of football and athletic training sessions, along with cultural and leadership-building activities across the three-day camp.

The highlight of the program will be two talent showcase matches which will be played at Brighton Homes Arena on Saturday, July 13.

The Woomeras vs Medleys games will be played following the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships – U18 Girls match between Queensland and the Allies.

AFL Diversity Talent Programs Manager, Narelle Long, said: “We’re thrilled to have our 2024 Woomeras and Medleys squads coming together in Brisbane this week.

“The players in the Woomeras and Medleys squads have showcased great football potential and a determination to develop themselves as athletes and people.

“This week’s camp will provide an environment for the players to engage in activities that will further enhance their football development and develop their leadership skills.

“Saturday’s matches at Brighton Homes Arena provide a fantastic opportunity for players to showcase their talent with a view to then being selected in the Indigenous and Multicultural Academies and other talent pathways programs in the future.”

The Woomeras and Medleys programs will be coached and mentored by a host of current and former AFLW and state league players, some of whom featured as members of the Woomeras and Medleys squads in previous years.

The Woomeras coaching panel includes GWS Giants forward Aliesha Newman, Krstel Petrevski, Janet Baird, Imahra Cameron, Cassie Davidson and Jordy Mifsud, who last year tied for the VFLW best and fairest award, the Lambert-Pearce Medal.

Former Medleys player and Western Bulldogs No. 6 draft pick Elaine Grigg features on the Medleys coaching staff alongside Akec Makur Chuot, Nyakoat Dojiok, Hanna Fosbrooke, Bianka Tsan and Mary Daw.

The Woomeras and Medleys programs feature as part of an action-packed week of talent pathways activities in Queensland.

Brighton Homes Arena hosted a Marsh AFL National Championships U18 boys and girls double-header last Sunday.

Meanwhile, all ten teams competing in the 2024 AFL National Development Championships – U16 Boys have been taking part in Round 2 and 3 of the Championships on the Gold Coast.

HOW TO WATCH: A live stream of the Woomeras vs Medleys matches at Brighton Homes Arena will be available here. The first game will commence at 12:15pm, with the second game to follow at 2:00pm.

Continue below to see the 2024 Woomeras and Medleys squads.

WOOMERAS

FIRST NAMESURNAMESTATECOMMUNITY CLUB
TianaAndersonQLDMoreton Bay Lions
ShanteAndersonWAKelmscott
SianAndrewsVICMacedon
SavannahArnoldTASLindisfarne
TillieBaldwinVICMitcham
LilyBrittainVICNarre North Foxes
TyeishaCalyunSAGoodwood Saints
TiamaCollardWANorth Mandurah
KeiraFawcettWAHigh Wycombe
KhaliaFawcettWAHigh Wycombe
ReneeFordQLDThuringowa Bulldogs
MaiteaGolowynNTPalmerston Magpies
BillieHamiltonACTAinslie Tricolours
TahliaHodgesVICMelton South
EmilyHollingsworthNSWShellharbour
RubyHowellWASouth Perth
NikitaKoppNTPioneer
Akia-MarieLakeVICHealesville
EmmersenLihouNSWWerrimull 
ShanitaMajorTASBurnie
LaylaMaySAGlenunga
JordynMcFaddenNSWWagga Tigers
KiahMcKinnon-RoweVICWhittlesea
TyleeMetera-PottsNSWSouth West Sydney
BellaNelsonWAWanneroo
NalarniPatersonNTSporties Spitfires
FlorencePeterACTAinslie Tricolours
AyvahRioliWAThornlie
LailanieRioliNTUnley
MisteeSagigiQLDCairns Eagles
PippaSchultzWAKambalda
LiaSoSAHectorville
KoorinaSpriggsVICStrathmore
LaylaStonehouseTASProspect
MylaTuckerNSWNewcastle City Blues
JoyishaWardSARoopena
MarleeWelchSAAngle Vale

MEDLEYS

FIRST NAMESURNAMESTATECOMMUNITY CLUB
NicoleBeitzQLDCoorparoo
EllaBologaVICNarre North Foxes
MadisonBooysenNSWNorthwest Lightning
LeileaCockerVICFerntree Gully Eagles
KodieDanielsVICMitcham
AmaliElepano NSWManly Bombers
EmilyFrenchTASWynyard
DeenaGergesVICYarrambat
FelicityHallNSWSt Ives
TabathaInghamVICShepparton United
LaceyIngramVICBalwyn
SabiJordaanWAClaremont
TaylorKazmerWAMarist
LelanniKikoakTASProspect
LeisiKirirua-GillVICWerrimull
LulaKociurubaWAMosman Park
KadaraMarisa-ScottQLDCairns Saints
JuliaMazzacano D’AmatoSAMount Lofty
NikkiMcNeil NSWManly Bombers
LyricMendoza VICCoburg Districts
JadeMillerACTWeston Creek Molonglo
FriyanaMistryNSWWilloughby
ManingningMoralesWAKwinana
SophieParkerSABlackwood
DhiyaanaPereraWAMorley
PenelopePunaivahaWAHill Rangers
PeggyRockNTNightcliff
AngelaRoseSAFlagstaff Hill
IsharaRossVICWhitehorse Colts
HannahSeabornWAMarist
MishaSimmonsVICFrankston
AsiaSingleQLDBurleigh
IsabellaTeohVICAshburton
CammiThomasTASTamar Valley
PhoebeTuckQLDNorth Shore
Lunayvan den HeeverWAJoondalup Kinross
MayleeWadeQLDBrothers Bulldogs
TeenaWestVICEast Brighton Vampires
StellaWilliamsVICCoburg Districts

Filed Under: Australian Rules Football

AMY YANG WINS FIRST MAJOR TITLE AT KPMG WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 2024 by Tara S

by: Emma Hruby | Just Women’s Sports

Amy Yang won her first LPGA tour event on Sunday, taking home the title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. 

At 34 years old, Yang is the oldest major winner in the LPGA since 2018 when Angela Stanford won the Evian Championship at age 40.

“At one point I thought, ‘Will I ever win a major championship before I retire?'” Yang said after securing the victory. “And I finally did it and it’s just amazing. Golf is really just like a fight against myself. I think I proved myself that I can compete and I can do this.”

The South Korea national ended the tournament with an even-par 72 to finish at seven-under 281. At one point, she was at 10 under and held a seven-shot lead that no challenger was able to overcome. 

It was also Yang’s 75th major start, the most before a player’s first major win since Stanford won hers in her 76th major start.

“It’s been incredible all this week — everyone was rooting for me,” Yang said. “I want to go sign some autographs for them.”

Filed Under: Golf, Women's Golf

Faith Kipyegon breaks her own world record in 1,500 meters

July 10, 2024 by Tara S

PARIS (AP) — Faith Kipyegon of Kenya broke her own world record in the women’s 1,500 meters at the Diamond League track and field meeting in Paris on Sunday.

Kipyegon finished in 3:49.04, surpassing her record of 3:49.11, which was set in Italy last year.

“I knew the world record was possible because I recently ran very fast in Kenya,” said Kipyegon, who clocked 3:53.98 at Kenya’s Olympic Trials. “I was coming here to just run my race and to see what shape I’m in to defend my title at the Olympics.”

Nine other runners in the race achieved personal bests. Jessica Hull of Australia finished second in 3:50.83, smashing her own Oceania record by five seconds. Laura Muir was third in a British record of 3:53.79.

The 30-year-old Kipyegon is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500, having won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. Before Sunday, she had only run twice in 2024, in the 1,500 and 5,000, to secure her spot for the Paris Olympics at the Kenyan trials in June.

Kipyegon’s performance came less than an hour after Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh broke the world high jump record with a leap of 2.10 meters.

Filed Under: Olympics, Track and Field

U.S. women’s soccer looking for Olympic redemption in Paris

July 3, 2024 by Tara S

by: Orri Benatar, Matt Barnes | WKRG

One of the teams to watch at this summer’s Paris Olympics will be the USA women’s soccer team. While they have been wildly successful in the past decade, they have not won an Olympic gold since 2012.

No team heading to Paris may be more hungry than the USWNT. “Winning with the US women’s national team has been a part of our history,” said defender Crystal Dunn. “But by no means is this something that we expect just by stepping out of the field.”

Recently, the world has caught up to the previously dominant US women’s national team. Despite the Americans winning the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, Olympic gold has eluded them with no medal in Rio 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo 2020.

Last year, the US suffered its worst performance at a World Cup after being knocked out by Sweden in the round of 16. “The women’s game is growing so as much as people want us to beat every everyone 7-0, those days may be behind us, and I think that’s amazing,” said Dunn. “Yes, in one way I can say I want the US to win every dominant and when I truly believe that we can, but I also support the growth of the women’s game.

Despite the successful rise of teams like Spain, France, and Australia, don’t count out the US in Paris. They will be under new manager Emma Hayes and despite losing big names like Megan Rapinoe, they have lots of new, young talent in the pipeline like Trinity Rodman, Jaedyn Shaw, and Jenna Nighswonger.

“They are very talented. And understanding that it’s a smaller office and having that talent and how can we all fit that together, it’s something that we’ve been doing for the past couple of months,” said midfielder Emily Sonnett. “Now having a new coach in to evaluate and understand how to use all the skills for the Olympics to have a better chance of winning gold.”

Team USA is hoping a great showing in Paris will only add to the excitement of women’s soccer, which continues to grow exponentially across the globe. “I think it’s been great to be a part of and play a role in it and hopefully we can keep building all the momentum,” said midfielder Rose Lavelle. “I think everyone keeps saying this is the moment. It’s not a moment it’s here to stay that’s going to keep growing and getting better.”

The quest for Team USA begins on July 25 when they face Zambia in its opening group match.

Filed Under: Olympics, Soccer, Women's Soccer

U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team sets out for its ‘redemption tour’

July 3, 2024 by Tara S

  • By Nick Zaccardi | NBC Sports

In past Olympics, the U.S. women’s gymnastics roster included athletes who seemed destined to make the team throughout the four-year cycle.

That was not the case this time.

Simone Biles went two years without competing after the Tokyo Olympics.

Last year, Suni Lee was told by a doctor that she probably wouldn’t be able to do gymnastics again due to two kidney diseases.

Fellow Tokyo Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey competed throughout this Olympic cycle, but both were beaten out for spots on the 2023 World Championships team by younger gymnasts.

Hezly Rivera was in the junior division last year. She began the run-up to the Olympic Trials by placing 24th at the Core Hydration Classic last month.

Yet Biles, Lee, Chiles, Carey and Rivera make up the team for the Paris Games. That lineup wouldn’t have been predicted before injuries took out three contenders over a three-day stretch last week.

Skye Blakely, the 2024 U.S. all-around silver medalist, ruptured her right Achilles in training Wednesday.

Shilese Jones, a 2022 and 2023 World all-around medalist, injured her left leg on a vault Friday before competition began.

Kayla DiCello, the 2021 World all-around bronze medalist, ruptured an Achilles on her opening vault Friday.

That left 13 gymnasts to perform over two days of all-around competition on Friday and Sunday in Minneapolis.

Biles continued her excellent comeback by winning the trials by 5.55 points, which was greater than the margin separating runner-up Lee from ninth place.

She extended her all-around win streak to 30 consecutive meets dating to 2013. Biles has the world’s top handful of all-around scores in this Olympic cycle, according to the Gymternet.

At 27, she will be the oldest U.S. Olympic female gymnast since 1952.

“I never pictured going to another Olympic Games after Tokyo just because of the circumstances,” said Biles, who dealt with the twisties at the last Olympics. “I never thought I would go back in the gym again, be twisting, feel free.”

0 seconds of 6 minutes, 58 secondsVolume 0%

Lee, the Tokyo Olympic all-around champ, was sidelined for a few months in early 2023 and ultimately diagnosed with two kidney diseases.

She has been in remission since late last year and returned to all-around competition at the Xfinity U.S. Championships four weeks ago.

“I’m so, so glad that I never gave up,” she said. “There were so many times where I thought about just quitting and just kind of walking away from the sport because I didn’t think that I would ever get to this point.”

Chiles was a revelation in 2021. She made the Tokyo Olympic team with neither senior world championships experience nor a top-three finish in a U.S. junior all-around.

She backed it up in 2022 with three medals at the world championships. That impressively came after a full freshman season at UCLA. Rarely has a woman so successfully flipped back and forth between college and elite gymnastics.

In 2023, Chiles took a break after her sophomore season at UCLA and had an abbreviated, month-long run-up to summer elite meets. She was fifth at the 2023 U.S. Championships and ninth at a world championships team selection camp. She did not make the world team.

“This moment, it felt so far away, but it felt so close,” Chiles said Sunday night. “I felt like in times and weeks, I could just grasp it and be like, oh my gosh, I’m almost there. And then other times, I’m just like, I feel like this is 150 years away.”

Similarly, Carey matriculated at Oregon State after winning the Tokyo Olympic floor exercise title.

She also won three medals at the 2022 Worlds. She also didn’t make the 2023 World team (after placing 15th at nationals).

Yet at Olympic Trials, Carey had her two best days of all-around in two years to finish fourth.

“This is the most stressful meet I’ve ever been a part of in my life,” she said. “Just those past experiences really helped me, reminded me of why I’m doing this sport and where I want to go.”

Though Rivera is an outlier on this team — at 16, the only woman not in her 20s — she continues a tradition in U.S. women’s gymnastics.

From 1980 through 2016, every Olympic team included at least one woman who turned 16 (or younger) in the Olympic year. That streak was snapped in Tokyo.

Rivera, the 2023 U.S. junior all-around champion, joined the mix for this team by placing sixth at her senior nationals debut four weeks ago.

As things stand, she would be the youngest U.S. Olympian in Paris across all sports.

“2028 was the goal,” Rivera said.

Both Biles and Lee referred to Paris as “a redemption tour” after the U.S. took team silver in 2021 following golds in 2012 and 2016.

“I feel like we all have more to give, and our Tokyo performances weren’t the best,” Biles said. “We weren’t under the best circumstances, either. But I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes. We’re more mature. We’re smarter. We’re more consistent.”

Filed Under: Gymnastics, Olympics, Women in Sports, Women's Sports

‘I have so much pride’: Retiring Cat on footy journey, women in sport

July 3, 2024 by Tara S

By Sarah Black | AFL

From playing local netball to AFLW football, Erin Hoare has seen sport from all angles. After announcing her retirement, she speaks to Sarah Black about footy, family and fearlessness

ERIN Hoare is hanging up her footy boots after a second elite sporting career, spanning a period of historic growth for women in the industry.

The multi-talented Geelong player was a netballer prior to football, plucked from the local courts of St Mary’s in the shadows of GMHBA Stadium to play with the Melbourne Vixens and the NSW Swifts.

As AFLW developed, she joined Geelong’s VFLW program, signing with Melbourne as a rookie in 2018, before returning home to Geelong for the Cats’ first AFLW season the following year.

A career break followed, the academic continuing her post-PhD studies in mental health at Cambridge University in England, and somehow finding time to have children Edie (now four and a half) and Conor (18 months).

She played one final season with the Cats last year, before deciding to retire a few weeks ago.

Erin Hoare poses with husband Chris and children Edie and Connor at GMHBA Stadium on April 5, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

In a league filled with extraordinary women, Hoare’s story is astonishingly multifaceted, weaved into a sporting revolution taking over the world.

“I’m really proud. I played netball for a long time at community level. I didn’t play elite netball till I was an adult, and I just got so much from being connected into community sport,” Hoare told AFL.com.au.

“I had such an extensive family there through sport. I have so much pride in being able to experience that, you know.

“In netball (with the Vixens), I didn’t play a lot. I trained a lot. I was a development player, but I got to see a lot. I was in the team when Sharelle McMahon made her return from having a baby. I got to see what that was like 10 years ago, compared to what it’s like now.

“I got to cross codes over to footy and that just made me happy, you know, to be able to play a sport with people that were similar to me and, you know, perhaps a bit different. I just felt like I belonged, in ways that I didn’t feel in any other sport I ever played.

“And then to get to play at the top level – I thought all my tears were expelled, but they’re coming back.

Hoare is grateful to have been able to play elite sport in a generation where the opportunities have never been greater, finding her feet at the top level at the right time.

“I loved sport when I was a kid. I loved every single sport possible, and wanted to play a sport. I watched Sharelle McMahon shoot the winning goal (1999 world championships) on TV, so I had that in my mind, that I wanted to play sport,” Hoare said.

“I had this opportunity through growing to be the height that I am (194cm) and probably combined with the attitude of wanting to work hard and wanting to be a part of the team.

“Having my research, I was able to understand that sport and physical activity offers so much more than just being active. Truth be told, it would have been my dream to be a professional athlete.

“For the fact I’ve been able to get these opportunities and memories, and witness what’s occurred is an enormous privilege. I’ll never take it for granted.”

Erin Hoare and Gabbi Featherston celebrate a win during round seven, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

When it comes to the timing of her retirement, while planning for the rest of the year with her family, Hoare realised it was the right moment to make the call.

“Obviously it’s a really big decision and a tough decision. I had really wanted to be able to play out this year. Coming back to footy was an opportunity that I didn’t know was going to happen, and was just so thrilled I was able to play last year,” Hoare said.

“But resources and energy and time are finite, and the priority of my kids comes first. It sort of made that decision a bit easier, but definitely very sad. I’ve been involved in football for a long time. I had a break playing, but never, truly left.

“There’s been a natural progression (in training sessions) from 2018 when I was first involved, up until now, which is as expected as the competition goes from semi-professional to professional, but I wouldn’t say it played into my decision.

“I’ve said this before, but the Geelong footy club are incredibly supportive, and would do anything, and want to do anything to support women to play, and women with caring responsibilities and families.

“Anything that we need, they would ask us to talk to them about so they could make sure our needs were accommodated, so I was fully supported as a parent.

“But the reality is, elite sport requires a lot, and should require a lot, and just making that decision – those resources go to my go to my little ones, and that comes first.”

Erin Hoare (left) and Taylor Smith compete for the ball during the preliminary final between Brisbane and Geelong on November 25, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

While a return to the local netball courts is unlikely, Hoare will continue to scratch her competitive itch with the chess club she has with her friends.

“The pride for me is at an individual level, but it’s also community level of women in football,” she said.

“It’s the community level of Geelong, in and of itself, and the way in which we support women’s sport.

“Then it’s also at our national level of where we’re heading. So, there’s a lot of pride to have been involved in that, for sure.”

Filed Under: Australian Rules Football, Women in Sports

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