Game on

by Sue Anstiss

Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards 2022Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2021Sport has an extraordinary, unique capacity to challenge and change society – to bring joy and hope; to improve physical and mental health, reduce loneliness and build self-esteem and happiness. It’s also a multi-billion-pound commercial industry that can transform lives, businesses, nations and regions. Why has half the population been deprived of access to something so culturally powerful?In recent years, the landscape for women’s sport has finally begun to shift. We’ve seen significant increases in investment, spectators and media coverage. More women as professional athletes and taking influential roles as board directors, editors, officials and CEOs.Yet female athletes still don’t get equal opportunities or funding. In many sports, women receive less prize money, lower sponsorship revenues and a tiny fraction of the media coverage. Drawing on her own experiences, and interviews with high profile Olympic and Paralympic champions, broadcasters, journalists, sports scientists, CEOs, officials and sponsors, Sue Anstiss investigates why women have been excluded from the world of sport for centuries – and why we are now witnessing positive change as never before.Game On is a celebration of the trailblazing women opening doors for others and a manifesto for women’s sport – a rallying cry to ensure the progress we are currently seeing goes from strength to strength.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Football

Paperback

Published June 23, 2022

Reviews

[Arianne See · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Covers so many aspects of Women in sports, approaching various faces of inequality, unpacking the different layers of inequality we see in under-representation in sports. Love how it digs even deeper and talks about ethnicity, age, sexuality in Women too. A lot of empirical and anecdotal information from women in sports which supported the arguments brought forth. As a woman in sport, I feel empowered and motivated to support other women and push for change. More women and men ought to read this book; whether you play sports or not — it provides such a clear and important message.

[Emily Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a bow Sue Anstiss 🙌🏼 being a female involved in sport from the coaching side of things, this book hits the nail on the head. It addresses the necessary steps to increase female participation in all areas of sport (not just as athletes) and what females bring to the arena. Don’t underestimate us females 👊🏼💪🏼

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

GAME ON by Sue Anstiss
I am very interested in women’s sports, so I was very keen to read Game On – The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport, the new book by Sue Anstiss MBE. It talks about the inequalities between men’s and women’s sports in many different aspects from television coverage to prize money.
I especially enjoyed Chapter 3 – The Female Frailty Myth which explains how sport was seen as being unfeminine and dangerous to women’s fertility, so it was discouraged or banned. Although this is seen, quite rightly, as an old-fashioned point of view, some of the statistics are shocking. For example, it wasn’t until 1996 that women’s football was included in the Olympic Games, and it took until 2007 until Wimbledon awarded the same amount of prize money to the male and female winners.
Being a former gymnast, I was pleased to read that Barbara Slater has been one of the women at the forefront of the efforts to improve things for women’s sports. She competed for Great Britain in the 1976 Olympic Games as a gymnast and in 2009, she became the BBC’s first female Director of Sport.
It is also fascinating to read how men became the primary consumers of sports events (at live matches and on TV) due to the extra leisure time they had, from their wives doing most of the housework and childcare. As society changed in the division of labour in the home, women have gained more leisure time!
So there is plenty you will learn from this book. However, one slight criticism I have is that the book is understandably full of statistics and acronyms and is very heavy on information, which can make it a bit hard to read in large sessions.
It is, in my opinion, rather sad that sport is judged by the money its sponsors can make, but I guess that’s a sign of the times. Amateur sports are becoming a thing of the past, with more sports men and women training full time and earning a wage from it. This is covered in Chapter 7 particularly – Equal Pay for Equal Play. When reading that tennis star Naomi Osaka earned $37.4 million in 2019, instead of being proud that a woman could earn that amount, I was rather reminded of the inequalities of class as much as gender. Is anyone really worth $37.4 million a year?
Overall, I found Game On proved that the situation is improving and there are many positive things to celebrate. The women involved in these changes should be proud of what they have achieved, but this book also demonstrates that there is still a long way to go.

[Renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a marathon runner, and having trained in Muay Thai, Karate and Capoeira over the years, Game On piqued my interest as soon as I heard about it. It’s written by a sportsperson, about women in sports. The author dives into the myriad aspects of life as a professional sportswoman, outside the actual training and competing. Sponsorship, media coverage, prize money, professional contracts, misogyny, the battle for equal pay, the prejudices against class and gender, funding and opportunities to compete, the history of women’s sports, and contemporary issues faced by women – Game On is high on research, facts and statistics.

Katherine Switzer’s iconic photo of being pushed out of the race route during the Boston Marathon of 1967 for being the only female participant is a testament to where women have stood in the sporting arena, and where we continue to fight. Naomi Osaka was fined for refusing press conferences at the French Open this year on account of mental health issues. Actress Tapsee Pannu was recently trolled for her “manly and masculine” look while training for the sports drama Rashmi Rocket. Sue Anstiss uses her own experiences as a former competitor, subsequent founder of a women’s sporting trust, and podcaster of trailblazing women in sport, to address a plethora of issues faced by women who take up sports.

Through her active reach in the filed, Sue has interviewed high-profile Olympic and Paralympic champions, sports broadcasters, journalists, sports scientists, CEOs, officials and sponsors. From cycling, equestrian, athletics and swimming, to shooting, sailing, tennis and archery, and cricket, football, hockey and golf, the book covers a variety of sports, so there’s something for everyone, whether one plays sports or watches them. One of my most favorite quotes from the book is, “We don’t want to take over, we just want to take part.” It’s an eye-opening book that takes the reader behind the scenes in the world of sport.

[Agirlandabook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anstiss has produced a comprehensive review of how far has been travelled, the progress made to date and a pleading urge for how much more is left to be done in respect of women’s sport. Some of my favourite topics covered include: Debunking the myths around the fragility of women, periods, menopause, racism, sexism to name but a few.

Written with clear passion this was a hugely informative, entertaining and inspiring read. There are a lot of facts and figures included in parts to demonstrate the validity of her arguments and in the most part these are blended well into the text so it doesn’t feel like reading a text book.

There are several incredulous parts that sadly whilst I wish I could say were false or perhaps had been embellished for effect honestly I had no difficulties in believing! This is especially true in respect of historical decisions made about women’s abilities to take part in sports due to incorrect and frankly ridiculous beliefs regarding the strength and physiology of women’s bodies. Sadly, however some of those decisions still impact upon women’s sports to this day!

I compete in Olympic Weightlifting (shameless positioning of my British Masters Silver Medal in shot) and still find it crazy that despite it being one of the original Olympic sports it was only in 2000 that women were allowed to compete 🤯

I write this review on the day that it has been announced Game On has been included on 2021 William Hill’s Sports Book of the Year Longlisted Title!

If you are a sports fan be that athlete, coach or spectator this is certainly one not to be missed!

[LindaJ^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read half of this book during non-fiction November. It is a subject near and dear to my heart and I learned quite a bit in the first half, including about sports that I had no familiarity with, e.g., netball and snookers. I did not finish as it became boring as I heard the same facts used again and again to support another point the author was making. Bottom line: Womens sports are not treated equally to mens in any way, as was demonstrated by the 2020 NCAA women's basketball tournament. The publicity did shame the NCAA to make some changes but the lack of media coverage of the women's games outside of the tournament is pathetic. If women's sports are given the equal coverage as men's I believe people will watch and go to the games. The UConn women's basketball team sells out its games.

Women's tennis and golf are ahead of other women's sports in coverage, although the US Women's World Cup and Olympics winning teams have made great headway.

Personally, I think more women reporters at the local level reporting on women's sports at the college level would be helpful. The CBS sports feed/blog needs to be more inclusive. It is impossible to build a following when the vast majority of potential fans do not even know about the games.

[Caroline Venables · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that every sports fan should read, no matter what your genre. For years women have struggled to get the same recognition as men, in any sport. However this seems to be changing with more investment being put into certain sports for women competitors.

Hopefully this investment will provide a secure basis for the future so up and coming girls will get the backing and the facilities they need.

The author draws on her interviews with leading sportswomen and discusses the important areas that have in the past impeded the overall success of women in any sport.

Like it I said it is a must read for anyone, not just women, everyone should be given the same opportunities to compete. You only had to watch the Olympics to realise how influential these athletes can be and how they can inspire the next generation.

[Alison West · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book club choice from April, I really struggled to keep going with this one! While I am a woman who plays a sport and as such this is a relevant book topic for me, I found this read incredibly repetitive and while it is supposed to stand as an inspiring book to encourage action for change, I instead found it a repetitive reminder of the bleak realities of the lack of representation and sexism within sport in general (a reality that I'm well aware of through the complete lack of studded rugby boots made for women and lack of availability of sports bras for larger chested women). Not a read I'd recommend sadly, just not for me.

[Kim Ashworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic balance of joy, hope and brutal truth. I tried to find the Female Frailty Myth examples amusing, rather than incredibly depressing....women got into playing football in a big way in 1st world war, so they got banned from it for about half a century...they thought women would develop "bike face"...they thought women were born with a finite amount of energy, so needed to save it for giving birth, rather than sport... Sounds like jealousy & barefaced oppression to me. A topical read after enjoying the Olympics so much. Here's to getting more women into sport 💪

[Rachel Seymour · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read for everyone connected with sport, whether you’re an active participant, work in the sports industry, teach, have kids or are a humble fan! Sue Antiss has captured the struggles, triumphs and future development of woman’s sport so succinctly in a manner that’s informative, interesting and engaging from start to finish.

[Huw Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful read into the long-overdue recent rise in women's sport. Providing examples of what has worked well and how to maintain the momentum to ensure parity with men's sport. Fascinating read.

[Charley Hasim · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022 was the perfect time to read this book, with womens sport gaining traction. For anyone who wants to know what they can/need to do to keep raising the profile of women's sport, this is the book for you!

[Halle Wassink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of this and the work that Sue Ansitiss does for women's sport. As an American I really appreciated hearing her perspective on what women's sport looks like in the UK and hearing the examples from her perspective.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspirational, interesting and very informative read. So much research has gone in to this book and all of it is presented in a thoughtful and thought provoking manner. Thank you - so much to think about and act upon.

[Kate Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Academic, balanced and offers a clear picture of where women’s sport has come from in recent years and where it’s heading. Not just a book for women and certainly nothing to do with ‘man-bashing.’

[Heidi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Would highly recommended to anyone, whether you're a sports fan or not. Leaves you feeling positive about the future of women's sport!

[Nik · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf. shame, i was excited for this one

[Steve Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many, many years women have struggled to get the same recognition as men in their chosen sports. Is this now changing? Anstiss argues that it is, and that investment will provide a secure basis for the future of many sports, so sportswomen will soon be get the backing and the facilities they deserve. Her interviews with leading sportswomen are the basis for assessing the situation, mixed together with much factual background data give a convincing positive case. Anstiss writes well and hopefully books like this can inspire the next generation as they come through.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are still so few books written by women about Women’s Sport, which is incredibly sad. This book is fantastic, an informative and inspiring read, which I hope will help continue other work to be produced.