Well, everyone. Please, raise your hands if you watch Beach Volleyball? Now, truthfully, keep your hands up if you watch Beach Volleyball purely for the sport? Reason I ask is that controversy abounds over ladies Beach Volleyball once more, with the top British pairing of Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin have agreed a sponsorship deal with the bookmaker Betfair.
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How does this sponsorship manifest itself? Well, given that the girls wear basic beach attire for girls on the beach, a bikini, there is not a lot of space! So, they have Betfair armbands, and a QR code printed onto the back of the bikini bottoms.If you use your smartphone to snap the QR code, it takes you through to Betfairs website.
Now, I know there has been a lot of chat about how much skin Beach Volleyball girls show when competing, but I understand the logic behind the current attire. It is sexy, yes. The Brazilian girls are very cute! (Hey, as a guy, I notice!). However, are the girls naked? No. All the girls are wearing is standard beachwear, essentially. But if you really think about it, they are actually wearing MORE than most girls do, given that many girls wear tiny bikini's which are held together only by a bit of string!
However, this sponsorship deal (which will help fund the girls as they go into the final year of preparation for the Olympics in London!) has been slammed by the Bristol Feminist Network, which was a little bit of a surprise. Not a national network, but the Bristol Feminist Network (BFN). Sorry, but I did not know your group even existed!
Ms Norris of the BFN raised several points over this sponsorship deal. For example, she takes the view that there is a lack of seriousness when it comes to Ladies Sports. If there was a real lack of seriousness, then Betfair would not have ponied up to take out the sponsorship in the first place. I do believe that her accusation is somewhat of a broad-stroke attack. After all, there is parity in the prize money at the Wimbledon tennis championships. Something that narks me given that the guys have to work longer for the same money! If the game goes the full length, the winner of the mens singles gets £220,000 per set. The winner of the ladies singles gets £366,667! There is an argument that this is an example of reverse sexism!
But I am not going to argue about this today.
Getting back to "the lack of seriousness"with regards ladies sports. The Ladies golf tours are growing rapidly, and the prize pot is not quite the same as the guys, but they still can earn plenty! You have a pro Football league in the US, and the new WSL in England. OK, ladies sports are lagging far behind their male counterparts in many sports, but they are growing, and I cant think of any ladies sports which can be branded as a "joke." Besides, I am NOT going to make jokes about the ladies Judo team here in Japan! It would end badly...
Ms Norris also makes the statement that "there is an assumption that men are the spectators, rather than women. OK, lets have a look...
Well, a European Beach Volleyball competition. Looks like a fair few girls here...
At the recent test even in London. Hmm... Looks like a fair mix of young and old, male and female too...
OK, point 2 ruined.
Ms Norris also claimed that the sponsorship deal turns these fine pro athletes into walking billboards. Well, in all sports, the area on the kit that is most visible is prime real estate.
After all, in Football, the centre of the shirt is blank. So, to make more money, stick a corporate logo there. United signed a monumental deal to carry Aons logo there.
In Ice Hockey, because of the way the players hunch over to gain speed on ice, and the club logo being carried on the centre of the jersey, the space ABOVE the logo is used for title sponsors. As well as those wonderful long sleeves Hockey shirts have...
Golf also sees sponsorship creeping in. Here is Ai, from Japan. She carries Suntory's name on her sleeve. Why? Because one of the most common pictures in all golf is post swing, with the golfer following the ball down the fairway. With the companies sleeve right there under the players chin!
BECAUSE of the success of pro sports, in order to "maximise revenues" they go out and hunt corporate sponsorship. In return for this sponsorship, the corporations require something in return. Which is their name on your clothing. in Beach Volleyball, this does, unfortunately, require the name to be placed on the most visible part of the uniform.
Which is right on the bottom as they bend over.
(Not that I am complaining... But I do appreciate the athleticism! Really!)
